The greatest asset in this business is failure. That’s right! –Failure. I know some of you are thinking that I am insane, but I want you to try and hear me out.
First off, what is failure to a balloon artist?
Is it when a balloon pops? It is when a design doesn’t look as well as you hoped? Is it when you don’t know how to make something someone asks for? When your R2-D2 balloon falls in the sour cream?
All of these things lead eventually to success… Or, at least they can.
When I started ballooning, there were a few things that I researched a LOT more than others. One of the things I constantly did was look at new designs on BalloonHQ so that I could figure out new ways of making different balloon designs. And upon searching the site, I found a goldmine list of pop-lines. That’s right! There were lines that could only be used when a balloon pops. Some lines were so great that I even intentionally popped balloons a few times so that I could see my audience react to it. Pop lines are amazing!
I think my first suggestion to any balloonist would be to learn so many pop lines that there is absolutely NO FEAR in potential poppage… When you are not nervous and can remain relaxed, you are more likely to have the balloon live longer in your hands. By learning pop lines, you may actually reduce your number of balloons popping while at an event.
If you are just starting out, learn a few basics and work with them… Don’t be afraid of challenges. If someone asks for a three-headed dragon and you don’t know how to make one… Attempt it. Create it in your mind and try it out. What is the worst that could happen? You could fail horribly and pop the daylights out of it. Is that bad? No. That means you get to entertain!
As an entertainer, you are given a LOT of leeway.
You could say something like, “Sorry, I made a mistake. This isn’t the three-headed dragon balloon, this is the recently slain dragon I was asked for last night! These hands just get away from me sometimes and I don’t realize what they’re up to until it’s over.”
Then, as the entertainer, guess what you can do next! “Well, since your dragon has been slain, how about a dog or a monkey to take home? You know… something that won’t scare the neighbors away?”
Mistakes are great! You get to learn new balloons, practice pop-lines, and work on your creative genius. Creativity is not an inherent talent in most people… It is an acquired skill through practice.
Make sure you use your noodle or you might just turn out being as entertaining as a bowl of sauceless spaghetti. If that turns out to be the case, just make like a meatball and roll yourself out of there until you decide to try again.
In what ways can you practice creativity?
Where can you go to learn new ways to do things? What are some ways you can be prepared to fail? How can you turn a failure into a success?
Ok, I’ll work on break more balloons 😉
A mistake is only failure if you do not learn from it.