Cultivating Conviction for Creative Projects, Big and Small

con·vic·tion

/kənˈvikSH(ə)n/

noun

A firmly held belief or opinion.

I think my first introduction to the concept of conviction was "The Blues Brothers".

The Blues Brothers were on a mission from God. And that was conviction and a half. They believed so firmly in their mission that it took them on no less than five car chases and subjected the brothers to a volley of gunfire by a "mystery woman", who was played by none other than Carrie Fisher. They had an orphanage to save, after all.

I think it could be argued that an entire academic career in private school may have made me privy to the concept of conviction, but I will continue to maintain that it was (actually, in fact) the 1980's blockbuster featuring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.

The first time in my adult life that I experienced some semblance of hardcore, knock-you-on-your-ass/"now this is happening" conviction was my decision to forsake my sandals and South Florida life for the blustery uncertainty of a Northeastern existence. In my …