The Long Game: best road to creativity and success?
Have you ever wondered why some people are more successful than others? Is it because they are inherently more talented, or do they possess some skills that others do not have?
Throughout history, highly successful people; geniuses, have had one thing in common: they played the long game of life.
What’s the long game? It could be called failure, rejection, or defeat. It should be called an important part of the creative process. In other words, or Robert Greene’s words, “a largely self-directed apprenticeship that lasts some five to ten years [and] receives little attention because it does not contain stories of great achievement of discovery.”
Therein lies the problem: these struggles of self-discovery are what make the creative process grand. Everyone struggles. Every single person struggles. And especially in the creative fields, struggle has a way of fine-tuning and refocusing your creative attentions.
Take da Vinci for example
For example, Leonardo da Vinci faced set back after set back in his career. He was rejected on more than one occasion and spent sixteen years drawing, sketching, and prototyping without a client in sight. He had sixteen years of simply creating work for himself. Marie Curie spent seven years in poverty living in Paris while she studied and researched radioactivity. Stephen King wrote every day for nine years before he sold his first novel.
What does the amount to? Just because you are not getting paid, does not mean that the creative process should stop. In fact, it is better for the process to continue. In our fast-paced, instant-gratification world, people have a hard time waiting. People have a hard time working at their craft. They want what they want when they want it. But, if history has taught us anything, it is that persistence pays off; because while you may suffer through your difficult period, you will emerge on the other side a stronger, more resilient artist. By skipping over these difficult periods, we are devaluing the long game. While the short game may have benefits, it does not teach nearly as much.
Inspirational video about the Long Game
Here is a short video from Delve that explain the process a bit further:
Robert Lominick Jr.
April 27, 2014 at 7:36 pm
This is a great story about being successful
Robert Lominick Jr.
April 27, 2014 at 8:01 pm
Being successful in the USA today and living the American Dream are under attack.. Our current so called “president” was raised as a communist and his faith was always muslim.. This explains why he hates this country and always has.. He was taught to hete this country from childhood. He is against everything that made this country great, CAPITALISM is what he hates the most as he believes rich people got there by stealing it or by taking advantage of others.. This is not true at all. Most millionairs got that way by working hard, getting educated, working hard, never giving up, going through failure after failure, but never giving up… obama hates success, he is punishing and demonizing people who are successful.. Democrates are socialist,marxist,communist who believe in obama’s new idea of “INCOME INEQUALITY”. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO ACHEIVE INCOME INEQUALITY… ITS CALLED COMMUNISM !!! OBAMA TREATS THE RICH AS IF THEY WERE A STATIC GROUP WHO ARE ALWAYS THE SAME.. NOT TRUE AT ALL, PEOPLE BECOME MILLIONAIRS ONE DAY AND LOSE IT THE NEXT.. Look at Forbes magazine they list the top income earners and it changes all the time.. The richest 1% pay 30% of all taxes paid. The top 10% pay 50% of all taxes paid. All this garbage about the rich not paying there “fair share” is a LIE, told by the left.. The top 20% earners employ 60% of the workforce.. obama demonizing the rich is like biting the hand that feeds him.. The government cannot survive without the private sector.. The government now employes 22 million people, far too many, considering all the offices obama opened and staffed to enforce the 6,000 new regulations he puts out each month.. He is forcing thousends of small buisnesses out of buisness.. Our economy is in the toilet because all democrats do is tax and spend, tax and spend.. Constantly raising taxes and sneaking taxes in all the regulations.. Conservatives want small government that gets out of the way of Americans so they can achieve success.. Conservatives want lower taxes to stimulate the economy and make this country great again.. obama has turned the entire world against us, The USA is now hated by all.. He has alienated all our allies and turned them against us as well.. obama is fully supporting our muslim enemies, he has sent then numerous F-16’s and millions of taxpayers money, to be used to kill Americans.. OBAMA IS A TRAITOR, HE IS A MEMBER OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD. HE IS DESTROYING THIS COUNTRY ON PURPOSE..
Robert Lominick Jr.
April 27, 2014 at 8:17 pm
OBAMA WANTS TO DO AWAY WITH OUR CONSTITUTION.. WHEN THAT HAPPENS IT WILL BE FULL ON COMMUNISM.. HE IS SELLING US OUT AND LYING ALL THE WAY, THE LIBERAL MEDIA ARE COMPLICITE IN THIS CRIME.. WHY DO YOU THINK HE IS MILITARIZING THE POLICE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.. HOMELAND SECURITY BOUGHT TANKS AND HEAVY ARTILLERY ALONG WITH BILLIONS OF ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION TO BE USED AGAINST US !! I GUESS WHEN HE DECIDES TO ANNOUCE HIS DICTATORSHIP HE WILL ENFORCE MARSHALL LAW.. WHY DO YOU THINK HE IS AFTER OUR GUNS AND CONSTITUTION ?? HE IS A COMMUNIST,MARXIST, mUSLIM EXTREMIST.. HE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL HE IS IMPEACHED.. HE MAY EVEN CHANGE LAWS SO HE CAN STAY IN OFFICE.. OBAMA IS A TYRANT, A WANNA BE DICTATOR, DO NOT BE FOOLED..