Amen, Brother Hugh
January 24th, 2007
I just read Hugh McLeod’s How to be Creative. It’s all good. And worth the read.
Direct (well, edited a bit) from Hugh:
“The world is changing.
Some people are hip to it, others are not. If you want to be able to afford groceries in 5 years, I’d recommend listening closely to the former and avoiding the latter. Just my two cents.
In order to navigate The New Realities you have to be creative—not just within your particular profession, but in EVERYTHING. Your way of looking at the world will need to become ever more fertile and original. And this isn’t just true for artists, writers, techies, Creative Directors and CEOs; this is true for EVERYBODY. Janitors, receptionists and bus drivers, too. The game has just been ratcheted up a notch.
The old ways are dead. And you need people around you who concur. That means hanging out more with the creative people, the freaks, the real visionaries, than you’re already doing. Thinking more about what their needs are, and responding accordingly. It doesn’t matter what industry we’re talking about—architecture, advertising, petrochemicals— they’re around, they’re easy enough to find if you make the effort, if you’ve got something
worthwhile to offer in return. Avoid the dullards; avoid the folk who play it safe. They can’t help you anymore. Their stability model no longer offers that much stability. They are extinct, they are extinction.”
Other posts by Robbin.
daveednyc says:
Everyone is creative at some point in their lives. For some it happens more frequently. I don’t know if it’s the work, “the messaging”, the client, or straight-up ennui, but I’m finding it harder and harder to amp up the creativity. What to do when the “dullards” are the ones paying your bills?
OK, rant over.
Great blog folks — just started reading it. A breath of fresh air among the usual ad-ranting.
January 26th, 2007 at 10:04 am