Tuesday night my dear friend Katrina took me to see the Punch Brothers (lead by Chris Thile, formerly of Nickel Creek) for my birthday. All I can say is, if you enjoy watching people who are creative and incredibly gifted, you should go see them. And that watching Chris Thile play the mandolin both inspires and simultaneously incredibly discouraging
Here’s them playing ‘New York City’ live.
And here’s their cover of Radiohead’s Kid A (even if you don’t like Radiohead, it’s pretty impressive).
I’m reading a book right now that is all about becoming an artist. Not like Van Gogh or Picasso, but a creator. Someone who does things that are unscripted and different and inspired. (I’ll write all about the book when I finish it.)
But it got me thinking about the people in my life who are idea builders. You know what I mean? The people who you want to share your ideas with, your dreams with, your “maybe this is crazy, but what do you think about…” with? Why do we want to share our outrageous ideas with some people but not with others? I think we all know the difference between the people in our lives who are idea builders and people who are idea busters.
Builders sound like this:
Busters sound like this:
Sometimes idea busters say they are just being realistic. And sometimes they are asking questions that need to be asked. However, we all need people who are builders in our lives. People who encourage (and sometimes shove) us to follow the ideas that we just can’t shake.
The older I get, the more I find these are the people I respect and admire the most. Because they are life breathing and fun and optimistic and not afraid to take risks.
Busters are boring and cynical.
Who are your idea builders?
And (even scarier) are you a builder to others? Or have you become an idea buster?
sarah.e.knepper 