Your creative life is your story. Critics have their own stories.

Your creative life, is a life dedicated to exploring emotions, memories, observations, images, sounds, ideas and anything else that 's important to you. Creative people make a career from these things.

Your story is why you find these things interesting.  When we stop exploring things that interest us, we loose the very reason we started in the first place.

That gives the inner critic reason to question everything we try to do. They try to provide an alternative story. A story that tries to convince us that we don't know why we're doing what we are doing.

This is what an external critic does. They either don't know your story or their try to project their own stories onto you. A critic has a mental picture about what they expect you to conform to. Of course, it's impossible for you to match what they see in your work with their mental pictures. And so, they will criticise you for it.

This is important because you need to know that their comments are inspired by their own view or picture of the world and they're not necessarily about you.

As long as you know your story, and your audience knows it as well, you can ignore their unfair, un-constructive or negative criticism.

(For the creative content & story telling series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

Which are you... Performer? Image maker? Music maker? Or Story Teller?

There's probably about 14,000 different job descriptions out there. Any one of those will suit you perfectly. Even if you use the process of elimination, you can spent a long time figuring out which is the best for you.

That sounds like a lot of work so I'm just going to focus on just four general areas: Performer, Image maker, Music maker & story teller.

There is some overlap with these terms, but they are distinct enough to point you in the direction that will best suit you best.

A performer is anyone who does something before an audience (For the sake of this article, is not a musician).

An image maker is anyone who create images, be it still or motion graphics.

A Music maker is anyone who creates, plays or sings music. (That isn't primarily a sound technician).

And a Storyteller is anyone who creates and presents stories live or in a recorded form.

Each of these four categories contain a lot of different types of work.

You may well fall into one category quite easily, but becoming highly creative in your area of interest or expertise, you need to combine two or more of these areas.

For example; An image maker can create works that are far more meaningful for the audience if the image contained text that helps to convey a message or story.

Obviously a lot of music includes voice, but a song doesn't always have a clear story.

Even when a song is part of a music video (image making), it seldom provides any visual support for a story.

So if you are a performer, Image maker or music maker, become a Story teller as well.

If you are a Performer (like a Comedian), include visual elements so what you'll be more memorable.

Play with all the wonderful combinations, so that your creativity & your career will become more than any one form can do alone.

The most successful people have always been the best Story Tellers. What is your story?

And how are you going to express it?

(For the creative content & story telling series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

What is your story?

Your story is probably one of the most important things you can ever discover about yourself. It describes where you came from. Why you do what you do. It reveals your journey. It defines your goals and your story explains why it matters.

Your story keeps you focused, and it give your audience a chance to get to know you. It helps them relate to you. It gives them reason to tell others about you.

It's your Bio. It's your elevator speech. It's your introduction. It's you in a nutshell.

It isn't just what you do. It's why you do it and why it gives value to others.

You are the embodiment of that story. That way, every project makes sense to you and to your fans.

If you ever walked around an Art Gallery, you may have noticed that people can spend almost as much time reading the small painting descriptions on the wall, as they do looking at the art. Because people want to know who painted it, when and what the story behind the art is.

You have a story. It's more interesting than you think, and it grows over time, as you do. 

(For the creative content & story telling series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

Some write the story of their life when they are old. Some write it in advance.

If you were asked to write the story of your life before you feel you have started to live it, would you know were to begin?

An easier question would be; If you would have written any book ever published, which book would it be, and why?

When I first asked myself that question, the first book that came into my mind was 'The Agony and the ecstasy', about the life of Michelagelo. Of course, he didn't write that book, but it was about his life and work. But what still impresses me about him is his work & the dedication, scale and how prolific he was. I admire that.

If I was to write the story of what I want my life to look like, I'm not sure I could imagine doing as much as he did. But in many ways, I am write my story in advance. I have a clear vision on what I want my life to look like in the future. I want to enjoy the process of creating everything I'm doing now and in the future.

I'm writing my story in advance. Each day is another page. That's why each day matters.

Don't wait till you're old to write you story. If you do, you'll probably have little to say. Write it now and you'll have a great story to share with the world.

(For the content & story telling series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

Ownership equals Choice. Be a content creator & you own the content.

When I as a young designer, I was focused on getting all the techniques right. I read the how-to magazines and the software manuals. If I didn't know how to do something, I would find out. I enjoyed leaning how to do new things. Everyone I knew was doing pretty much the same thing. When ever I talked to other designers, that was the things we talked about.

But I became aware that just knowing HOW to do something wasn't enough.

I knew I didn't own the design, I didn't own any of it. All I had were the printouts of the work for my portfolio.

The clients would give great feedback, so I knew my designs were doing the job. But I wanted to own what I did. I wanted to create things that were from me, and I could choose where, when and why they were used.

I didn't want to just be technically skilled. Learning new skills are very important, but I also wanted to be a Content Creator. Like a Songwriter or a Painter or a maker of wonderful things. Something I could put my name to.

So I discovered the concept that; 'Ownership equals choice'.

So being a Content Creator gives you a lot more choices that you wouldn't have otherwise.

Choice is a freedom. Freedom to decide which direction your life should take. What projects to pursue, what times to work & how you want your work to be used.

There's nothing wrong with working for others, but if you want more creative freedom to choose what projects interest you, then you need to focus on YOUR content. What do you want to express? What medium do you want to use to say those things that are important to you?

If you want to have more creative control of what you do, you need to be more than skilled, you need to create your own content.

(For the content & story telling series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

Every story is a journey, every face a story.

To a storyteller, every story is a journey. To a journalist, every face has a story.

We live in a world that has changed so much since the early storytellers sat at the campfires and told their family about the days hunt, or old story passed down from earlier generations.

But the power of a story hasn't changed, and the basic components of a good story haven't changes either. So the modern day storytellers haven't changed too much. The way we tell and receive stories have become more sophisticated, but the need to tell them & receive them hasn't changed. People are inherently curious about other places and people. We love the ways a storyteller takes his audience on a journey they haven't taken and to be introduced to people we haven't met.

We are transported and introduced to the world. I remember watching TV one day, and later counting that I had 'visited' seven regions of the world, thought seven documentaries (Some of them being Docu-dramas about animals). I endured the long winter with Emperor Penguins. I visited archaeological ruins of places I never heard of before. I was told the story of these places. Why they flourished and what were their challenges. I learnt something about their journeys & the stories that went with the faces.

(For the creative content & story telling series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

Your inner creative voice speaks to you. The inner critic tends to interrupt.

You inner creative voice has lots of ways to speak to you. Through connective thoughts, daydreams, imagination, night dreams and remembrances. This 'voice' actually uses words, images and moving pictures to convey messages to our conscious mind. It's very efficient in the way it times & sends these messages. If one line of communication is busy or ignores, it will try another line. If you're busy, it will try and get your attention some other way.

Unfortunately, most people become very good at ignoring all messages,(even though most of the messages never stop coming). Daydreams seem to be the most efficient way to get the attention of the conscious mind for any length of time. Even if the person just dismisses the daydream as wishful thinking, unrealistic or just plain silly.

Many of us also have an inner critic that can become very good at screening these messages. Like having your grandma as a secretary. She will look at the message and say, "You might get hurt if you try that". Or "Better safe than sorry". Or if she is having a really bad day, she might say, "Don't be so stupid, who do you think you are?"

So, your inner critic may be just trying to protect you from risk. Her motto is, "You need to survive, don't draw attention to yourself & look out for number one".

But creativity is about trying new things. New things require some risk, and risk is part of the package if you want the good things as well.

One moment please, you have a new message…

(For the confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

You must give yourself permission to be creative.

We never think to give ourselves permission to be creative. We think its just something we do in our spare time. Something we try and do, only if we have done everything else. Something we do when no one wants as to do something.

We all function differently; some are task/time orientated. Some are more people/needs orientated. Either way, the expectations & responsibilities of daily life can make it seem impossible to have a more creative life.

We can find it so difficult to find enough creative time because we give everything a higher priority. There are things that are voluntary as well. There are things we feel we should enjoy, like leisure, relaxation or entertainment. We give ourselves permission to do those things because we believe we need or deserve it.

We feel a need to be creative but we don't always believe we deserve to enjoy it. Particularly if people in your past have made you feel a little guilty for the time you had spent in creative activity. Particularly the task/time people. It you didn't say to yourself that you should be doing other things, I guarantee there has been others who have said it to you: "You need to get going". "You'll run late". "I thought you was going to help me".

We're trained to expect too much from ourselves because others have expected too much from us.

So, give yourself permission to create. Give yourself time to be creative. Give yourself permission to loose track of time. Give yourself permission to do creative things. Not to finish quickly or do it as it 'should be', but just for the pure joy of doing it.

(For the confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

You have faith in your creativity when you know the solution will come. Even when you still don't understand the problem.

One of the traits of a predominately creative personality is a Tolerance for Ambiguity.

They don't feel the need to understand everything before they start a project they haven't done before. They just have a fascination with the problem. They know they don't understand it but they know that its a challenge worthy of their curiosity and time.

This 'Not knowing' is too much for some people. They may have an Intelligent Guy reputation to maintain. They can't be seen getting involved in something they don't understand. The right people might thing they're crazy.

Creative personalities don't base their self worth on what is already known, but on knowing the unknown.

(For the confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

We rise & fall with the level of courage & expectation we have in us.

We all want good things to happen in our lives, but do we expect it to happen, or just wish it will?

It's when we start to do things, that we begin to move to a different level. We go from wishing to hoping. We hope that what we are trying to achieve will happen, but to make it happen we must finish what we started. And to finish, we must expect to finish, no matter what. It's that "No matter what" that elevates us to a higher level.

You can't feel courage. You can only DO courage. Prolonged action makes us courageous.

People wait for enough courage before they attempt anything new, but it's the attempt that 'encourages' courage.

(For the confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

We have many truly great thinkers from history. But they would prefer we share our own thoughts.

f you ever read books about great people from history. Or read quotes from them, you would have been impressed with their insight and wisdom. For this reason we like to quote them.

People aren't always famous because of what they said, but by what they had accomplished. That is that impresses us. That is often what inspires us to read about them.

I notice that a lot people today are quoting these historical figures. In there own books and online. But what would these historical figures encourage us to do? I would suggest they prefer we think for ourselves, because that is what many of them did. They probably had an opinion on almost everything (like we do). But they often confined their opinions to their subject choices.

There isn't any reason why everyone can't have an opinion or point of view that others would be interested in. But people don't express constructive opinions because they don't believe they have any. And that's because they haven't focused on a subject they're intensely interested in. Or they don't have the confidence to share that interest with others. Or maybe they're afraid people will steal their ideas.

Taking quotes from famous (successful) people is the same as taking ideas from anyone. But ideas and opinions are meant to be shared. Thats what makes people successful. Even the secret genius will never be remembered, because he didn't share what he thought.

My encouragement; If you have a subject that you want to be known for, begin to share your opinions. If you do it enough, maybe people will be quoting you in the future. But I hope you will encourage them to trust what they think too.

(For the confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

Negative creativity: Creating reasons not to create regularly.

"I wish I could find the time to create".

Have you ever said that. I have many times, but I don't say that as much as I used to. And not because I have more time now. I just decided that its one of my main priorities now.

People tend to put create time into the, "When I've finished everything else, then I'll start that project". What they don't realise, they have just made it their lowest priority. They're waiting until they have nothing else to do. Of course, that hardly ever happens. And when there is nothing urgent to do, then it's relaxation time. "After all, I deserve it". This is what Negative Creativity is. You create reasons not to create what you actually love doing, but fear or subtle guilt tries to justify the endless delay.

We can also let the world create extra resistance for us as well. Some one asks us to help out with something and we say yes. Then we say yes to the next thing, and so on it goes.

Sometimes its as easy as turning on the TV, or checking your phone.

You may still think that you don't have the time to create like you used to, but you have 168 hours a week, just like everyone else that ever lived. All those great innovator had jobs and families. They didn't have a lot of the modern (time saving) conveniences that you have. But they structured their life so they could have daily or regular times specifically set aside for the work that fascinated them.

Your time is very valuable. Its the stuff of life.

(For the confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

Most people are waiting for something good to happen. I don't know why.

People waiting to win a lottery, to get a promotion, to inherit something, to move to a better place, to get a better computer, to get a better job or to retire. But how many of these things happen regularly?

It seems the longer I live, the more I realise that there isn't many reasons to wait (and the more I need to be patient with people).

People are waiting for the perfect idea, the perfect time, the perfect plan, but it's not a perfect world and circumstances are never ideal. You can never be sure you know everything you need to do a new project. Just start. Just create. Learn as you go, and don't wait.

(For the confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

Many do only what they believe they can do. Some do what they believe they can learn to do.

How many time have we not done something just because we didn't know how to do it?

Probably the biggest destinction between people who have accomplished many things and those who haven't, is the willingness to learn alone the way.

At the very least, people who accomplished things thought they knew how to do something, only to discover that the project required things they didn't know. But since they had pasted the point of no return, they learnt it anyway.

But its the "Just start and work out how to do it as I go" people that actually accomplish the most.

Creativity is often about trying things that you haven't done before. Maybe something that no one has done before.

So to be highly creative, you need to believe that there is always a way, always a solution, always an answer just waiting to be found. And often its just like that. Often people don't find the answer until they go looking for it. Often, I find multiple options.

So never say, "I can't do it because I don't know how". Say instead, "I don't know how to do it but I know I'll find a way". You might even find a way that no one has ever discovered.

(For the confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

Don't let a creative project get too big. You might see yourself too small to finish it.

It's easy to imagine yourself doing a major work. To make a grand statement. An idea so big, it's sure to capture attention.

We look at the Eiffel Tower or Mt Rushmore or the Sistine Chapel and wonder if we could ever accomplish something as big as that.

An Architect who dreams of doing a building that will be the icon building of a whole city.

An inventor who dreams of presenting an innovation that will change the way the world works.

Or a Composer or Artist who hopes to complete a project that becomes the defining work of their generation.

Call it ambition. Call it Vision. We all have something in us that dares to dream of doing something big.

But even projects that seem modest in comparison can end up becoming a huge commitment. Sometimes we just didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.

If we understand better how our relationship to a project changes from it's beginning to the end, we might look at the creative process more clearly.

We typically begin with an idea that excites us. We're keen to get started. We do some basic planning. We organise what we think we need. Then we begin. Everything is going along smoothly. We're making good progress. Then we're two thirds finished, we discover that we needed to think about things that we hadn't anticipated, or we decide that we need to add something extra. Either an extension to the original design or some details we think the project needs.

But this time, ideas for other projects are making their impatient voices heard. But the project itself is presenting some technical challenges, (since most projects typically begin creative and become more technical towards the end).

Then what can happen, people can loose sight of the end. As the saying goes, "People fail because they gave up not knowing how close they were to the end".

I also read that it can take half the time to finish the last 5% of a project. This is often something that people don't allow for. Creating a new website can be like that. Getting every link to work as it should took me half the time it took to design the whole website.

Another thing that can happen is, a project rarely turns out exactly like the original vision. Even though it looks great, it still looks different than expected. This can be a problem if you expect real life to match your imagination every time. But just enjoy the process of creating, and most of all, enjoy the final result. Remember, what looks less than perfect to you will look fantastic to everyone else.

I'm not saying you should forget your grand plans. Just plan them better. Keep each step clear and as simple as possible. Get help with the technical details, that other people are naturally good at. And keep sight on the end.

(For the confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

Creative heros followed their ideas into unknown territory.

We all start off with an idea worth exploring. Over the years we realise that these ideas almost always lead to things that weren't planned. A lot of happy accidents, unexpected results and serendipity.

But almost always, those ideas lead us into unknown territory. This isn't a place that most people are prepared to go. It wasn't part of the plan. It requires knowledge, skills, effort & time that wasn't budgeted for.

This is often the point where people are tempted to abandon an idea, even if they believe it had some potential. But like all good ideas; they're not the easy option.

Those creative heroes that did achieve great things, where prepared to follow their ideas where ever they would lead, because they showed a glimpse of promise. A promise of something better. I theory that had to be tested, no matter if the theory was accurate or not. They knew that an interesting but unintended result was as good as the result first imagined. Imagination is so important, but sometimes it's the things they didn't imagine that became their biggest ideas.

(For the confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

Creative courage begins when you fear mediocrity.

Courage is seen as a strength, but often it can be just avoiding the things we fear.

Those things we want no part of. For me, it's the fear of Mediocrity. The fear of just being average. Of being just like a lot of people I've meet or worked with. The one's that want a safe, predictable life but always fear they will loose their job.

Mediocrity doesn't think for itself. It wants to look better than the next guy, by making you look bad. It has a standard pattern of responses to everything. It complains endlessly about who got more crumbs than them & why they should get more. They want to be defined by the way they look rather by what they do. Mediocrity hopes for a more comfortable version of average.

These are the things that I'm afraid of. I don't want to be that. I want to be more, even if I have to rely on myself more. Instead of relying on being liked for beginning more alike.

Mediocrity is average, average is predictable, predictable is boring. I want life to be full of surprises. I want to surprise myself sometimes. I want to be surprised by unexpected success in every area of my life.

(For confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com

"COUUURAGE, YARRRRHH" Ah, I feel better now.

Creativity is another word for courage.

I can understand that, because a creative person who attempts untried things on a regular basis, wouldn't do it if he didn't have some courage. Particularly if he's sensitive to things around him and in him, like many creative people are.

What is considered courageous? The willingness to fight for an idea despite your fears. Doing something you haven't done before. Doing something no one has done before. Proceeding despite getting hurt or being hurt in the past. Risking the resources that an untried project requires. Facing the prospect people won't encourage or understand what you're trying to do. Or just believing that you may not have what it takes to make it a reality.

The important thing to remember is, most of these things are imagined fears. Often the opposite things happen; You idea will be accepted somewhere, You will learn a lot in the process. Your investment in time, money & resources have a better chance of paying off, than if you just did the safe thing. If you share your enthusiasm about your vision with others, some will want to help you.

No one knows their own future but those who have the courage to create the future they want, will most likely enjoy just that.

(For confidence & courage series)

Steve writes & coaches about Creative & Career Development

You can find Steve at: www.ineedtocreate.com