Self-Discipline

I thought I had at least thumbed through most books written about creativity, but somehow up until now, I had missed this one called "Creating a Life Worth Living" by Carol Lloyd.  It was written in 1997, so it isn't new.  Just new to me.  (And I am sure that there are others out there I have missed!)

I can't tell you that it's a great book yet, because I'm really only on the first chapter.  And I know how these "self-help" type books can be.  The first few chapters might be great, but then it becomes very rendundant, and what sounded so fantastic in the beginning loses it's steam when it's repeated over and over.

But so far, so good.   I  liked the first chapter, and I like the way all of the chapters are set up.  There are 12 chapters, meant to be read over 12 weeks.  What I'm most interested in, at least so far, is the interview at the end of the chapter.  In the first chapter, she interviews a painter, David Lloyd, about his creative life.

Here was the specific question and answer in the interview I found so thought provoking:

Q: Where did you learn self-discipline?

A:  I don't know if I have self-discipline in the traditional sense: paying your bills, doing the dishes, going to the studio every day and working a certain amount, doing everything you're supposed to do because you're responsible.  I don't know that I am.  A lot of artists aren't that self-disciplined.  It's kind of bullshit.  What happens is an artist gets interested in something and then they get very selfish about it and they're willing to push other things aside in their life just to follow something that they find interesting.  It's more of an obsessive quality where you want to see what happens with something.  You just keep doing it and everyone says, "Oh, gee, you're so disciplined."  Forget the fact that you have no money or the landlord's p.o.'d.  It's a matter of following what you're interested in.  Because it doesn't take any discipline to do what you're interested in.  It's a funny thing.  It takes a lot of discipline to do what you don't want to do.  And that goes back to doing what you like, doing what's fun.  That's one of the secrets to making art.  It's this weird paradox that people seem to think it's supposed to be hard and not fun and then they don't do it and they wonder why.  Well, who ever does anything they don't want to do unless they have to.

He goes on to say, "...One of the secrets of supporting yourself as an artist, whether you're young or old or anytime, is don't get too involved in a day job.  It's a rare artist that can work 40 to 50 hours a week at a demanding job and then go make art. Most people are just too burnt.  I say live as cheap as you can.  Time is better than money.  If you can figure out a way to get by, work part-time.  And most people don't believe they can do that.  They say, "Oh, you have to work 40 hours a week plus benefits and stuff..."Maybe, maybe not.  I know a lot of artists who have gotten by."

I like the way he seems to encourage taking the path of least resistance.  It's always good to be reminded of that.

If you have a favorite book on the topic of creativity, I hope you'll share it in the comment section!