Growing Up Creative 4: Be Professional 100% of the Time.

Everybody's heard descriptions of artists as flaky, flighty people who are not very reliable. They dress funny, they show up late, they stay up all night doing creative things and then sleep all day. They don't have to be reliable because they are "creative."

Huh?

(Okay maybe the dressing funny part is true sometimes.)

Here's a news flash. Many of the best artists and creative people you will ever see are also the most organized, professional people in the world.

Think about what it takes to get a movie made. All those people, sets, props, equipment, lights, cameras, scripts, food, trailers, shooting locations, on and on. Do you think a flaky person can get all that pointed in one direction and end up with a movie? Not likely.

Yet are people who make movies creative? Um, I think most people would say Steven Spielberg and Spike Lee and Martin Scorcese and Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford are just a tad creative.

My drawing table has to be organized. I need to be able to find my materials when I need them. I need to be able to scan my files, and put my cartoons in a database so when someone says, "I want to pay you money to use that cartoon you did about such-and-such," I can find it right away.

So here's the thing. No matter what you want to do in life, be professional. Show up when you are supposed to. Do what you say you are going to do. Be there at call time. Get your drawings in by the deadline. Be someone people can count on. Because it's a lot more fun doing awesome creative things with people who want to work with you, than it is getting passed over because you messed up last time and people don't want to work with you again.

Oh, and if you aren't screwing around with finding stuff and being late, you have more time to be, you guessed it, creative.