I’ve always had a vivid imagination. This imagination led to me becoming something of a storyteller growing up. And by storyteller, I mean liar. It probably started by trying to get out of trouble; and because it worked (or at least delayed the inevitable), it led to more lying. About other things. About everything. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a bad kid. I just had truth issues. I think my mom resented my imagination because of where it took me.
This character flaw continued into early adulthood when I learned quickly enough that dishonesty didn’t sit well with the majority of society. Then something happened when I turned 27 that caused me to do a complete 180 in terms of how I dealt with, well, everything. I got honest with myself, and then everything else. One of the most important things I learned about honesty came from a former boss in Manhattan who told me, “Always tell the truth, there’s less to remember.” Ironically, he later served prison time for fraud. But his advice stuck with me and is now something like a personal mantra. It is easier to be honest. Even when it’s easy to lie.
I’ve recently read some things about the correlation between creativity and dishonesty. From this (confusing) Huffington Post article on the subject, to my friend Ben Kunz’s Google+ post, the idea of creativity and dishonesty is something I’ve always thought about. Especially considering my childhood–and the fact that I’m an advertising copywriter.
I remember telling my mother that I was going into advertising. Her response was something like, “That’s fitting.” We don’t have such a great reputation in advertising for telling the truth. Which is a damn shame. I mean, if you lie about something–you do more damage than good. Lying doesn’t work. And even if it does in the short term, building a reputation as an agency or creative person who relies on lying as a creative tactic–yeah, that’s not going to last.
I’ve never lied about a client’s product or service. Ever. I firmly believe that there’s a sellable truth in everything. The first trick is discovering the sellable truth. The second trick is articulating that truth so that people mobilize. And no, this isn’t easy. It requires the use of innovation. I rely on my imagination to help rearrange existing truths (facts) to solve problems that mobilize hearts, brains, and wallets. And it’s not dishonest at all. Though, unfortunately, I have done it for dishonest people.
At the end of a recent fictional piece, I say, “I’m not going to lie.” I wrote this because it felt good coming out of the character’s mouth. Even though it directly blurs the line between truth and fiction. Look, we all lie. We lie when we think we’re in control of things. We lie when we convince ourselves that we’re creative. Lying is part of human existence. But there are different kinds of lies. There’s Bernie Madoff. And there’s Santa Claus.
So yeah, I’m a liar. But I’m not dishonest. And I use words and concepts in ways that make people think I’m creative.
Aspire to be creative in everything you do.
Fuck dishonesty.
***
Jim Mitchem – read my book of lies.
Nichole
Dec 16, 2011
Here’s an often-told lie…. “I’ve got it covered.”
Chris Brogan...
Dec 16, 2011
The lies I’ve told through my life have MOSTLY been spackle and airbrushing. If I didn’t get a thousand buyers for a product, I admit that I got 490. But if I have an interaction with someone in a checkout line, and then I think of a better line to say later, I’ll most likely insert my better line if I recount this to someone else. Not because I intend to be disingenuous, but rather, that the story flows nicer that way. Does that make sense?
Jim Mitchem
Dec 16, 2011
It makes sense, Chris. I do that too – weaving fictional elements around a truth. No doubt – it’s a lie. But only because it’s not 100% accurate. Call it the curse of a storyteller (or the Irish, if you will).
simonbilling
Dec 16, 2011
We are all doomed to be liars because each and every one of us are inventions of ourselves – characters we create and eventually decide to adopt; imagination is what distinguishes us from every other primate. The trick to life is inventing the right character and (the hardest bit) remaining true to it.
Jim Mitchem
Dec 16, 2011
Well said, Simon. For me, finding that character was a surrounding to truth. I’m not perfect, but Lord it’s so much easier to be honest than dishonest. It’s the writing fiction that gives me fits. But I love it.
Matt Fox
Dec 17, 2011
Jim,
We cannot not lie.
We all lie either by omission (omitting facts) or by commission (saying something is true when it’s not).
In marketing, we scream about the benefits and omit the negatives. I think our goal is to eliminate the lies of commission and reduce, as much as possible, the lies of omission. However, I don’t think either are easy to accomplish.
Jim Mitchem
Dec 17, 2011
No, not easy at all. But possible. And that’s what I strive for on the job. In writing fiction, however, I’m pulling from places that don’t even exist. It’s a really great release.
Ben Kunz
Dec 18, 2011
There was a funny report recently (in Esquire, I think) about a radical honesty movement. Some guy says exactly what he thinks. He goes into clubs and tells women, “I want to sleep with you,” and he either gets slapped or laid (let’s leave morality out of this for now and focus on honesty). For him, it works.
The point I tried to make in my G+ post is veracity is misperceived as an on-off switch, a binary system of truth-vs.-falsehood when the world is really more analogue, a spectrum of reality with an overlay of relationships. The data is more complex, and it is tied to networks of other data. I probably shouldn’t tell my wife’s sister that she is really hot, or my mom that I resent her occasional nagging, or my boss that — hey, can he see this (seriously, I like the guy). Radical honesty would neglect the real motive we have for managing a world of complexity, helping people progress, building relationships that in turn (yes) help ourselves. If the greater good is to lift humanity, a touch of falsehood may be required.
But I’ll try. For instance, Jim, I think you are a truly gifted writer, a man of insight and intellect, and someone I would like to find a way to work with. Also, it makes me happy you have the same receding hairline that I do.
Jim Mitchem
Dec 18, 2011
I think that that level of honesty lacks tact. But is a boy who lies to his mother about chopping down a cherry tree practicing tact? Tact has to play a role in there somewhere.
Also, Kaiser Soze.
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