The idea of creative mastery is undergoing a revolution – and it’s all thanks to the connective power of the internet.
Inspiring ideas, connections and technologies are helping jump start new industries, collaborations and problem solving techniques. You can find love, an audience and a sense of belonging. More than ever people want to tap into their true selves, then express and share their creative gifts. This shift is transforming how we define, value and measure creative mastery, and a new creative energy is emerging.
With big changes in how we honor and celebrate what we create, it’s time to rethink what creative mastery really means – and how to get there.
How will you know you’ve reached it, and by whose standards is it measured? What alchemy, or process, needs to happen to achieve mastery? Are you seen as a master when you get rich and famous from creative gifts, or when social media likes, reads, listens or shares peak at a magical number?
Or…do you reach “master status” when you embrace everything you create because you understand creative mastery is an ever-evolving process? And ditch what everyone else thinks?
A Foot in Both Creative Worlds
In a world of duality we walk a fine line. We must embrace the idea we are already perfect. At the same time, we are drawn to develop the inner self through relationships, career, creative expression, self-improvement and more. It can be challenging to see yourself as OK, just as you are, and want to change. However, this is the potential of creative mastery as a practice – the space between.
The seeds of creativity start in this void, where there is chaos, change, new ideas and no grounded energy. As a physical person, you need to ground this energy and help it take form. Building something from an idea seed into a more refined phase is a mini-mastery accomplishment. Each time you create something from nothing it becomes a grounded part of your life in the present, and a step closer to creative mastery.
So when inner growth evolves at it’s own pace, who can truly define what mastery is?
Once you have enlightened yourself off the planet? When you can see all sides of yourself, and love them? When you believe you are OK just as you are, while remaining open to developing deeper skills?
Well, the real power is to define creative mastery for yourself.
Connect with your Definition of Creative Mastery
Next time you doubt your mastery, or lose sight of what it means, check out this definition from Merriam Webster. What resonates and what falls flat?
- Full command or understanding of a subject
- Outstanding skill; expertise
- Power of command; control
- Victory or superiority
Think about what being a master inspires in you. What needs or qualities do you associate with “master status”? Write them down.
Then consider these questions to go a little deeper:
- Do you simply want to express your unique self, or appear better than others?
- Is standing out the goal, or an important byproduct of creativity?
- Are you invested in being seen as an expert, or simply sharing what you know to help others?
- Do you feel being a master is tied to rules, a laid out plan or earning a specific certificate?
- Is being of service more about the number of people you help than the ways you can help?
The more you can disconnect from the idea of achieving a specific level of creative mastery, and reconnect with the joy and play as part of the “work”, something beautiful emerges.
The mastery you seek shows up all along the journey as you practice, not just at the “top” when a “goal” is reached. You feel confident taking detours or embracing change because you see everything as part of the path. You know how to transmute chaos into creative mastery through self expression, art, teaching others, learning a new skill, journaling or building new relationships.
Looking even farther beyond the definition of “mastery”, a strong personal practice helps illuminate one of the most powerful traits of any master – the ability to maintain a calm, grounded nature despite external chaos. They connect with the energy of excitement and discord, creating with these energies daily. This is how a true master creates without boundaries.
Remember, it takes a team of masters to shape a master. When each person shines their light by expressing creative gifts, the master within them lights up the master in another, simply by example. This how worldwide collaboration through the internet will continue to shape-shift creative potential in bigger and bigger ways.
So take time to get quiet and practice one of the ultimate skills of creative mastery in any field – listening. What is your heart telling you to create right now? Where you do want to gain more mastery, or share some?
Looking for a little more reading on mastery? Read my previous blog posts Focus on the Small Tweaks to Break New Creative Ground and The Advantage of Sampling vs Mastery. Looking for a little support as you move to a new level of mastery within? Connect with me for an intuitive reading. For insights on how to tap into your own inner wisdom more deeply, check out my podcast, Flirting With Enlightenment.