"Creative people's openness and sensitivity often exposes them to suffering and pain, yet also to a great deal of enjoyment."
— Faisal Hoque
Bangladesh Author / Entrepreneur / Thought Leader
1969 -
Commentary
Creativity requires that a person be open and sensitive to the world around him. Yet this same openness that ignites creativity can put a person in harm's way. This openness exposes creative people to rejection that often will cause pain and even suffering. Writers and artists want to capture the world accurately and creatively which requires that they be in and of the world. We can't stand on the sidelines or we will have nothing to say. We have to be out on the battlefield finding our way through the mud, the blood and the destruction. We have to experience life at its fullest.
If people only experienced pain from being creative, most people would avoid creativity. Fortunately creativity also brings great joy and happiness that outweighs the pain. The rewards are greater than the costs.
What do you think? Is creativity a blessing or a curse in your life? Have you received more joy or more pain? Is it a gift that you hope keeps giving? Share a story of how creativity has been a blessing or a curse in your life. Tell us what creativity means to you.
Creative Practice
This week write a poem or short story or paint a picture about sensitivity and creativity. What happens to the sensitive creative person in a hostile, by-the-book, as-we-have-always-done-it world? What challenges does he or she face? Is the creative spirit a blessing or a curse? Does he survive or perish?
Biography
Faisal Hoque was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. At fourteen he started a business selling stereo components to raise money to study in the United States. He left Bangladesh to study in the U.S. at seventeen. He developed his first software product as a student of 19 at the University of Minnesota. He has held management positions at Pitney Bowes, Dun and Bradstreet and General Electric. He has also founded several companies. He has also written 6 books including The Power of Convergence, Six Billion Minds and the Alignment Effect. His latest book, Everything Connects, is scheduled for publication in 2014.
