Whence Comes Such Genius?

"Do you find that you get nervous when you see your child simply doing nothing ... that your left eye starts twitching when you see him lying on his back staring up at the ceiling? Take a long deep breath. Walk away."

"Maybe he is thinking. Perhaps he is composing a song, or a poem. He might be following the path of a tiny spider as it makes its way across the molding. He might be contemplating earwax and its many possible uses."

"It doesn't matter. Leave your child alone. Go find something to do."

That's Christie Mellor and she is spot on.

Now read this again, slowly, and substitute "air talent" or "Program Director" for "child."

I've worked for clock-watchers. I've had to protect some of my most creative team members from clock-watchers. You probably have as well. Some managers cannot abide anyone apparently doing nothing productive on their dime.

One of the worst things about working inside a consolidated cluster is the sheer volume of busy work that must be done, leaving those who might be a creative resource no time to dream.

No time to let their inner child play.

If you have the authority to change that, even a bit, even an hour a day, or one day a month, do it.

Whence comes such genius? I'm glad you asked. It comes from idling. It comes from time without expectation.

Dreams are where all genius waits.