Mark Twain exhibited great humility and presence of mind in his pre-pre-pre-digital age autobiographical declaration: “There is no such thing as a new idea… We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations.”
Perhaps there is no original thought – lest we diminish authentic creation with the source code of our own unique fabrications.
My lens is certainly that of a #Girldad. I see the acceleration of a world waking up to the remarkable flourishing of ingenuity women are initiating globally. My wonder grows daily at the multitude of permutations each of our five little ones displays. Old jokes and routines are made new simply by being re-told and re-enacted by a different player on the stage. So much to be learned by watching as they themselves learn. And explore. And roll out the edges of their own comfortable voice.
Are we that much different as we advance in life? University (aka college) provides for many a clean slate to refresh one’s interpretation of themselves. Influences come from the obscure character in the physics lab and the random road trip to the liberal arts school your roommate’s sister attends eight hours away. Then, as we take up our first job, and even the second or third, we are provided new environments to reassess and reinvent as we mature. Finally achieving status comes with work product attributable to our own effort, personalized by all that we have taken in over the years. As we subsequently define our personal brand and the experience that accompanies it, we lift others up and harken back to those who paved the way.
At birth, we arrived on a scene our forebears created. After several earnest twists of the kaleidoscope, they produced greater feats of engineering, agriculture, medicine and interpersonal communication. Each improvement geared to innovate, augment and enhance the color and seasoning of our own authenticity, someday. And here we are. Making life just a touch better for those who follow us.
Do we not all inherit a world – a life – whose history is the creation of those who have gone before us? Do we not all find at some point in our journey, the burning internal mission to improve the world and leave our mark? However seemingly small in the grand scheme, we all contribute and collaborate in our own way.
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”
-Oscar Wilde
Il Punto: High performers often experience a deceleration of productivity. This plateau becomes apparent as creativity stalls. Pro hack: dig deep into your bag of prior experiences and the plethora of content others have compiled and put out there in the ether. I endorse the C.A.S.E. Methodology, where you Copy and Supplement Everything. We are not talking plagiarism, rather, improvement upon your unique interpretation and collection of experiences. Of course, proper acknowledgement of works cited are a must.
After all, what started as Clemens we recognize now as the supplemented Twain.
Picture credits to Ken Burns, PBS – thanks!
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