The comparison I intend to share is not meant to denigrate the value of what will be labeled as a mud hut, but the extreme differences between what is asked for and what is delivered.
A young lady I know is graduating this year. As part of her graduation, her aunt planned to make her what is known as a hundred-dollar cake -basically a “cake” comprised of dollar bills rolled up and stacked 3-tiers high. It’s traditionally decorated with the colors of the graduate’s school, but can be anything they want it to be as long as the 100 dollar bills are the foundation.
Since I haven’t had any creative inspiration for as long as I can remember, I asked if I could be the one to create the cake. My s/o agreed to allow me to make the attempt and gave me the parameters -colors and basic design she had in mind for it. She also purchased several items she had hoped to include.
I listened to her input, but I already had an idea of what I wanted to create. My plan was to incorporate her requests where I could, but overall, the design was not going to resemble the classic/traditional cake. It was going to be something completely different.
Her niece was in the orchestra and played the violin -exceptionally well. Since the cake wasn’t actually food, I decided to follow the creative design custom cake makers go with. Make the “cake” more like a static display… or even a diorama.
I would build a miniature concert hall with stadium seating, a hardwood floor, and a stage where a miniature violin would rest on its stand. The rolled bills would be fake $100 bills that were glued to the staggered rows as seats. They would have lighting under each row to illuminate the row below it. The stage would also have the letter of her first name backlit. The tiny LED lights would be hidden as well as the battery packs. I knew I was biting off a considerable amount, but I had a week to get it done. Worst case scenario, I could fall back to the traditional cake on the last day and still have it ready in time.
I went out and purchased craft foam, a hot knife, a wood burning tool, the fake bills, and the tiny violin. The other supplies were already on hand.
Each row had been wrapped in burgundy cloth. The foam board used as the base had been painted to resemble a wooden floor with individual planks. The black disk in the middle was wrapped in black as an accent. The stage and the circle that had the letter “L” in cursive were wrapped in fabric. LEDs were hidden under the letter. The battery packs under the stage.
Hours turned into days. I kept my project hidden from my s/o until I had all the fundamental design elements completed. With three days left to deadline, I showed her what I had created. I was both proud and excited that what I had in my head had, for the most part, came to life. That is a rarity for me.
Her first words were, “That doesn’t look like a cake.”
My feelings were immediately hurt. I was angry and frustrated with her response. It obviously wasn’t a cake… and neither was the traditional design. Wasn’t it more about symbolism anyway? Wasn’t it about the monetary gift? Cake makers make cakes that are more for looks than consumption -which is the angle I had when building my creation.
How could she not appreciate the creativity I had invested? Her niece’s graduation was a special event and I wanted to create something to truly capture how special the moment was. An average, everyday $100 cake wasn’t special. It would likely be just like any other “cake” that was made for someone else.
I obsessed over her response until I fell asleep, then woke up and continued dwelling on the conversation.
…And just like that, I realized what had happened. It was the same exact thing I have done my entire life. I built a mansion instead of a mud hut. I created what I wanted instead of what was asked for/expect. Although it has always been my intention to provide the best possible product I can, it’s rarely what they ask for.
In my head, I’m upgrading their request to make it special… when what they asked for was special in its own way -to them.
I was insanely guilty of repeating this process throughout my career. I put a ton more thought and effort into my projects than what was expected. If it had my name on it, I wanted the best -but my bosses never asked for it. They wanted “good enough”. I’d always take it personally and would quickly grow resentful of their lack of vision and creativity -and their inability to appreciate what I was producing for them when very few others in my respective field did the same things I did.
I kept waiting for them to see my value. They kept waiting for me to stop overachieving and simply do what they wanted me to… Neither ever happened. I never learned.
My cake project failure finally made my behavior clear. I immediately stopped working on my original design and set out to complete the traditional cake before the deadline. The gift was about tradition, not some kind of creative expression no one asked for.
In the end, I was able to incorporate parts of my idea into the traditional cake so it wasn’t all a total waste.
Now if only I can keep this lesson fresh in my mind next time I have an opportunity to contribute.
Off The Rails 