'How To Be Creative' - from Gapingvoid (2 of 3)

 





 

 

11. Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.  Do you want to get noticed?  Do you want your plan (business or otherwise) to get that second glance?  Don't follow others.  Create something unlike anything out there now.  When this is done you do more than stand out from the crowd; you create an entirely new crowd altogether.

12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.   When you accept the fact that following the path least traveled will result in some bumps and bruises, then you expect it.  You know that it is just a part of the journey. Not to be feared, but to know that it is an eventuality and it will be something that you learn from.  The faster you accept this the easier it becomes to continue to push on.

13. Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.  Always do what you are doing because it is something that YOU want to do.  Something YOU are passionate about.  It is never dependent on what someone else thinks.  When this becomes the sole reason for your idea, project or business then no matter how much money you make (or don't make) you will always be rewarded. 

14. Dying young is overrated.  You can play the 'tortured soul artist' act if you want.  It may or may not be succesful.  Tortured souls' lives (read any of the artists who died young - Curt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Basquiat, and on and on) ended up tragic.  In the end how useful are these examples to you?

15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.  Know where your line in the sand is for what you are willing to compromise your craft for.  What will you cede control to and to what extent? People will always try to determine who you are, what you should be doing, and how you should do it.  When you know what you want control over and what you will relinquish your 'power' to - you then are in control of your own destiny.

16. The world is changing.  The faster you REALLY understand this the better off you are.  Just a handful of years ago  netscape was it - in 2007. .  Netscape who???.  A handful of years ago the ipod didn't even exist.  Today it has revolutionized the concept of portable music.  There is a good chance that what is familiar to you today will be outmoded tomorrow (and believe me it is happening faster than you think).  Everyday single day shift happens. If you would have asked me 2 years ago if I was going to be a blogger. . . I would have said "a blog  who??"

17. Merit can be bought. Passion can't.  To truly make something remarkable (or meaningful) happen, you have to feel it in your soul.  You have to be willing to drive to the ends of the earth to see it through.  Your idea has to make you want to throw your sword in the air, scream at the top of your lungs and charge the enemy with a fervor that will ultimately slay the dragon.  When you are pissed off with the present condition enough to want to do something about it. . . now we're talking!

18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.  The world is full of talkers, complainers, gossipers, naysayers, and haters. Avoid them AT ALL COSTS.  They provide you with nothing you need to move onward and upward. 

19. Sing in your own voice.  Figure out what it is that you do and do it well.  Don't do something that's simply not your forte. Don't try to be something you're not.  Martin Scorsese is a great film director because that's what he loves and knows he does well. 

20. The choice of media is irrelevant.  A great idea, is a great idea.  Do you paint it, create a website to express it, or put it to animation becomes irrelevant.  In the end as long as the idea is expressed WELL. . .that's what counts.  Create within the medium that's comfortable for you - that's what I say.