I got hooked on Car Masters: Rust to Riches. The basic idea is that this shop of 3 poly-discipline mechanics, 1 owner/mechanic/designer, and 1 acquision/sales man … go from paperclip to house. They essentially start with some small project trading their way up to a six-figure car.

It’s amazing what you learn from semi-reality TV.

By the end of the 4th season they sacrificed a 6-figure car for a spot on the Peterson Car Museum. The idea was that they would be get attention and then multiple 6-figure projects. Sadly the first two project were a disaster.

The first project was for a snooty photographer. He never gave them real requirements and upon delivery he complained about the dashboard, steering wheel, and the front grill. So the team had to rework these components… but the buyer never seemed thrilled. The next project was turning an el-Camino into an el-Camino. It was a perfectly fine car but the owner wanted a number of customizations. And he kept changing his mind. And before the project was over they cut bait because they realized this was going to be never ending.

I’m thinking about the work I’ve been doing over the last 20 years. The systems I’ve been building have been most specific customer requests but I have found ways to be creative in my work. What this TV show made me realize is that true creativity only comes to a few. It takes a trmeandous amount of self control to work for someone else when you are the creative force.

Keep on trucking.