S: SYSTEMATIC FAILURE THEORY
EVERYTHING ALWAYS GOES WRONG. IT’S WHAT KEEPS YOU THINKING AND CREATING. THE DAY EVERYTHING SEEMS RIGHT, THERE MUST BE SOMETHING TERRIBLY WRONG.
“Outsiders think of Silicon Valley as a success, but it is, in truth, a graveyard. Failure is Silicon Valley’s greatest strength. Every failed product or enterprise is a lesson stored in the collective memory. We don’t stigmatize failure; we admire it. Venture Capitalists like to see a little failure in the résumés of entrepreneurs.” — Mike Malone (author)
One of the dangers for beginning artists is success. This may sound counterintuitive, but early success can be a real threat to the longevity of a career. It is not because you are successful that your work is any good. Success in an early stage is reflected by good sales. With the exception of some real artistic geniuses, we assume 95% of you don’t or won’t make their best work at the start.
Many artists are, during that stage, encouraged and praised by family and friends. Most beginning artists don’t get in touch with art professionals outside of art school. Family and friends have no doubt about your genius. Take care of them since you do need them to get started, but don’t let them mislead you! They can be harmful in the essential first steps into the professional world of art. It’s easy to swallow praise. Shiny lights easily blind, but can provoke a slowdown in creativity.
Don’t go with the flow. Chose the path others won’t choose. Embrace challenges and love crisis situations. It makes work more interesting and fun.
Christo worked for more than 20 years on one project. Imagine all the meetings and troubles and impasses he encountered! But picture him the day he saw the Reichstag wrapped in his creation. What an accomplishment! What fulfilment!
“Many people dream of success. Success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection. Success represents the one percent of your work that results from the 99 percent that is called failure.” — Soichiro Honda (founder Honda
)Many great successes are results of failure. Champagne for instance, was ‘invented’ by a monk named Dom Perignon; a bottle of wine accidentally had a second fermentation. Columbus failed in finding India. He discovered America. Oops! A drug to relieve high bloodpressure failed. However, Viagra was born! Hef couldn’t be any luckier!
