There is a desperate desire in all of us to be original. We want to be unique, write in our own voice and pass on ideas that we came up with, all on our own.
That’s not going to happen. Thanks to Kirby Ferguson’s hard work, we can all see that nearly every idea we think is original is based on something we’ve already seen or something someone else heard someone mention that they read that someone else wrote.
No matter if you’re talking about the one time at that conference where someone did something crazy, that business meeting where the client said something funny or that time your kid was cuter than anything that’s ever been done before, you’re likely not the first.
That doesn’t mean all is hopeless. For instance, this could have happened yesterday:
I put my coffee on the middle console and walked around to the back door. I placed my bag in the back, I slammed the door and hopped into the driver’s seat, eager to get to my meeting on time. After starting the car, I realized my seat was far warmer than normal. My car smelled a lot like coffee. I reached out for my coffee cup, but it wasn’t there. It had spilled on my seat and the cup had fallen into the back.
Seems like a normal occurrence. You MAY not have had this exact thing happen, but a variation? Likely. How can we make that same instance FEEL original, even if it isn’t? Easy – add our emotion.
The day sucked already. Not only was I late to my next appointment, but my coffee hadn’t yet cooled to drinking temperature. All I wanted was a deep sip of warm, full-bodied coffee with just enough caffeine to get my brain through the fog. Deep breaths, I told myself as I hopped in the car. Just be patient and everything will be okay. Just start the car, pull out of the parking spot and take a pull on that coffee. Oh god, am I sweating already? Seriously? Lower-back sweat? It’s not even hot outside! So much for needing that hot coffee.
Crap. That IS my hot coffee.
Same situation, same characters and props. Totally different approach.
Which one would you rather read?
Thanks for the post. Great information as I knew of some of the sampling that Led Zeppelin did. Looking forward to coming episodes.