Ever shared an idea you're really excited about, only to have someone react by saying "It's a great idea, it's really great! But we need to be REALISTIC" ?
Ever shared an idea that you're really excited about, only to have someone
important pipe up with something like…
"It's a great idea. Really great!!! Fun. Very creative. The client will
love it.
Quickly followed by…
“But we need to be realistic"
→
Bet you have.
Reality Mongers are everywhere.
You know how it goes.
Your disruptive and exciting idea is quickly parked.
Then you end up spending months or even years trying to make a realistic
idea great.
Which is impossible.
And stressful.
And a waste of time.
As a creative type, I've come to understand that when someone says this to
you, what they are really saying is…
“That idea changes my understanding of this project, and that makes me
feel nervous. Let's keep everything the same, so I stay in control and we
do what’s expected of us”Having exciting ideas whacked with the Reality stick really hurts.
Often, the situation is made worse by the fact that you probably quite
like that idea-killing Reality Monger.
Probably a good laugh. A good egg. All things considered.
Probably think they are doing the right thing.
Hayden Peek, Founder Rebel Future
David Lynch
David Lynch
What a shame it is then, that being Realistic is completely, and utterly,
and wholeheartedly, and undisputedly, totally, 1000000% wrong.
Like, it’s the complete opposite of what's actually needed to make great
creative work.
David Lynch knew this.
He was a champion for not letting Reality call the shots.
David had the courage, the skill and the intuition to let an unrealistic
idea take control.
You can feel it in every frame of his iconic movies and in every answer in
every interview.
Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway. Mulholland Drive.
All great. And widely loved.
Precisely because of the UNREALITY that made them.
Exactly one year on, David's passing still feels significant.
Perhaps, we all know how rare and special he and his work was. In a world
dominated by the realistic, his work shouldn't have been made. It
shouldn’t exist.
But it was. And it does.
And we all know the world is better for it.
→
So much of the work created by brands and marketers is forgotten
instantly. I hypothesise that much of it is infected with the “thinkingrealistically” virus. And it is a virus. It’s a lack of ambition disguised
as responsibility.
When your business is ideas, it’s a full on attack. It’s a way to push you
and your work into the great pool of the forgotten. Reality is death.
So next time someone says to you…
“nice idea, but we need to be realistic”
Remind them of David and his distinctly unrealistic point of view.
Because that will live forever.
Read more about this iconic image of David Lynch shot by Chris Saunders
