Happy last week of summer vacation everyone! :-). Kind if sad huh? Miss Miranda and I are sucking Icee's at the water park today. But that's not the kind of "Suck" I'm talking about today in my journal entry though. Have you given yourself permission to fail? You should. Here's three reasons why I think failing quick and often is a critical part of the creative process.
1. PERFECTION WASTES YOUR TIME- The more ideas you try. . . angles, lighting, different exposures. . . the better your chances of finding that killer pic. If something just doesn't seem to be working, let it go and move on to the next thing.
2. FEAR OF FAILURE IS EXHAUSTING- Did you know that your brain, your thinking machine, uses up 20% of your energy. 100 watts. Relative to its size it's an energy hog. Thinking is hard work and you've only got so much energy to give. If you're using up your brain power worrying about the next shot or regretting your last you'll not be able to see the possibilities right in front of you.
3. YOU'RE IN GOOD COMPANY WHEN YOU TRY BUT FAIL- In one of Fred Astaire's first screen tests, an executive wrote: "Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little." Albert Einstein was a terrible student and Edison tried and failed literally 100's of times on the lightbulb. It seems failing is actually integral to genius. Don't run from it. Big mistake. :-).