About twenty years ago, I was a clown in a show run by a large corporation. I was fun, I was wild. I would get big responses from the crowds. I interacted so much and came up with fun games to play that got people laughing …at least this is how I remember it .
The corporate people saw what I was doing one day and thought one of my bits was a little bit to edgy for their show. I got a note from the director (who was very generous, patient, and a fan of me). Yeah, I guess I could not do that thing.
Next day, three shows. New note at each show. Each show, a new thing I couldn’t do. The director told me, they’re watching me. It’s going to be an overreaction because they’re very sensitive to every little thing I do. He was wise. It was right. Also, those people giving notes were not entertainment people. They were like HR people from the company. It was more dangerous for them to not say anything than for them to make the show worse.
Next day, two more things I couldn’t do.
The director told me to just do the same things the other clowns did. I took this direction. The notes continued. I eventually wasn’t allowed to do the things the other clowns did either. I wasn’t allowed to touch anyone or come within 5′ of a child (it was a family show). …at least this is how I remember it. Seems impossible in reflection.
The director told me that limitation can be the fuel for creativity. I wish I would have sat down and really talked to him about this because I didn’t understand it. Now, I understand it. Now, I know that he was right, but also wrong. Limitation is the fuel for all creativity.
To me, at the time, creativity was about endless expansion. It was about freedom and breaking down all barriers. No rules. No laws. No reality could hold creativity back.
I didn’t understand that the greatest things I had ever created or would create were only appreciated by anyone because of the walls that surround them. The stronger the walls, the more creative the exploration.
This is not a story of me being a hero. I didn’t do well in this situation. I felt bullied. I felt like a martyr. I felt like my ability to do the job was completely neutered. I stopped trying. I was mischievous. I was unprofessional, and I was not awesome.
If I could go back and talk to myself, I would like to tell me about what the limits will do for me in the future. I would tell myself to look at the limit, then look at the big playground next to it. I would tell myself when people see what limits were facing me in my next inventions, they will be inspired by how I flourished.
This is a time for all of us where many limits are in our faces. The good news is they’re in everyone’s faces. Rarely do we have a chance to create with such a spotlight on our battle. Let’s create great things and give our audiences miracles.