Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!

Being a creative work for hire individual is challenging.

There are no rules. It’s hard to know where to turn for advice. And, if you are anything like I was when I was young chances are you are always looking for acknowledgment and acceptance.

It is natural to think you have to look outside yourself to find the answers. We are trained to research and assimilate information to improve ourselves.

But what if the answer was already inside you? What if you had to no look no further than yourself?

A byproduct of our educational experience is the pressure to conform. To be able to measure progress schools are required to judge against a norm. Unfortunately, conformity stifles creative solutions depriving us of the freedom to explore solutions that are unique to us. Schools do a terrible job at teaching students to think for themselves, to connect the dots in ways that are unique to us.

Most of us are starting life at a disadvantage. Most times we don’t know it!

Our inbred conformity works against us. If we insist on being a “part of the crowd” our value diminishes because we can easily be replaced.

What if you were to focus on what makes you different?

It’s all a choice, and it’s up to you.

Ask yourself: “how is your approach working for you?” “Are you getting to where you want to go?”

Choosing to be ordinary is up to you just as choosing to be unique is.

Committing to be unique means making a choice to stand out. It means accepting the risk of being rejected. It is a frightening thought for many. But understand that if you choose to be fit in, to be ordinary, you will be one of many. It is hard to stand out in that case.

Turn your attention inward.

Be clear about what makes your heart sing, what you can do better than anyone else.

Honestly ask yourself what YOU do, consciously and unconsciously, that prevents you from making you deliriously happy in your work.

Becoming successful requires the commitment to make the conscious choice to “follow your bliss."

Uniqueness is found inside not by the external search for validation and acceptance.

Articulate your dreams (write them down!).

Make a plan.

Work your plan

Sure. There are risks in taking a stand.

But- do you have the time to waste trying to be something your not?

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What is your career worth to you?

Nothing in life is free. Nothing in life is free.

(count silently to 10 and let that sink in)

Now repeat: nothing in life is free. Regardless of what we might think everything has an associated cost.

We don’t give much thought to how our tax money is spent, how much it costs to run a light bulb etc. If a movie or record loses money somewhere, someone is going to be responsible.
Nothing in life is free.

Is there a cost to bad behavior? Of course if you do drugs or act recklessly there could be an enormous price to pay. But what about our seemingly common everyday interactions with others and how we go about our days?

If we drill down a little deeper, it becomes clear that human behavior has a cost.

Here are a few questions to think about:

• Are you willing to take risks to build your career?
• Are you willing to invest your time and money to create assets that will attract paying clients?
• Are you willing to evaluate your efforts honestly?
• Are you willing to acknowledge your behavior may be affecting your success?
• Are you willing to change if what you are doing isn’t working?

Amateurs often assume that a career is there for the taking. Professionals understand that an investment must be made to see a return. 

Making good choices.

You can only get out of life what you are willing to put into it. The good news is that you have the ability to choose what you want out of your life and career.

We continually make choices. When contemplating making an investment in your career what makes us able to determine which choice would be the best choice to make? 

For some of us, choices are a result of considered deliberation. Other choices are a conditioned response.

For example: if you continually sabotage yourself there is a good chance that deep down you don’t believe you are worthy of success.  These choices reinforce what we believe about ourselves.

Another example is being on time. Tardiness is a control issue. If someone consistently keeps you waiting, it is a form of control over the relationship by saying “my time is worth more than yours”. 

Nevertheless, even if this was an unconscious choice, a choice was made.

And what would be the cost of this choice?  Are you willing to waste your time? Would your client be willing to waste their time waiting for you?

Nothing in life is free.

In every choice we make there are costs-even if they aren't apparent at first glance.

If you are committed to being a professional and choosing to invest your time, money and reputation, be sure you are aware of the both the obvious and subliminal costs associated with your actions.

If I build it... I sure hope they'll come!

So many of us buy into the myth: “if we build it…they will come.” That is a romantic notion that is rarely, if ever, fulfilled.

 As creators, (musicians, composers, filmmakers, artists, etc.) we spend our lives honing our craft, digging into every detail, leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to improve our creative abilities. 

Why don't we dedicate an equal or greater amount of time learning how to sell and promote ourselves?

It’s because we are uncomfortable. If you haven’t seen the success you desire in the music business would it be fair to say that you haven’t invested the time and effort in understanding what selling is let alone thinking of ourselves as a business?

If you were in the position of hiring you and you listened to your pitch would you hire you?

If you are stuck, where do you start?

Where do you focus our attention? What assets do you need to build before we begin?

Selling is not voodoo. It is a skill that can be learned. Why not invest the same amount of effort into selling as you do in your art?

It is common for creatives to say: “I’m an artist. I do my art. I don’t sell”.

That’s fine if your goal is to stay in your basement and never make a living from your creative work.

The professional will invest time and money into their art/business because they know that investing in assets (you) will give them an edge.

It’s not free. No one will do it for you!

“If you don’t value yourself…no one else will”.

Ask yourself: am I willing to work for it? Can I step outside my comfort zone and acquire the skills necessary to become a professional? If your answer is anything but yes then you have a problem. A solvable problem...but a problem nonetheless.

Artistry in music comes after years of study and practice. Why would you assume that selling your products or services requires less?

Make the commitment. Put your fears aside and get to work. Just like practicing- the more you do the better you'll get.

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Entitlement vs. Gratitude

For most of us, our expectations about what life will bring us are formed in childhood. If you show up in youth sports, you get a trophy. If you pick the correct multiple-choice questions, you will get a good grade. If you behave in a particular way, you will get the desired result. Well-meaning adults unconsciously fill children with these thoughts throughout their lives. 

To paraphrase TV psychologist Dr. Phil: “how’s that working for you?”

The truth is no one is guaranteed anything in life. Just because you “desire something” doesn’t mean you are “entitled” to have it regardless of the how often this idea is reinforced.

Does this prepare you for the inevitable rejection you will encounter in life?

Holding on to conditioned responses will be like having an invisible anchor around your neck. Your view will be skewed unknowingly affecting your performance. 

We can only put forth the best work we can do at the time. We cannot control the outcome. So why do we let our expectations get in the way?

"Give without expectation - be grateful for the result"- Quincy Jones

You’ve done your best. The outcome is out of your hands.  You have little choice but to accept the result or become defensive, bitter or worse which will have negative consequences.

If you fail to receive the reward you feel “entitled” to it is time to go back to the mirror and ask yourself: "was there anything else I could have done?  How can I improve my  performance?

Focus on creating joy - not wealth.

Joy will come from the act of doing, the value you create- not in what you will receive in return.

Joy is contagious. Joy is attractive. It is easy to say yes to joy. 

The Power Of Thank You

Our lives are jam-packed with massive “to do” lists. Each and every moment of every day we get bombarded with text messages, social media and emails. We are forced to determine the relative importance of each interaction. It is all too easy to glance over each prompt and then, without meaning any disrespect forget to reply.

Our lives our full.

As an independent artist/composer, one of the biggest struggles is figuring out how to stand apart from the crowd, how to rise above the noise.

Creative Collaboration is a Relationship Business.

Relationships are built one at a time. And, like a seedling, each requires engagement to grow.

Neglect a relationship and what happens?

It will wither and die. It may not happen tomorrow. Without the necessary nurturing the results will always be the same. It is next to impossible to rekindle a relationship that has lost its connection.

A way forward:

When I was young, I was always taught to say thank-you. It is a simple gesture that carries enormous weight. The value obtained vs. the effort spent cannot be overstated.

When you say thank-you, you are acknowledging the other person and keeping the door open for future interaction.

If you want to be known, to stand out from the crowd: take a few minutes to send a thank you note (preferably handwritten) whenever possible. Make it a habit.

The result:

There is no way to calculate the goodwill (and potential opportunities) you will create.

Perfectionism in the creative process

Shooting for the stars and having high standards will make you work hard. 

But, have you ever considered the positive and negative of being a perfectionist?

The good news is that having high standards can push you forward.

The bad news is that perfect is not possible.

If you set your standards beyond your reach you will get frustrated.

Don’t get me wrong. This kind of frustration is to be expected if you are trying to stretch yourself.

However, if you let your frustrations get the best of you your work will be affected.

Perfection vs. Results 

Standards are arbitrary and have very little to do with actual outcomes.

All to easily we will drift into action unconsciously relying on our mood and experience to guide our way.

But what if you are in a new situation and you have no personal experience to draw upon?

What has helped me is making sure I understand specifically why I am doing a project and what I hope to achieve. This becomes my “mission statement” to guide me from beginning to end.

You might think that the why and what are self-explanatory and why should you go to the trouble to identify the issue?

If you are confused about your motivation you run the risk of being vulnerable to any number of emotional roadblocks (conscious and unconscious) that will prevent you from doing your best work. 

Pragmatism and Art

There is a phrase in the art world: “you have to know when the painting is done and when to take your brush off the canvas”.

If you rely solely on how you feel about something you are working on to act as your judge of good/bad then you may end up failing and never know why.

Conversely, if you take a moment to come to a decision about motivations you will most likely have a better time. Your ideas will come more naturally. Chances are you will stay on target and finish on time.

The key here is to take the time to articulate where you want to go, what you are trying to achieve and why you want to do it.

This will give you the confidence and freedom to charge ahead towards your goal.

Remember: perfection is impossible. All we can hope for is incremental gains over time. And, if you strive for perfection and are pragmatic about what is possible you will unconsciously make progress.

Life is short.

Can we really afford to not get the most out of our efforts?

For more about “Mastering Your Creative Process” click here