The 12 Days of Creativity… Day 4

Posted on Dec 17, 2011

Station 4 in The Wheel of Creativity is Launch.

You have only to type the word launch into your Internet browser to see the range of its influence today. You can find thousands of success tips to:

Launch a business
Launch a new product
Launch an ebook
Launch a new brand
Launch a website
Launch a hedge fund

… and many more. The commercial world has co-opted the word from its first meaning. The word Launch originated around 1300 with the Latin lanceare (to wield a lance); it passed through the old French lancher (to fling, hurl, throw or cast); and by 1600 it had come to refer to any new beginning. I see it slightly differently than the commercial world.

The first three stations in the Wheel of Creativity comprise the Vision Quarter and give direction and energy to your desire. In Station 4 you must launch yourself into a new quarter, Exploration, where you finally leave the shore of the status quo and set out into the unknown. Your action harnesses your creative energy and begins to make your vision real.

Station 4 takes what it takes. Preparation and planning are crucial to a successful journey, but perfectionism can kill you on the launch pad. Eventually you must simply break the cords, let go of the shore and leave home.

In June 2001, I put my belongings in storage in Colorado, sent my beloved cats to visit my cousin in Texas, and booked my ticket to London. I set out in my Jeep Cherokee with a plan to visit friends and cousins in other states, after which I would begin my “walkabout.” By the time I finally got on the plane, I had spent three months saying my goodbyes and changed my departure date 10 times. I was afraid to let go.

The moment of launch may be exhilarating, but the months leading up to it are not easy.

So, today, as you sit with a deep desire burning its way up through your heart, ask yourself: