Education and Creativity

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

21. Selling out is harder than it looks - Authenticity is a KILLER weapon. Sharp and attentive people see right through b.s. and these folks are the ones you want the attention from. Be yourself and do what you do best. Never water your idea or product down so that it can be more commercial. If your idea is that good - it just may go commercial regardless. . .

22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself. At the end of the day you are doing what you are doing because YOU believe in it. People come and people go. Some may care (bonus if that happens), many for too many reasons to name here - simply don't. Very few people will sign up to be your cheer leading squad. Plow forward my friends, plow forward.

23. Worrying about "Commercial vs. Artistic" is a complete waste of time. One of the most artistic talents of the last 30 years was heavily into the commercial concepts (Andy Warhol). You can argue about one's merit over the other until the cows come home. I agree with this statement by Hugh MacLeod - " how a person nurtures and develops his or her own 'creative sovereignty', with or without the help of the world at large, is in my opinion a much more interesting subject".

24. Don't worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually. Inspiration isn't planned. . .it just happens. Trying to make it happen or looking for it is futile. Sit back and: talk, listen, converse, read and/or daydream. I guarantee it will find you.

25. You have to find your own schtick. . Kareem Adbul Jabbar was a prolific scorer and had his signature skyhook. When you hear a U2 song you know it's U2 and Bono touches off his bands image with his trademark shades. Finding your own voice is imperative. You have to let people know its YOU when they see, hear, read or experience what it is you do.

26. Write from the heart. Communicate about what truly matters to you. Whether you are talking to a friend, a group of colleagues or to a coliseum of fans that's the only way to do it. Any other way will at some point stall you, frustrate you or in some way come back and bite you in the ass.

27. The best way to get approval is not to need it. When you need someone to validate your existence or your purpose - you're in trouble. 'Nuff said.

28. Power is never given. Power is taken. People who are 'ready' have a different vibe than people who are not. As they say. . .animals can sense fear. The minute you can walk into an office and confidently say "hire me because I am the BEST candidate on the planet for this job" - (and the boss can somehow tell you aren't lying) you have taken power. You didn't go in asking. Why would you do that?! You're suppose to have that position. Period. Confidence slays the fear that lies beneath the murky waters of self doubt.

29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.  'Selling out' comes with a price.  So does not selling out. When we choose one or the other, what lies in store for us - no one knows. Will you create commercialized items that are sold to the masses now and the world sings your praise today? Will you create ingenious literary writings and your name becomes legendary decades after your death? Both have their penalties.  There is no silver bullet for a right answer.  This is part of the excitement.  The journey.  Where does it all lead?  God only knows. 

30.  The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.  Once the creative bug hits it doesn't go away (or a bug of any type for that matter).  Embracing your bug - whatever it is - isn't always easy.  Many people run away from their destinies.  They're afraid.  Once you embrace what it is that continues to haunt and bug you, many other things fall into place.  Get used to it, whatever it is.  Do yourself a favor.  It'll make life a lot easier. 

31. Remain Frugal.  There is a quote by the famous architect Mies Van Der Rohe in which he quite succinctly states that "less is more".  He was not talking about business but what he said with these three words is applicable to not only architecture but to so many facets of life. The less you can live on the more chances are that your idea will flourish. The less bills you have the  better you can dedicate those resources to surviving and making sure your idea continues to live another day.

'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.

'How To Be Creative' - from Gapingvoid

          



 

 

Cartoons on the back of business cards . . . now that’s something you don’t hear about everyday!  Gapingvoid is one of the blogs that I personally make it a point to visit at least once a week for reasons too numerous to state here.  The main reason: ITS CREATIVE.

As far as creative concepts go, this is pretty damn unique.  Who would have thought to put these two ideas together – cartoons and business cards?  But this guy has and in my humble opinion – it’s a winner!  

Just a few days ago I was perusing through his site and came across a gem of an entry entitled “How To Be Creative”.  After reading his 31 tips on how to do this, I absolutely had share them with you all. 

Tune in over the next few days as we re-mix Gapingvoid’s ideas -Threshold style - and hip you to some tips that hopefully turns up the volume on your creativity dial.

1.  Ignore everybody.  As the saying goes . . . opinions are like @$$holes – everybody’s got one.  People will tell you anything about your ideas.  If you ask a hundred different people for their opinion, you’ll get a hundred different answers.  Go with your gut.  It’s about the only thing that will never steer you wrong.

2.  The idea doesn’t have to be big it just has to change the world.  An idea that emerges enough to change your world and make you passionate about it, is powerful enough. A small idea with a big heart behind it, will take you a long way.

3.  Put the hours in.  As they say Rome wasn’t built in a day and anything worth having is worth fighting for and in the case of the building of Rome and fighting/winning wars (i.e. developing an idea, business, or anything else) that doesn’t happen over-night. 

4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail. Make it happen yourself.  Russell Simmons (co-founder of Def Jam Records) didn’t wait for some record executive to “hook” him up - he made things happen himself. 

5.  You are responsible for your own experience . You are your own gauge. Your idea of success is defined by you – not by others.  How you see your future is determined by your own vision of the world.  As a saying goes "an innovator changes her environment, the environment doesn’t change her". 

6.  Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.  When you were a child you scribbled inside and outside the lines.  Clearly the rules were to stay inside the lines but as a kid you didn’t care.  Boundaries did not confine you.  Be as you were when you were younger and don’t let boundaries limit the possibilities.

7.  Keep your day job (a Gapingvoid nugget) - 'the sex and cash theory'.  Keep at least two Jobs – have a job that you are passionate about (sex) and the other job is to pay your bills (cash). If you can have both in one. . .

8.  Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.  Apple is one of the most creative companies doing business today.  They are highly innovative and are determining the industry standard on multiple levels.  Be creative or get left in the dust by the developing Apple’s of the world. 

9.  Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.  Whether it is a mountain, or a molehill, everyone has some challenge in life that demands his or her attention.  Find it, embrace it, and come to terms that this is your challenge.  Whether it is creating your own personal magnum opus or figuring out what that magnum opus is, everyone needs to determine what his or her personal Mount Everest is and get climbing. 

10. The more talented somebody is the less they need the props.  Real talent only needs a rough idea, a bic pen and the back of a napkin.  If you don’t have the raw ability, all the blogs, websites, software, venture capitalists, and investors in world can’t help you.  Buying five hundred dollar Tiger Woods golf clubs doesn’t make you play like him. . .

More to come. . .  

'Real Yin Meets Virtual Yang'

Guest blogger, Kalen Jericho

 

Do you remember when online dating was for losers, nerds and serial
killers? The mere idea of conversing with someone you wouldn't know,
you didn't see and couldn't touch was frighteningly unfathomable. At
bars and clubs, networking at organizations, or through friends and
family; that's the way you're supposed to meet people. Come on, why
can't you just meet someone the 'normal' way, but as the quotes imply
'normal' is relative.

According to Pew Internet Research about 30 million people say they
know someone who's been in a long-term relationship or married someone
he or she met online. What's 'normal' today is Myspace, Match.com and
LinkedIn, and every other often or overused reference to a community
website. Singer/Songwriter Colbie Calliat credits her success and her
chart-topping hit 'Bubbly' to her Myspace page. According to The Star
Online, she spent four months on the site's unsigned artist list
before signing a record deal. Music, Marriage and Money - they all
happen in one form or another - online.

Even the 'warm and fuzzies' of holiday gift giving has an
internet-based component. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the
worldwide virtual goods market could reach $7 billion by 2009. The
world is going virtual - so you might want to get there for yourself
and you might want to get there first. But, what is the key you might
ask? Has not the same song already been sung, and every story already
told? The key to making 'virtual' functional is to remember the human
component, to remember what culture is. A lot of individuals and
companies do this, but most are not very good at it. You have to live
in both worlds.

Online dating could eventually mean a husband and a baby. Posting an
online portfolio of whatever your 'talent' is could mean your dream
job. But doing it first could mean both of these lovely outcomes and
some serious wealth. The key is to . . .

DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF. Ok, if I didn't say it loud enough it's
DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF online and in real life. The 'yin and yang' of
modern life requires that your virtual life impacts your real life and
vice versa. Not incidentally the same goes for the lives of your
customers or clients. You must invest the time it takes to do it with
a sense of humanity, to make sure you stand out from the crowd.