There are several costs which equal the total price of greatness. Being misunderstood is one of them.

The unique manner you use imagination, intellect and emotions often falls out of the “normal” steps of logic most people use. They simply don’t “see” how you arrived at your conclusions. Therefore, your thinking is faulty. The problem is always with you, not the inability to expand their own thinking.

Because they can’t “think out of the box” they assume anything that doesn’t fit into the box must be wrong. Being misunderstood is the result.

On the other hand, the first thing a creative thinker comes to realize is that by its’ very definition, a “box” is always limited in size and ultimate functionality. Which means any thinking taking place within that box is always forcing the thinker to obey its’ finite options. This keeps the thinker trapped inside the box.

You will find yourself alone

it only stands to reason that you will find yourself “alone” while working through your creative process. Trying to explain yourself before you are able to manifest your dreams can be fraught with confusion (on the part of others) which results in your being misunderstood. I learned this the hard way when I was in the commercial audio production business.

As one of the top 50 radio producers in the United States (I’m on the List of Recommended Creative Resources of the National Association of Broadcasters) I was often called upon to create new, original music and jingles. Early on I came to realize that you can’t expose a Client to your creative process. Putting a few rough instrumental tracks together in order to illustrate “where you are going with a musical idea” was always a nightmare.

They never “heard” or could “see” where I was going with the music. All they could hear and see was the literal manifestation of the incomplete musical idea I played for them! No matter how I set up the presentation, the first reaction would always be something like: “That’s not how it’s going to sound is it?”

My solution was simple: I let them hear it when it was 95% completed instead of 15% completed! No degree of “imagine this here or that there” will ever replace “what do you think of this!”

A bird in the hand is worth two in the imagination

Being misunderstood has a way of magically changing itself into one of your having “vision”. That is when you begin to manifest your dreams. Suddenly you find yourself labeled a “visionary” by the same people who initially misunderstood or outright rejected your (new) way of thinking.

Remember: People are not going to question the inability to use their imagination. They are going to question your ability. So to keep the overall cost of achieving your personal greatness under control, keep your creative process to yourself. Share it only with those who understand it and support you.

The far more expensive cost to you is to doubt yourself and thereby abandon your creative process. Trust yourself and get something done. You can always “edit” and tweak it later. Having “a bird in your hand” always sings the praises of your visionary undertaking… Quite loudly!

It’s hard to doubt what you can see, feel, hear and touch…

-Bob Baran