Imagine you’re an artist. Imagine you’re successful. Imagine there’s no other way to get paper. You have chosen a career and there’s no turning back. And now imagine your passion is gone!

It happens all of the time.

For us creative types it happens more often than not.

But why?

Although many things can contribute to the assassination of creative passion, more often than not one reason is always in the top ten — the people you associate with are too much like you.

Creative types need constant stimulation.

Yet if we allow ourselves to remain in environments where people are one-dimensional or share all of our beliefs and ideas, we lose the edge necessary to take our readers to new heights. A great writer can easily find himself in a den of passionate Black Panthers or in a corner at a Klan meeting.

Sometimes the more uncomfortable we feel the more passionate the work.

Does it mean we should constantly place ourselves in situations that threaten the heart? No. But we should be sure to keep the mind open at all times. And if we are always around those who feel and believe the way we do we limit our perspective. This is a luxury we can’t afford as writers.

I’m a bar hopper by trade.

Always have been.

Although I have friends and family members I can roll with at any time, sometimes I prefer to go alone. After I make sure to detonate any idea that the person I’m meeting is going to hit the skins, I’m always amazed at the people I meet and how easily we strike up a conversation. I’ve met multi-millionaires who’ve never had a conversation with a black female socially, to prostitutes who sell a shot of pussy or two on the Internet.

Whether you’re an artist or not, keep your mind open to new people. Keep your heart soft. We all can’t take a trip to the Bahamas every weekend but you’d be surprised the places you can go mentally just by participating in a few minutes of stimulating conversation.

Check out my latest book here.