1 – You Need A Creed

MODULE ONE

Core practice

What is your why?

Core practice

Begin to craft your creed.

Welcome to Module One of Make Better!

1.Be sure and download your workbook / journal

2. Don’t forget to introduce yourself in the Facebook Group  – tell us what your medium is and what you’re hoping to make better!

3. Come back here and let’s get started.

One of the things that excites me most about this course is the breadth of people who are participating. You’ve just joined the ranks of tattoo artists, stay-at-home moms and dads, bloggers, therapists, photographers, musicians, designers, painters, pastors, writers, and filmmakers, just to name a few.

With all these disciplines, there are bound to be thousands of different perspectives. Each of you will bring your own uniqueness and wiring to the material. The best part is that the course is designed for each of you to gain something valuable, no matter your medium. And yet, before we move ahead, we need to make sure we’re on the same page about a couple of things.

What does it mean to “make?”

The Webster definition of the verb “make” is:

…to form something by putting parts together or combining substances; to construct; to create.

You make when you draw or design, when you write a new song or chapter, but you also make when you put your daughter’s hair up before you head to work, when you cut the crusts off the PB&J, or when you decide to forgive your friend instead of holding a grudge.

To state it more clearly, our definition of “make” is twofold. We make when we combine substances like a word and a note to form the beginnings of a song, and we make when we combine substances like our past and our present to form a new and better future.

We make through our art and we make through our lives.  

This class will teach you how to make better art, and it will teach you a better way to live.

So, moving forward, the best way to think about the material ahead is to choose a primary way you make art – say, your choreography or evening dinner – and then a primary way you make life – maybe an important relationship or issue you want to work on. Certainly these mediums can change along the way, but defining this for yourself before we get started will be immensely helpful.

time out

Now, before we continue, crack open, download, or print out your workbook and answer the questions you find in the introduction.

Once you’ve finished answering those first few introductory questions, head on back here for the rest of the lesson.

YOU NEED A CREED

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

In his bestselling book, Start With Why, Simon Sinek describes the power of organizations that know their why. Think about powerful brands, such as Coca Cola, Apple, and the like. Certainly we’re buying them because we enjoy their products, but we’re also buying them because we believe what they believe. We have a shared faith. Who doesn’t want to open happiness or think differently? Knowing your why is incredibly powerful. Not only does it help others better understand you, but also it is paramount in understanding yourself.

And this is where we will begin.

Every maker needs a manifesto.

A why. A creed. The word “creed” derives from the Latin credo, which means, “I believe.” Your creed is the foundation for your art and your life. Week one will help you develop yours.

I sat in the hallway in front of her, her black habit staring me in the face. She never looked up from the clipboard resting on her lap. I looked straight ahead, straining to remember. Why the hell hadn’t I practiced? It was just a few lines. Any 8-year-old can memorize a stanza or two. I stuttered through it as best I could:

“Maker of things invisible and visible

…forgotten Son

…born of a virgin

…um. Amen?”

Not good. Not even close. I was trembling as she finally lifted her head.

“Blaine, this is what we believe. You need to know this. This isn’t just about memorizing a poem. This is a statement of our faith.”

My dad went to private Catholic school and desperately wanted my brother and me to follow in his footsteps. Luckily, for us, our family couldn’t afford full-time tuition, so our Catholic education was limited to Wednesday evening classes. These classes preceded our first communion and eventual confirmation in the faith. We were instructed by the nuns of Epiphany Catholic School, and every now and then Fr. Reiser would make a special guest appearance.

I’ll be honest: I still struggle with remembering that blasted Nicene Creed. For what it’s worth, there are a LOT of different versions, and each one varies ever so slightly so that it becomes even more  complicated when trying to memorize them chronologically. And while I’m not sure I could recite the whole thing now, the words that scary nun spoke to me that night still resonate.

This is what we believe…this is our statement of faith.

Muslims, Christians, Jews, atheists, and agnostics even, they all have their statements of belief (or unbelief, for that matter) – their creeds.

Makers must have theirs as well.

Creeds drive us. They give us backbone. They give us something to fall back on when things inevitably get messy and confusing. And they propel us into the future. For years mine was, simply put:

Make beautiful things.

It was easy. It was clear. It had purpose. And for a very long time it worked just fine Until one day, my best friend, Jarrod (an 8 on the Enneagram – don’t worry, this will make sense in a few weeks), challenged me by asking:

“Why? Why do you want to make beautiful things?”

“Well, because I’m an artist. That’s what we do,” I uttered.

“Right, but why?” he asked again.

I didn’t have an answer. And so the search for that answer became my quest.

“Very few people or companies can clearly articulate why they do what they do. By why, I mean your purpose, cause or belief  –why does your company exist? Why do you get out of bed every morning? And why should anyone care? People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. We are drawn to leaders and organizations that are good at communicating what they believe. Their ability to make us feel like we belong, to make us feel special, safe and not alone is part of what gives them the ability to inspire us. For values or guiding principles to be truly effective they have to be verbs. It’s not “integrity,” it’s “always do the right thing.” It’s not “innovation,” it’s “look at the problem from a different angle.” Articulating our values as verbs gives us a clear idea – we have a clear idea of how to act in any situation.”  – Simon Sinek

Great artists – and great people, for that matter – have deep-seated ‘why’s.’ Their ‘why’s’ becomes their driving forces. Like Sinek says, your ‘why’ is what gets you out of bed in the morning.

Developing your why might just be the most important part of this course, and it’s why I couldn’t dream of starting week one any other way.

In 2006, Seth Godin gave a talk called THIS IS BROKEN. Seth is a marketing guru and an unbelievably brilliant man. If you don’t already read his daily musings, now is the time to start. Take 20 minutes and watch Seth’s hilariously frustrating talk.

This is required watching, do not skip it!  

Now take 2 minutes and scroll through his website. Everything he talks about 8 years later has this underlying current:

The system is broken.

You can see it everywhere, in every post.

Why does Seth do what he does?

Because… “the system is broken.”

Seth spent decades developing the ideas for that talk he gave in 2006. But on that day, the words came tumbling out on stage and became his rallying cry, his ‘why,’ and the basis for everything he would do afterward.

THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN is his creed.

What will yours be?

Our world is constructed with a plethora of things to do.

Wake up. Eat breakfast. Get the kids dressed. Go to work. Do work. Come home. Watch the game. Go to bed. Repeat.

Those are just the basics, and already 24 hours are gone just like that. The majority of us are zipping hither and thither every single day, doing our what, without any regard to why.

Certainly you can continue on this path, but you wouldn’t be taking this course if that’s what you really wanted.

No more.

No more will we be people who live to see another day without articulating why on earth we’re on this earth.

“Why, Blaine? Why do you want to make beautiful things?”

“Well, because I’m an artist. That’s what we do,” I said.

“Right, but why?” he asked again.

Like the 8-year-old boy sitting on the cold metal folding chair, I struggled to name my creed as Jarrod, repeatedly, posed his question. I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn’t know why I wanted to do it. I knew I wanted to make beautiful things, but I didn’t know why I wanted to make them.

I knew the world was in need of beautiful things, but why did I dream of being a pivotal part in meeting this need? If making beautiful things was the solution, what was the problem I was solving?

PROBLEM / SOLUTION

I began to think more deeply about the problem I was trying to solve by creating beautiful things. When I stood back and looked at the themes of my life, I saw patterns of wholeness and redemption (something we will talk about later). I went a bit deeper.

Certainly I have experienced redemption, but my life has also carried a ton of disruption and detachment. So something must be broken, yes? And yet, I’m not sure I believe the world itself is broken, even though things within it are.

No, no, the world isn’t broken, it just isn’t finished.

It was put into construction, but the job has yet to be fully completed.

And the core “finish,” if you will, is beauty.

The finishing agent, for me, is art (in all its varied forms).

Thus, my job as an artist is to create beautiful things, and I do it because the world isn’t finished.

And there it was:

The world isn’t finished.

That was the problem I was solving, and those words have become my mantra, my manifesto, my creed.

It will take some time to develop your creed; in fact, it may take all 8 weeks to get it just right. Also, you may find that, as you get to know yourself and your work better, your creed changes. That’s okay!

But – and this is a big BUT – if you don’t do the work of discovering and starting to name your creed right away, you will feel lost – not just in this course, but in your life.

You’ll always be buried under the urgent as you scramble to name the important.

Knowing and naming your creed will give you language to rise above the what and start focusing on the why.

“I believe that – if you are serious about a life of writing, or indeed about any creative form of expression – that you should take on this work like a holy calling. I became a writer the way other people become monks or nuns. I made a vow to writing, very young. I became Bride-of-Writing. I was writing’s most devotional handmaiden. I built my entire life around writing. I didn’t know how else to do this. I didn’t know anyone who had ever become a writer. I had no, as they say, connections. I had no clues. I just began.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

The work of making a holy calling.

You must find out what you believe. Then you must name it. And then you must begin.

Now, let me give you some ways to start thinking about and writing out your own creed. Again, these words will be the driving force of the course. As I’ve already stated, keep in mind that these words you pen during week 1 will very likely change by the time we’re through. I simply want you to start thinking about what you believe today.

Now, it’s time to get to work

Crack open that workbook again and head to the Module One questions. After you’ve got a few words on paper concerning your creed, head over to the Facebook Group and share what you have. It doesn’t have to be formed, or even be good, but you must share something!

Then, after you’ve shared in the forum, comment quickly on at least two other student creeds. This is your community. Make it awesome.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me at blaine@letsmakebetter.com

FYI

Elizabeth Gilbert writes about not having connections as she began her career as a writer. Remember that as a member of Make Better, you have access to hundreds of other makers from around the world. Go to the private Facebook group and say hello. You are not alone!

ADDITIONAL READING & RESOURCES