Why you should make more mischief

I readily admit it - I have a penchant for creative mischief. I love offbeat and quirky projects that don't seem to bring any immediate Return on Investment (ROI) at first glance. In recent years, for example, I have illegally renamed streets, smuggled artist names onto ID cards, opened zoos, and hidden pianos. None of these endeavors has directly generated money; in fact, many of the projects have cost money, and not just a little. Three reasons speak for doing it anyway! It helps you lose fear The more mischief you engage in that initially involves nothing, the more confident you become. This is because you realize that supposed rules and boundaries are not as rigid as they may initially seem. One of my first "experiments" was getting a stage name entered on my ID card, even though I had never made art before. To do this, a few criteria had to be met, which are then proven to the registration office. It turned out that it was enough to give the impression of meeting these criteria. The experiment was successful, and the learning effect was that even bureaucratic offices are not infallible. With the artist name in tow or on the ID, the next pranks were easier, as in doubt, it's just art. And with each successful project, I lose more and more of my fear of imagined or real consequences. Mischief gets you in the media Today's editors also have a tough job. Horror stories about global catastrophes alternate with trivialities. That must be frustrating. How nice it is then to report on something quirky in between! In the summer of 2023, I and two friends spontaneously declared a delimited area in Hanover a zoo. The property is home to coypus, also known as nutrias. We developed a corporate design, printed high-quality signs, enriched the area at night with a life-sized dinosaur, and opened a souvenir shop. Essentially, nothing more than a slightly extended prank. The media loved it. In addition to reports in the daily newspapers, there were soon articles from T-Online, ERF, and eventually even from Sat.1 Breakfast Television. The joke went quite far. Feel free to Google Nutria World 🙂 Mischief makes the world more beautiful Currently, I am hiding pianos in the city. The approach: search classified ads for pianos that are "free to take" (there are many of them). I pick them up, have them tuned by a friend who is a piano tuner, have them redesigned by graffiti artists, and then place them in weather-protected but publicly accessible locations in the city. This is certainly not necessarily allowed, also elaborate, and despite the voluntary efforts, it also costs some money. Recently, I was asked, "Where's the ROI in that?". Well, there isn't one, at least not monetarily. The return on investment lies in the fact that I often walk past the pianos, and someone is sitting there playing a song. Sometimes there is singing, once someone stood next to it with a violin, and there was a duet. Passersby stop, listen, and smile. The day of all those involved has become a bit more beautiful. When you consider what would have been created by the alternative use of resources, such as consuming another Netflix series or buying a new watch, hiding pianos results in much more. For a larger group of people. Such mischief makes the world a bit more beautiful. So, you see, making mischief is worth it. In addition, the creativity muscle we all have inside us automatically develops further. And sometimes, with enough mischief, you even get booked for making mischief or talking about it. But that shouldn't be the motivation. In this sense: mischief-free! Daniel Pflieger pflieger@geheimpunkt.de