“Repurpose Like A Builder”
Reuse and Recycle Old Material
We recently moved house and the shed in the back garden had seen better days. In all honesty it hardly had any days left. So, a handyman friend and I got to work. We had an old wardrobe. An old sheet of plywood. A chest of drawers and the dilapidated shell of the original shed. Time for some repurposing.
We used the old plywood as a new base, the drawer bases to cover the broken windows and the old wardrobe to make a new roof (along with a bit of felt – can you believe I had to buy that new!). The end result? With a lick of paint, it looks brand new. In fact, my neighbours couldn’t stop talking about it. “Have you seen Stew’s new shed?!”
We need to repurpose when it comes to our creative endeavours. Especially when we are stuck in a corner, staring at a blank screen, page, or canvas. The end results can be fantastic.
Look around at what you’ve already got:
Look in your garage: Go through your old tweets, perhaps years old tweets. Rifle through old essays, even old school essays if you still have any. Old diary’s, notebooks, and journals. Let your old self Inspire you.
If that doesn’t help….
Call in the builders:
A great trick promoted by Dickie Bush is the advanced Twitter search. Let your heroes inspire you. Look at what worked on twitter for the people you like reading. Then don’t just copy and paste. Rather, ask yourself:
1. What’s the key idea they were expressing?
2. What was their thinking?
3. How did it help me?
4. How can it help others?
Go to the library:
They can be the most inspiring of places. Or look at your own personal library. Have a few books that get your thinking going and give you the kick you need. Some suggestions that I love:
“The War of Art” - Steven Pressfield
“Steal Like and Artist” - Austin Kleon
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