FOR “DIAMOND JIM” DIBLEY, everything came easily, at least in the beginning. Back then, in the early days of his career, it was rare to come away from encountering him and not be blinded by his brilliance.

In fact those hoping to meet him face to face were often warned to bring along a pair of sunglasses. Better yet was to make a small hole in a piece of cardboard and, with your back toward this odd-looking and remarkable man, to project his visage over your shoulder onto a piece of paper, as if he were a solar eclipse.

“Diamond Jim” Dibley

And while the piercing light bouncing off his sharply faceted head also blinded observers to his troubled soul, it didn’t take long for critics to find out “Diamond Jim” was not without his flaws.

After an embarrassing incident in which a rude pawnbroker told him he was full of zirconium, Dibley faced a crisis of confidence, one that cast a dark shadow over what had appeared to be a bright future.

Over the years that followed Jim fell out of favor, and it wasn’t uncommon to hear that a group of ruffians had seized him by all fours, turned him upside down, and dragged his head across a glass countertop or nearby mirror to see if he really was all he’d been made out to be.

But “Diamond Jim” never broke, and finally, after a disappointing string of failed relationships with beautiful starlets, he came to realize that his own creative gifts would find true fulfillment, not in the spotlight of popular acclaim, but rather in shining a light on the talents of others. He found his calling outside the glare of the spotlight, as Senior Art Buyer in the Creative Department of Satchel & Satchel, a leather goods retailer in Madison, Wisconsin.

THE “PIONEERS OF CREATIVITY” ARE THE FORGOTTEN HEROES OF ADVERTISING & MARKETING, HERE TO REMIND US THAT TRUE CREATIVITY IS A HUMAN TRAIT WE ALL SHARE, AS WELL AS A GIFT INTENDED TO BENEFIT EVERYONE, NOT JUST THE RESUMES OF A FEW BLOWHARD SMARTY PANTS SHOW-OFFS.