Get Bold

To boldly go where no one has gone before. That is the mission of the starship Enterprise and its captain, James T. Kirk. Now, imagine how difficult that mission would be to achieve if Captain Kirk was constantly reminding himself of failures from his past. How could he do anything boldly if he was afraid to take a risk? Could he innovate and create if he was afraid to make mistakes? The simple answer is no.

The same is true for artists. To be bold and break new ground, artists have to be willing to forgive themselves for past mistakes and see them as a chance to learn. Shakespeare did not become the most famous dramatist of all time by writing the same stories as his peers, even if he did use the same source material. He invented new words. He wrote lines that have become part of our collective consciousness. To be or not to be … I bet you could easily complete that sentence in your mind because it is so well-known.

Mozart revolutionized music, creating a new musical language — alongside his Viennese contemporary Joseph Haydn. This language came to be known as the Classical style. That’s right Classical music was invented by Mozart. The previous style in Western music was called Baroque. Mozart and Haydn synthesised the fragmented experiments at writing new forms of music from other musicians who were using new instrumental techniques and exploring the implications of “equal temperament,” a scientific system of musical keys to create Classical music.

What would have happened if the artists who experimented were never bold enough to try something new? What would Mozart and Haydn have built upon if not for these pioneers?

It’s time for you to make a brand new start.  As we head into Memorial Day, make a commitment to explore your creative universe in a way you never have before.  Be unafraid to fail. Look at your mistakes as a feedback mechanism through which to make changes and do things better.  Free yourself from the chains of fear.  Be bold.