“Creativity is the ability to move from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill.
Winston Churchill was a brilliant man.
I often hear people say “I’m not creative,” or “I can’t draw.” That concept might be currently true in a person’s mind, but why? Why does one person become good at drawing and another an expert in engineering, or business? Nobody was an expert in any of these fields at the age of five. Each person has different innate qualities, personality traits and gifts from birth. How these gifts are nurtured and practiced as a person matures makes a huge difference in the success of any skill a person might have as an adult.
When I was very young, I remember people liking my drawings. Because I liked the complements, I wanted to draw more. Believe me—my drawings were not all that great, but I kept going—wading through a lot of really bad sketches. I took all the art classes I could; I practiced and studied hard. I still need to practice and study to do well. So when people tell me they can’t draw, I like to tell them that is fine. They probably have other things that they like to do better. If you want to draw, you need to practice, just as you would need to practice if you want to be a professional athlete. Success comes from interest first and practice second, lots of practice.
I like to think that Winston Churchill’s quote is the secret to success. Read the quote this way: “Success is the ability to move from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Fear of making mistakes will hold you back. If you love what you do, you are probably willing to persevere through your mistakes. So make your blunders and move on. Practice makes progress. And the way you practice determines how you perform—no matter what your interest!
