There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group. There is less competition there. ~ Indira Gandhi Indira Gandhi was the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of India and the only woman to ever hold this office. She is often touted as the greatest prime minster of India and was named Woman of the Millennium by a BBC in 2001. No doubt, a #FearlessFemale. Unfortunately, at some point in her career, she must have been faced with the issue of someone claiming credit for work they did not do, thus her quote. Think about that...The Woman of the Millennium had to deal with her work being claimed by others. Thats a very powerful statement. When you a person that lives, breathes, creates, sparkles, dreams, or even makes payroll for their employees through their creative endeavors, the taking of intellectual property is truly like taking a small little piece of their soul. Its stealing a little piece of sparkle with every claim of ownership that is not rightfully theirs. In some cases, intellectual theft is very clear cut; plagiarism, stealing a business name, stealing a direct business idea. Sometimes, it is shrouded in grey. Often, the outside world doesnt know the history, the background, the steps from where you were to where you are today. To point it out, even though they are in the wrong, becomes trite, convoluted, and begins to reflect poorly on you. Its a catch twenty two, but one that erring on the side of keeping YOUR integrity, is ALWAYS the right choice. But, holy I want to rage against the wrongness, is that easier said than done! I am a champion of collaboration, the free flow of ideas, the sharing of intellect. I have invested in some of my crazy ideas not only with every ounce of my passion, but also with much of my financial resources. (The very first Mardi Gras on Franklin, I put 3,000 shirts on my personal credit card, fingers crossed this whole crazy thing would work! This was the seed in which we were able to begin the crazy adventure that is now the FSEA..thank goodness it worked!). Ideas should be shared, be part of the collective, and good ideas should have the feel as if they belong to all. I love when a spark ignites an entire scene, or street, or community at large. The original vision grows, elaborates, morphs into something so much bigger than you could have ever done on your own, and is ever so much more beautiful in every possible way. The other Gandhi had this to say: An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. Sometimes wrongs cant be righted, because that only makes things worse. Sometimes it is ok to lose an eye. Hell, that actually makes you a pirate! Sometimes your only outlet is a totally vague booked status/novelette, and that is the depth in which you can deal with a situation. It is not always easy to stay above the fray, especially when your tendency is to be a hot headed Italian! But I try. I try REALLY hard. I try to understand the needs in others. I try to forgive. I try to have empathy. Tonight, my try is trying to win over my other instincts....and Ill wake up and try some more tomorrow, and probably the next day, and the next after that! But eventually, this too shall pass, and the try will become it is done. Until then, dont give me any sticks. I dont want anybody to lose an eye. ;-)
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 05:13:24 +0000