The Beauty of Failure and Imagination

Recently, I had the opportunity to view J.K. Rowling:  The Fringe Benefits of Failure on TED and she talked about two elements that have deeply touched my life at different points; failure and imagination.

As a young girl, my family often talked about my vivid and wild imagination, at times almost making me feel like I was a freak for the places my mind could take me.  It provided me a fearless escape into worlds that only my little mind could imagine and it made me feel that almost anything I could dream was possible.  Now as an adult, it is failure or the fear of it that stalks my thoughts.  As artists, we are certainly not foreigners to rejection and the vulnerability that comes from exposing our deepest selves to the world and as a result, the fear of failure can become daunting and immobilizing. 

However, Rowling speaks on this subject alluding to the fact that failure is necessary for our growth and development as people and then of course as artists.  It provides us the opportunity to learn who we really are, what we are truly made of.  I would agree that once we have experienced failure, this could set us free to really begin to pursue that which is of most importance.  Rowling stated that by experiencing our greatest fears, like failure, we have the opportunity to hit rock bottom, regain our focus on what's important and then begin to build a solid foundation for the future. 

She also reminds us that during adversity or difficult times we also learn who our real friends and supporters are.  Personally and professionally, I went through a very difficult time of discovery of this very fact and decided that I would only continue to be loyal to those who are loyal to me.  As artists, it can be difficult to make that determination because people will attach themselves to us for reasons that are less than altruistic.  So a time of failure might be jus what we need in order to strip away the people and situations that no longer serve us or mean us well.  Rowling reminds us that if we try live so cautiously that we try to avoid failure that we may never allow ourselves to live fully, which is a failure overall.   Failure is a natural part of our overall growth process and one that we as people and especially artists must embrace.

She also spoke on imagination, but in such a unique and touching way that I now see the power of imagination in a new way.  As I mentioned previously, my imagination was something I used very selfishly, as my escape.  Rowling’s helps us see that imagination is also the mechanism we can use to transport our emotions and develop the ability to be empathetic to others and their situations.  I believe empathy allows us to tap into a special part of our being and develop art that can evoke feeling and inspire others, which I believe is the true power of art.

Be it through fictional stories that can take our minds to a special world of our making, or through a piece of art that transforms what the naked eyes see into to something super heroic, imagination allows us to bring the unthinkable to life.


Artists are the individuals who have been chosen to impact the world through their expression, which I believe is the burden and gift of the artist.  This is not and should not be a selfish journey or mission, but one where the artist seeks to change the hearts and minds of those they touch and by doing so ultimately change the world.


Just my thoughts and I'm looking forward to hearing from you.  Until then, do you and creatively mind your business.