Posts Tagged ‘creative moves’

We know how difficult it can be to get motivated at the end of a long day, after working for hours (whether work that pays you or physical labor on the house…). But, there are ways to keep yourself motivated.

1. Take a break from everything and enjoy browsing the Internet. Most people have lost their enjoyment with the Internet because they spend so much time using it for work. Try ignoring all business sites for a little while and take a look around at the ‘fun sites’. My favorite? Cake Wrecks

2. Watch TV. No, I promise, it won’t rot your brain. Currently, I am watching “so you think you can dance“. It is amazing the power and skill that these men and women have. I am blown away at the creativity and skill of these individuals. Not only does it show pure dedication, but it will inspire anyone to try something new.

3. Just start writing. That’s what I did tonight. I didn’t want to break my 7+ week trend of writing every week day. So, I sat down, and just started writing. This may not be the best post I’ll ever write, but it got me thinking, and will help my end goal. Therefore, beneficial! And, if I have introduced someone to a new website and tv show? Even better.

What gets you motivated?

Last week, I had a proposal for a new website design turned down. Unfortunately, it was because of the size of my portfolio. Since I have only been doing freelance work for a few months, my portfolio is rather limited. It doesn’t mean my talent is, it just means that I have not had enough clients to really show off my talents. Frustrating? Yes. Surprised? No. I can understand that it is difficult to know how a person is going to perform without a lot of work to review, but does that mean you shouldn’t work with them?

The benefits of working with someone who is just building their portfolio can be massive. First, my cost is much lower than someone who has been designing for 20 years. Second, I am going to be 100% focused on making sure that your project is perfect. Since I have very little room for error, as I must prove myself, I am going to make sure that every detail is exquisite. I know that many people who have been working for years are still as meticulous as they were when they started. But, there are many people that let small details fall to the wayside as they get more popular and can book any job they want. Third, we all have to start somewhere. I understand the desire to work with a ‘tried and true’ professional, but how did they get there? Someone had to give them a chance. A lot of someones. Think about it for a second. You can’t become a talented designer without people giving you a chance when you’re just starting out.

Think about who gave you your first chance. What about your second? Most of us were not born prodigies at anything. We need training, practice and work in order to become the best. It’s that silly ‘catch-22′… you need a strong protfolio to book work, but you need to book work to build a strong portfolio. So what can we do? We can help eachother out! My suggestion? Next time you are looking to hire someone for a project, find someone who is talented, but may have a little bit less under their belt. Ask for them to draw you up a sample and provide references. Let them know that you would love to work with them, and would appreciate a small sample or ideas of what they would do with your project. If it is good, you can hire them. If it’s not exactly perfect, you can offer constructive criticism and maybe they can suggest someone else to work with.

The point is to help. We all deserve a chance to become great at what we do – and if you can help someone get that chance…why not?

Today is day 10 of the “10 bold moves to stir up your creativity”.

Here is a quick recap of #1-#9:

1. Read in public

2. Quit your job

3. Contact someone you look up to

4. Do something you never thought you could

5. Disconnect

6. Don’t follow the crowd

7. Be nice

8. Ask questions

9. Let yourself be wrong

Bold Move #10: Stop reading and start doing!

Not to sound ungrateful to my readers, because I love each and every one of you, but stop reading (at least until tomorrow’s post ). Seriously, stop reading about being bold and GO DO SOMETHING BOLD.

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Today is day 9 of the “10 bold moves to stir up your creativity”.

Bold Move #9: Let yourself be wrong.

Think about it: If you are never wrong, you never have the opportunity to learn something. We all like being right, ask any of my friends, I don’t do ‘wrong’ well. But, I have learned more about business by being wrong than I ever have by being right. When I am wrong about something, it allows someone who knows more than me to teach me something. It is the same in all walks of life – from business to relationships. We can’t all be right all the time, it is a physical and mental impossibility. Let yourself be okay with being wrong and you’ll be amazed how much more you learn, and in turn, how much more often you can be right. The minute we stop learning, the minute we stop living.

Have you been wrong recently and had it teach you something amazing?

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Today is day 8 of the “10 bold moves to stir up your creativity”.

Bold Move #8: Ask questions…not for the answer but for the conversation that it creates.

Creativity is not a solo sport. If you were to lock yourself in a room and cut off all interaction, you would lose creative steam fairly quickly. You might get a few more things done in the beginning, without the distractions, but how long would it take before you couldn’t think of anything creative or new? Other people are what give us ideas. Things that happen in our lives inspire our writing and our ideas.

Today is about starting conversation. Find someone on twitter that interests you, and respond to something they ask. Ask a question on Facebook and see where the conversation goes.

People love to participate. People want to participate. So, give them the opportunity to participate.

Here is your opportunity to participate by answering today’s creative conversation: What makes a creative expert? What makes you stop and take notice of their ideas?

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Today is day 7 of the “10 bold moves to stir up your creativity”.

Bold Move #7: Be nice. Genuinely, honestly and truly nice.

This sounds like a very simple, and not-so-bold task, but it is often forgotten and has a larger influence than we often think. Creativity is driven by the interactions in our lives, so why not have those interactions be kind ones?

Rather than tell you a story about how someones kind attitude stirred my creativity, I want to hear your stories. Have you met someone that surprised you with niceness and made you think? Have you treated someone well, just because, and had it reward you? Feel free to share a name or keep it annonymous.

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Today is day 6 of the “10 bold moves to stir up your creativity”.

Bold Move #6: Don’t follow the crowd. There is nothing we have to do, nowhere you have to go and no path we all should take.

The best way to look at this is to think about some of the things you heard about college growing up: “You have to go to college”. “Without a degree you’ll never be successful”. “You need to join a corporate world, get the 401K, the benefits, work til we’re 55 and then retire”. “Starting your own business is a pipe-dream”.

Were they right? I don’t think so.

Growing up, I watched my mom build a Mary Kay business from the ground up and become a successful senior director – with only a high school degree. Good thing too, because I learned more from her about business than I did in any of my colleges classes. She taught me the power of networking and talking to people (face to face, imagine that!). I learned how to market a business (by actually giving people something that benefits them, not just a bunch of ad-speak). She showed me that hard work didn’t have to mean 9-5 (she usually worked before I was awake, when I was in school and after I went to bed, so she could be a mom too). Don’t get me wrong, college is great, and I absolutely loved my time at CSULB – it was a time to learn, mature and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. But, college isn’t for all of us. Some can’t afford it, and others just don’t fit into college curriculum. My mom couldn’t do the college thing because she had to work full-time to support herself from the day she graduated High School.  What was more impressive was the fact that she never used not going to college as an excuse. When business was hard, she never complained about not having a degree, she just worked harder. Not only did she prove college wasn’t necessary to be successful, she did it with class and self confidence. Now just barely 50 (sorry for revealing it mom), she has been happily retired for 5 years and is spending her time traveling the country with my dad and visiting me because that is what she wants to be doing.

My point? As my mom always reminded me, in business and in life, “If you think you can; you can. If you think you can’t; you’re right.”

What do you think? Is college a must? Share your thoughts and experiences.

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Today is day 5 of the “10 bold moves to stir up your creativity”.

Bold Move #5:

Disconnect. Turn off your computer, your blackberry/iphone/palm/etc, any method of people getting in touch with you and go outside. Many of us assume that we are the most creative when we are in our offices, our what we have determined to be our optimal creative environment. In reality, if you are always in the same environment, creativity begins to slow and we often will reach our breaking point. Taking some time without any interruptions and without our normal tech gadgets, we can often get our creativity flowing more smoothly.

Since I live in Orange County, I am lucky enough to have the beach nearby. Twice a month, I take a couple hours and turn off all lines of communication. My hubby and I take my Mustang and cruise up PCH to Laguna or down to San Clemente and walk around the beach. Usually we end up sitting somewhere, watching the waves and catching up on our days. During the week, things tend to get so busy that our time alone at the beach is the only time we get to clear our heads and actually talk. When I get home from the beach, I like to take out a notepad and just start writing down ideas for new blog posts or story lines for my book. There is something so natural and real about a pen and paper that we often loose with a computer and keyboard. Technology has improved our lives in many ways, but it is important to remember that it is not necessary for creativity – and can sometimes hinder your creative flow.

How often do you ‘disconnect’ and take a day away from technology? Does it help you to re-focus?

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Today is day 4 of the “10 bold moves to stir up your creativity”.

Bold Move #4:

Run a marathon. Learn to snowboard or ski. Sky dive. Go to racing school. Start your own business. Try defying gravity. Do something you didn’t think you ever could and prove yourself wrong.

My father has always been a stellar athlete. National Water Polo player, Pan American Water Polo champion, College Champion Coach, Northern California Racquetball Champion. But all that pales in comparison to when he decided to become an Ironman Triathlete. His history with water polo was before my time, but I will never forget the lessons that I learned about motivation and drive from his experience in the Ironman race, at 50 years old. I could tell you the stories of his training, the hours he spent to improve his abilities on the bike and in the run (the swim was easy for him, as we often think he is actually half fish…) and how that taught me drive and passion. But that wasn’t what did it. What taught me the lesson about doing something you never thought you could was the last mile of the race. For those of you who haven’t  seen the Ironman, the run is the last leg of the race, and the last couple miles are a straight stretch towards the finish line. My mother and I were waiting at the final mile mark, watching for him to come in. When he got to us, he was exhausted and looked like hell, but was still running and SMILING!  Better yet? He won the 45+ age group.

My dad has taught me many lessons in my life – but watching him at 50, running the last mile of a 140.6 mile athletic event and smiling changed how I looked at going for the ‘impossible’. He made me realize that the level of your creativity and happiness is only kept down by the limits you put on your life (including athletics). If you unlimit yourself, you will unlimit your creativity.

What do you want to do? What risk have you been waiting to take and why are you waiting?

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Today is day 3 of the “10 bold moves to stir up your creativity”.

Bold Move #3:

Do you have someone you look up to? Someone who has the career you admire, or that you want to know more about but are too scared to ask to meet? Go for it – call, email, dm, however you can – but take the chance. After all, they are just a person, one who was probably in your shoes not too long ago. It’s well known that Steve Jobs was a college dropout before he became the CEO and founder of Apple…

Recently I took the chance and contacted Chris Brogan, someone who I admire. He and I were going to be in Vegas for CES at the same time and I was hoping to attend a presentation of his but didn’t think I could get in. He did one better, he offered to meet me for coffee and talk with me. Not only did he take an hour out of his day to talk to me, but he invited me to Wordcamp to see his presentation that afternoon. Spending time talking with Chris not only made me realize what a normal guy he is, it also gave me a whole new perspective on blogging, social media and myself.

Who do you admire and want to meet? You’ll never get the chance until you say something…

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