I have a confession to make – I am a creative.
I get inspired by everything and everyone around me – especially nature. We just went on a fabulous hike this weekend to Crab Tree Falls, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.
It was an overcast day, perfect light for photography, so I snapped several photos of the magnificent Crab Tree waterfalls.
On Monday, I woke up to a pile of work on my desk but I still took the time to select and crop a few of the photographs I’d taken over the weekend. I couldn’t help myself – I am a creative.
I take a creative approach to my life and work. Creativity is central to my identity and career success.
Whether it’s career coaching, music composition or teaching mindfulness meditation, it’s the passion that gets me out of bed in the morning and doesn’t really feel like work to me.
When I left for the road to be a musician at 17, I didn’t realize I was a creative person following my passions, I was just fumbling through life.
After many years of introspection, I realize that we are all fundamentally creative, but many of us simply haven’t taken the time to nurture our inherent creativity. We must take a deep initiative to uncover our inborn talents and passions.
Once you do, to make a living at something you love, it’s simply a matter of creating a work life around your talents and passions. If you can’t figure this out on your own – get help.
Creative Class
I think we are in the midst of an intense change similar to the Industrial Revolution and the Renaissance period.
According to Richard Florida, the author of “The Rise of the Creative Class,” today’s economy is fundamentally a creative economy.
Economies such as the US, Europe, and Japan, which previously shifted from manufacturing to information and knowledge work are now relying more and more on creative work.
I predict as the speed and efficiency of technology increases, more jobs will be lost to automation or out-sourced abroad. Increasingly, computers will be used to handle linear, mundane and analytical tasks.
While information and knowledge are essential tools and materials of creativity, the difference is that it is not enough to merely store, process or analyze information – it must be creatively transformed into something innovative and valuable – something new.
If you’re a right-brain or lateral thinker, rejoice, because the most important skill for economic survival in the 21st century is creativity.
If you are pursuing a creative career, conventional career advice probably isn’t much use to you. In order to forge a path to success you must use your creativity to bundle your skills and mold or invent your own job description.
We’re All Entrepreneurs Now
The predictable career path is ancient history. Because of the precarious position our economy is in, I think we all need to take an entrepreneurial approach to our own careers.
This means taking responsibility for developing our business skills, networks and reputation. We need to be creatively thinking about how we are going to create opportunities for ourselves.
As a creative entrepreneur, I am committed toward developing my business talents like sales, copy writing, branding and positioning, web design and internet marketing, not only to help my business grow, but also to support my creative clients.
First – Get Clear
Take time and dig deep to discover everything that you are passionate about. If you can’t figure out what you’re passionate about – no worries. Just identify things that bring you joy, write them down. Abundance flows when we love what we are doing.
Use mindfulness meditation to clear your subconscious mind of mindsets and beliefs until you uncover a deep clarity of mind which allows your creativity to shine forth naturally, effortlessly and easily. And then take action.
My main rational for making money has always been to create more freedom and time to do what I really love to do – time to write and follow my muse and to help my clients. Because I believe that a successful life isn’t a successful life unless you’re helping others.
I love to help creatives become more conscious of why they show up on the planet and find the courage to follow their dreams by getting in touch with their natural inborn creativity to devise a heart-based location-independent lifestyle around what they’re passionate about.
Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear from you!
