It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Years ago, as a young pastor, I "borrowed" a sermon from my father. Now, I had grown up listening to my dad preach my entire life. He's a great communicator, and when I was new to this "preaching thing", I naturally went back to things I had heard him do and say, and I "borrowed" them. This worked well, because at 22 years of age, I didn't have a lot of experience. Everything was good until my father came to guest speak at the church I was at, and he preached a message that I had already preached. Standing at the door that day, a man came up to my dad and told him how nice it was that he was using his sons material.
Of course I thought this was hilarious, and I worked hard to be a little more careful in the future.
Now it's 34 years later, and I still "borrow" material, not only from my dad but from many others.
Jim Burns, a lifelong mentor of mine said:
"The essence of creativity is the ability to copy."
You'll notice that I haven't used the word "steal" yet. There's a difference between "copying" and "borrowing" vs. "stealing".
My definition is this:
*We can copy, imitate, borrow or be inspired by others, by their ideas, by their words, by their actions, as long as we don't claim credit for those ideas, words or actions. We all can be inspired by others, but we have to give credit.
*When we steal, copy, use others ideas, words and actions and claim them as our own, we're in trouble! Look back at the computer wars of the 80's to see the litigation and lawsuits flying over who owned what intellectual property.
Today I want to tell you Why I Copy Others:
• I'm a LEARNER. I'm inspired by what others are doing. This is why I love reading biographies or listening to podcasts that tell a story. I want to learn from their stories.
• I don't like PAIN. I also want to learn from the mistakes, failures and experiences of others. People that will share their story are inspiring. It helps me avoid some of the mistakes they made and moves my vision further, faster. I'll have enough pain of my own.
• I can't do EVERYTHING WELL. Don't tell my wife this, but the truth is, I'm not good at everything. I see what others are doing and if it works, I mimic it. Mimic means to "imitate or copy". I also adapt it to my situation and my needs. Just because it works someplace else doesn't mean it will work with me. I mimic and give credit, I don't mimic and steal.
• I can FOCUS. When I am able to copy, adapt, mimic and borrow ideas from others, this saves me time to focus on the things that only I can accomplish. It's a time saver. I go to school on the backs of other leaders, other organizations. The work they have done benefits me, and hopefully there will be things I am doing now that will benefit others.
• It's BIGGER than me. It's not about me owning everything. I want to be a part of something bigger. I want to credit others with things I've learned from them. I want others to learn from my mistakes and my failures. I want others to succeed. I want to impact the Kingdom, not just my own world. When someone "mimics" something that I do, I take that as a compliment.
BUT....
• NEVER take the credit for something you didn't do. Share where the inspiration comes from, talk about where you first saw this idea, get permission if needed, but be generous with your "credit".
• NEVER use something you get from someone else to compete with them. This isn't a competition. Everyone needs to win.
• NEVER convince yourself that it was all your doing. Realize the countless people that have spoken into your life, helped teach you, shape you, mold you. Realize that all of us are a product of so many people investing into our development.
I still use some of my dads material. It's good stuff. But I'm proud to share where it came from and why I think the idea and the thought is so good.
Sharing this doesn't make me look bad.
Not sharing it is what makes me look foolish.
"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas, worry about the day they stop." Jeffrey Zeldman
"Picasso had a saying, 'Good artists copy, great artists steal.' and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas." Walter Isaacson
"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9