Lately my back brain, that dream-crusher, has been creeping in. This is my editor. My editor wishes to keep me small. If ever I begin to create too much happiness, she steps in and puts the kibosh on it, because that is what she has been trained to do over the years. This is my letter to her.
Dear Ms. Editor,
It has recently come to my attention that you have become quite strict on the content that you allow to pass by your trained and skillful eye. While we here at Jilly Enterprises are grateful for your diligence, I have some concern about the lack of creative flow that seems to be occurring. Please let me kindly remind you that we like to encourage our creators to dream big, and allow their artistic abilities to shine forth in whatever form they may come packaged in. No doubt your training has carried you far, and you are quite proud of the work you that you do. However, I need to bring to your attention a specific incident that involves a certain writer for our company. Before I delve in, I would like to let you know that I sincerely appreciate your efforts. I will not choose to have you leave us, but instead believe that with the proper retraining you can and will flourish here.
A few weeks ago, one of our most brilliant writers turned in a piece of work about a journey she had embarked on. She was ecstatic about the work she had done. Leading up to this time, she had indeed been on quite the adventure. She had opened up to me about her doubts that she would ever be any good. I listened to her talk about how badly she wanted to overcome this doubt, and I decided to mentor her so she could do just that. You see, I saw something special in her. While her face showed her fear of the unknown, a fear of failure even, her eyes had this twinkle in them that was rather curious to me. As she continued to speak to me, I knew that she was destined for greatness, if only she could see just how great she was. We began working together a little every day. She would create an idea, and I would assure her that it was wonderful just as she had written it. Over just a short period of time, I began to see a change in her. She stood a little taller, walked with more purpose. She was smiling more often, and looked everyone in the eye. Her whole demeanor began to change. The energy in the room would shift when she entered. The office was abuzz with chatter about how much more positive she was and the inspiration she was creating for our other employees.
Then she turned in that article to you. It was to be her masterpiece. We awaited her triumphant return, and had arranged a little party to celebrate her success. I felt that surely she had overcome her doubts, and knew what a gifted talent she was. Imagine my surprise when those doors opened. The girl who walked through that door was not the same girl that had left my presence just hours before. Her eyes were swollen, her nose runny. She looked straight at the ground, and could barely speak to me when I approached her. I ushered her in to the solitude of my office, and asked her to explain to me what happened. She told me that you had read her work, and then politely told her that it was unacceptable. Nobody would be interested in her story. It would not sell. As if to add insult to injury, you proceeded to fill her pages with red marks, noting that it was not refined enough for the type of work that you send through.
Now, Ms. Editor, I need to be very clear about something. We are not in the business of crushing dreams nor spirits. We are not concerned with refinement. Do you know what I care about? I care about the idea. When I see something one of my wonderful workers has created, do I feel inspired? Do I feel light and fun? Do I dare to take off within my own dreams? Or do I get caught up in grammar, in punctuation?
If you are looking for a company that follows the standard rules, then maybe Jilly really isn’t for you. You see, I know what the rest of the industry does, and I’m not interested. I want something different. I want to break the mold. So my question to you is this…can you dare to be different? Can you push aside all that formal training, that brainwashing about what is acceptable in our line of work? If you will only let go, I think you will find freedom like you have never known. You will see the brilliance that lies within the pages of the stories that are created. You will see what I see…our future.
I have arranged for you to work with me personally over the next few months as a part of your retraining. I will make it my priority to bring you over to my system, a system where joy is encouraged and dreams are our nourishment. You will not regret it, I can promise you that. I look forward to hearing from you if you choose to accept this.
Yours in Success,
The Head Jilly
, and sometimes even people.
