We only get better when we stay committed to learning. As a creative, your work can be one of the biggest lessons to learn from. Too often we’re so busy we see right past our lessons in hopes of completing the task. Here are a few lessons your work is trying to teach you this week:
Do The Work – Show up, start working, don’t quit. No matter if you subscribe the the 10,000 hour rule, the belief that you have to get the first 100 bad songs out before you write your first good one, or the concept of repetition, they’re all the same concept. Come to work. Start working. Do it everyday. Trust the process and then, show up again the next day. The more you do anything the better you will get at it. And success doesn’t change that. “Arriving” is the biggest opportunity to lose your edge. Tenacious persistency will allow you to be amazingly good.
Tell Your Story – How do you see things? Use that filter. Tell what you know, what you see, what you are learning, and what you are filtering. Don’t fall into the trap of telling the story someone else sees or experiences. Use what you are seeing and experiencing to tell the story your way.
Work With Others – Work in community. It will make you so much better. Feed off of the creative people around you. Creating in community allows us to build ideas on ideas as opposed to trying to stretch one idea to be the absolute best. Community matters most in creating. Sharing is caring and working in groups promotes sharing ideas. Your best stuff will happen when you work with others.
Stay Out Of The Way – Always put the success of the project and the organization above your idea, desire, or ego. You might believe you have the best ideas but remember the momentum of what we’re building matters so much more than our idea or being recognized for an idea. You are not what you do, so stay out of the way and keep your ego in check.
Keep The Goal In Front – Everyone has to know the mission. When you know the mission, you can do your part in making it succeed. Stay invested and remember the WHY. For most of us that’s life change – and that is huge! Vision is fuel for amazing creativity. When everyone truly cares about the work they’re producing, it shows in the final creation.
Practice The Law Of Attention – Where we put attention creates motion. Make sure you’re putting your attention on the things that matter and create momentum. Details are HUGE and matter because they make things “go.”
Surround Yourself With Rock Stars – Find the people you admire and work with them. You might not be on a team together but surround yourself with people you care about, people you like, and people who will push you. If you’re afraid to be pushed, you probably aren’t really desiring the best for you or the organization. You will become like the people you’re around so if you want to be your best, surround yourself with people who are better than you!
Help Others – Always look for ways to serve others. Serving removes entitlement. When we humble ourselves and go out of the way for others, we actually help build more than art…we build culture and relationship!
*Stay Coachable! – Remember there is more to learn. You can always get better. Look for opportunities to grow, develop, stretch, and learn. Maybe seek out some coaching, a mentor, or a relationship that challenges you.
*If you are really hungry, you could sign up for coaching with Jenni Catron and I this fall! Here is a link. I am so excited about this opportunity and think it could be a game changer for you!
What would you add to this list?
