On how you’re showing up for yourself, for your colleagues, for your customers, for your family.
If you’re going to show up and do something, why not do it with as much confidence as you’ve got?
Even if you are a little insecure about your current abilities? Why not go forth and make anyway? Who cares what people think early on? Even later on? The child doesn’t. She just goes. She isn’t even thinking about anybody else’s opinion. Nor would she care. Nothing stops her: not having the right tools; not having the right amount of money; not having the new iPhone; not having the team to help her do the work; not having a coach or mentor to show her the way; not having a boss to assign the creative project to her; certainly not having enough time in which to do it. She makes. It is what she does. Like she was born to do it with unlimited permission. Like it is her default behavior. She does it without question. If you seek creative essence at its best, look at creativity through the eyes of a 4 year-old child.
It is possible to recapture this as an adult or teen. The way you do it is to practice the craft every day at a set time. If you say you don’t have any time to do this, get up earlier. Get out of bed earlier and go create right after you get up out of bed. That is your time. This is your prolific time. This is your creative time. This is your strategy time. This is your best thinking time.
All of this belongs to you, and is yours for the taking if you will simply allow yourself to set it up and take it. There should be nothing else going on at this hour, this moment , for you then these. No kids up early. No spouse up early. No doggie up early. No email. No conf calls. No DMs up early. No Facebook this early. No IG this early. No Tik Tok this early. No running the kids around the city this early. No. This is your designated creative time.
The only entity that can take this away from you is you. And if you wake up early and you say you still don’t have enough time for you, then you need to take a look at your priorities. Don’t you deserve this time? Everyone should have their own creative time. The time where they get to work on leaving their mark on the world.
Then, you show up. Every day. Ready to serve. No excuses. You show up ready to serve with excellence. You show up ready to serve yourself with creative excellence. You show up ready to serve your audience with excellence. You show up ready to serve your market with gifts. You show up ready to serve your family with excellence. You set the example. You are a creative leader. You teach people to show up by showing up every day. You teach them what is most important. You teach them how they, too, can make their difference by showing up consistently for people, desiring to make things better by making better things.
Seth Godin says that the best way to complain is to make things better. Start by making things better for you. Give yourself the gift of showing up for you creatively first. Then, do it again. Then, do it again. Then, do it again. Then, do it again. Then, do it again. Creativity requires repetition. Do it again. Do it again. Do it again. Now, you’re starting to get the hang of it. Do it again. Do it again. Do it again. Oh, now you’re starting to get good. Then, do it again. Then, do it again. Then, do it again. Now, you’re becoming prolific.
Want better marketing?
Want better marketing? Tell better stories. Improve your storytelling ability. Practice. Capture customer success stories. Show & tell the story of transformation you offer your market because that’s what you’re really offering. You are moving people to their Promised Land, to whatever that means to them. You’re here to incite positive change. You’re here to create positive, enhancing experiences. You’re here to make them better versions of themselves. You’re here to show them that they, too, can do this. You’re here to help them believe in themselves again. You’re here to show them they already have everything they need to get started.
Your customer is already good enough. She doesn’t need anything else to begin. She already has everything she needs. She isn’t missing anything. Let’s help her let go of the junk she’s held onto in the past and finally give her permission to Go. Get out of her own way and go, do, create. Make the new default taking action, not stymied by over thinking and analysis paralysis and stay-in-your-lane nonsense. The world needs her at her creative best, contributing and collaborating to make better things.
We need to think about how best to give her the guidance, confidence and tools to help her do what she’s here to do. We are here to rekindle the fire that she once had inside, to help her rediscover her Why. Because it is so easy to forget about our deepest motivation. Why did we get into this in the first place? Making a living becomes too important too quickly. What was it before that? What made us choose this? This allows us to become far more intentional about what we’re here for, for whom we’re showing up, for What we decide our legacy to be.
People support what they create.
We need to get her creating again. She needs to be reminded that it is her life. It isn’t anyone else’s. It is her job to create it and make those dreams manifest. Our job is to show her she already has everything she needs to go create right now. She needs to create again because through creativity, we build momentum. Through creativity, we build confidence. Through creativity, we build discipline. Through creativity, we build resilience. Through creativity, we build our reputation. Through creativity, we build our legacy.
Wouldn’t it be something to morph from a non-creative person to someone who is known as the most creative person in the room? That change is possible — even probable — if you’re willing to put in the creative work & time investment it requires. It is really no different than hitting the mental gym consistently. Only this work is more fun than the gym. You’re stretching and training muscles that you’ve always had but you didn’t know it. This workout is perspective shifting. You are gaining something new that you didn’t have before: another point of view. You’re learning to see again.
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