Andy Warhol created the famous Marilyn Monroe montage below.  It probably took him a while and I’m sure the original is worth millions.

I created this montage of my dog Ziggy in 20 minutes using a filter on my Pixel 2 phone and PowerPoint.

Has easy creativity “cheapened” creativity? 

No, I don’t think technology is narrowing the gap between real talent and tech-stimulated creativity.   Technology is enabling those of us not making a living as artists to be able to enjoy being creative without a steep learning curve.  “Ziggy Warhol” was fun to make, and now fun to write about.  I don’t think Andy Warhol, if alive, would feel threatened.

I’ve been getting more done, a LOT more done, stimulated by the book, Deep Work, which has encouraged me to work in pockets of focused time. Now I’m thinking about how to use a bit of the time gained to relax.   

But 

When I relax, I’m haunted by the feeling that I am wasting time while being unproductive.  

This is truly disappointing. When I was working all the time in a disarray of unrelated tasks, I had less guilt about being unproductive because I was busy. True, I was frustrated at how little meaningful work I was accomplishing, but at least I was working a lot. 

There is so much negativity and I’m part of it.  When I saw this ad, I had some really critical, snarky thoughts about it, as well as about other ridiculous ads that I feel are disingenuous and insulting.  I started to write a blasting commentary about the responsibility of businesses to uphold the Colorado brand of collaboration and integrity.

After writing my first draft of this post, I listened to the Brian Buffini podcast episode “You Are a Diamond,” and it put me in a positive frame of mind.  I started thinking of this post and decided I was being too negative and critical.  With a lightened attitude I saw this ad as funny – the silliness of a ONCE in a LIFETIME EVENT has been HELD OVER! by the same company whose last ad was a “Private Sale” advertised in the Denver Post.  The more I think about it, the more humorous it all is.  So?

So that brings me to the NEW point of this post: listening to something positive turned me from having a critical and negative outlook, to feeling upbeat and acting positively.  This silly ad reminded me of what so many have taught: my attitude shapes the lens of my entire perspective.    

Recently I received a response from a communications director that felt like this photo.

I had invited his CEO to be a guest of the PROCO360 podcast and the snooty gist of the response was that the CEO is a very important and busy man.  His time cannot be wasted, so I must first convince the gatekeeper of the merit of my invitation.  Only then might my request be added to many from the throngs of admirers.

PROCO360 is a labor of love.  I take satisfaction in NOT interviewing jerks which this CEO must be, so I sent a reply to the communications director that his CEO would not be a fit.

I later met the CEO who is a lover of Colorado and Colorado business, and he’s a nice guy.  We were having a great conversation and the PROCO360 show came up.  He said he loves the mission and he’d like to be a guest on the show.  I said, “that’s interesting – I’d ruled you OUT.”  As you’d expect, that made him curious, then profoundly apologetic.  We worked things out and he’ll be on the podcast.

Do you know how your gatekeeper is making you look?