Sunday, June 12, 2011

The Creative Rebel









In my ongoing research and exploration into Remote Influencing (RI), I am finding more and more information and ideas which are connected with RI. Please refer to my article, Remote Influencing and Creativity for more info. Remote Influencing is a creative and it is a powerful system which is evolving, changing and improving over time.




I have always had a creative drive. I would move to the beat of a diffferent drum. I was somewhat of an eccentric as well. My mode of dress would be different to others also. I admired Bruce Lee and James Dean when I was young. These actors were both highly creative. I had a rebellious streak during my younger years. I wish I could have nurtured my creative energies properly during those times. However, my research has shown me that it is never too late to learn and that learning can happen throughout a person's life - I am learning to re-ignite my creative passions, fire and drive.




Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Founder.




Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook while he was studying at Harvard. Mark did not complete his degree. Mark is one of the youngest billionaires in the world. Mark was a creative rebel who had a liking for punk music. I will elaborate upon the punk music topic and I will explain how this interest helped Mark to become more creative a little later in this article. The movie ' The Social Network ' is based on Mark's discovery of Facebook. However, there were some errors in the ways in which Mark was portrayed in the movie.




Although the film portrays Mark's creation of Facebook as a way to elevate his status for not getting into any of the elite finals clubs at Harvard, Zuckerberg himself has stated that he had no interest joining the finals clubs.




Mark clearly exhibited the signs of a creative rebel and a genius. He wasn't into being part of the 'in' crowd and being popular etc. Instead, he focused his energies on his creative endeavor - Facebook. This hard work paid off in the end.




Punk Philosophy and DIY.




In the punk subculture, the DIY ethic is tied to punk idealogy and anticonsumerism, as a rejection of the need to purchase items or use existing systems or processes.




When Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook, he improved upon an existing social networking idea and he turned his idea into reality through his own and through the efforts of his business partners. He did not bring in outside professional help to get the idea off the ground. In fact, the business was started in his dorm room.




Punk comes from a long tradition of social movements and entertainment forms aimed at dissent. Punk music, zines, posters and clothes were produced not by corporate machines but individual participants and punks rejected mainstream incorporation of their music and culture. The DIY culture established punk against other forms of mainstream music and production which many punks saw as controlled and driven by capitalistic greed. DIY also meant punks participated in culture created by and for them, with no rules except what organically developed from the interactions of participants in the community.




by Hannah Hickman




Through reading the above info, I can ascertain that Mark used some of the punk punk philosophy to help channel his energies to making Facebook a concrete reality. Mark created the Facebook model and it has and continues to work extremely well. I am not saying that Mark depended solely on his interest in punk music to inspire him. However, it is one of the things which helped to boost his creative levels.




Creativity and Rebelliousness.




Here is some information which shows how creativity and rebelliousness are connected:




Creativity is change. It's the fresh and new. It's connecting things that have never been connected before.




Every single original creative act that you undertake is a strike to the status quo of the world. Ever wonder why being creative is sometimes such a struggle?




Most people set up their whole lives to maintain the status quo and here you come to change things. Remember that you are a rebel. If you trying to sell a really fresh idea, you either have to face this opposition or go underground and release your ideas gradually or pad them in some acceptable way. Find other rebels and join with them.




Anything you do from inventing a new kind of cupcake to decorating your house with 100 preserved owls is going to challenge people. They are going to call you stupid, wasteful and a dreamer.




No matter how small, truly creative acts are rebellious. Stand strong, you are not alone.




Conforming is the opposite of creativeness and in order to be creative, creative people must be noncomforming and go against the norm.




David Wahl




When we break down punk music and the philosophy behind punk music, we see that punk is about being creative and expressing oneself in the way that they want and feel comfortable with. Punks would create their own clothes through modifying existing clothes. They did this so as to go against the mainstream store bought fashions and industries. Ironically, mainstream fashion caught onto these punk fashions and the started to create and sell punk fashion through their stores.




Conclusion.




The links between creativity and rebelliousness are undeniable. It is good to be rebellious to some extent. Extremes of anything are not good though. We should strive for a balance. When creating and implementing new and creative ideas, we have to learn to strengthen ourselves so that we do not let the views and opionions of others, prevent us from turning our ideas into reality. This is where our emotional intelligence and our inner strengths and personal powers come into play.




If a person wants to become successful in whatever they do, they should be willing and open minded enough to use many ideas, methods, techniques and philosophies etc. It is a matter of being flexible and open in the means we use in order to attain success. If a certain method does not work, we should try the next one. We can also modify the methods we use as needed. Being a creative rebel is just part of what is needed if a person is succces oriented. What has all of this got to do with Remote Influencing? Remote Influencing is a highly creative system and its essence is creative in nature.