And Now a Word from Our Sponsor: Marketing You, Inc.
O.K. Big confession. In 25 years of legal practice, I never developed a book a business. Not one page. Not even a post-it note. Which puts me in mind of a Hugh (Gaping Void) McLeod drawing.
Other than to urge you to run right out and buy Dr. Tammy Lenski's new book Making Mediation Your Day Job I parrot once again Mr. McLeod's platinum advice for making your own rain (which, shhhhhhhhhhh, the rain maker's big secret -- it's often way more fun than practicing law!)
Review of Making Mediation Your Day Job next.
So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. Here are some tips that have worked for me over the years:
1. Ignore everybody.2. The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to be yours.
3. Put the hours in.
4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
5. You are responsible for your own experience.
6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
7. Keep your day job.
8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
11. Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
13. Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.
14. Dying young is overrated.
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.
16. The world is changing.
17. Merit can be bought. Passion can't.
18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.
19. Sing in your own voice.
20. The choice of media is irrelevant.
21. Selling out is harder than it looks.
22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
23. Worrying about "Commercial vs. Artistic" is a complete waste of time.
24. Don't worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.
25. You have to find your own schtick.
26. Write from the heart.
27. The best way to get approval is not to need it.
28. Power is never given. Power is taken.
29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.
30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.
31. Remain frugal.
32. Allow your work to age with you.
33. Being Poor Sucks.
34. Beware of turning hobbies into jobs.
35. Savor obscurity while it lasts.
36. Start blogging. [see Why Every Client Should Want an Attorney Who Blogs here and the advice to "keep it quiet!" here)
The entire "must read" blog post can be found by clicking here (pdf) or here.
Thanks for the link to the Gaping Void post. I hadn't seen it before and it's given me a bunch of ideas to ponder.