New Tip: Seven Rules Of Creativity You Should Know

If you’re want to live the creative life, you need to know the rules of the game. There are 7 basic rules of creativity that every creator should know to flourish
1. CREATE SOMETHING EVERY SINGLE DAY

Persistence is key when it comes to creativity. Every day you create, you are exercising your creative muscles and becoming bigger, better and more confident with what you do. You’re also keeping the momentum going which is essential to living the creative life. Create something every single day and you’ll quickly see your creativity flourish.

2. ALWAYS HAVE YOUR BASIC TOOLS AT HAND

Always have your most basic creative tools at hand and you’ll never be stuck with an idea and no way to express it. Your most basic tools might be as simple as a sketchbook and pencil, or as complex as an entire creativity on-the-go kit complete with all the tools you need to create on the spot wherever you are. Whatever it is, make sure you have it on hand for when inspiration strikes.

3. BELIEVE IN YOUR CREATIVITY

To live the creative life you need to believe in your abilities and set out to express them creatively every single day. Without the belief, staying focused and creatively productive can be tough! Importantly, you need to believe in your creativity before anyone else can, so if you’re ready to make your mark, start believing in your own creativity today.

4. CULTIVATE A CREATIVITY HABIT

Forming a creativity habit is essential to living a creative life. Set aside as little as 30 minutes a day, and choose a set time and place to make it happen. Stick to it and show up to create every day, even when you’re feeling uninspired and out of ideas. Of course you can go on and create for much longer than your set time each day but it’s a minimum and a start to get you going. You’ll be surprised at the difference it will make to your creative output over the course of a week, month and year!

5. LIMIT YOUR OPTIONS TO FOCUS IN

As a creator, you instinctively think that having options would a great thing but it can actually make the creative process much harder. Give yourself some self imposed boundaries to create within such as specific creative medium, theme or a time limit. Limiting your options by setting these rules of creativity will help you focus in and spark unique ideas you never would have thought of before to create something truly amazing.

6. EMBRACE YOUR ‘BAD’ IDEAS

Embrace all your ideas, both ‘good’ and ‘bad’, and give them a go before dismissing them. It’s easy to make a judgement on a half formed idea but until you have further developed it, your assessment of it as a ‘bad’ idea is just a hunch. Some initially bad ideas can form into something amazing so give them a fair go, to form into something wonderful first.

7. JOIN A CREATIVE COMMUNITY

There’s nothing more powerful than joining a creative community. Whether it’s online or in your local area, joining together with other creative people and sharing your experiences, challenges and successes is a powerful way to propel yourself to living a fulfilling creative life every single day. Your creative community will be there to support you through both good and bad and cheer you all the way. Being part of a creative community is one of the most crucial rules of creativity because it will help you keep going even when things get tough.

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Entrepreneurial Tip: Four Things No One Tells You About Entrepreneurship

The purpose of this article is not to give you the history of entrepreneurship but to share a realistic picture of being an entrepreneur that’s outside of the conversation in the popular media—the real story.  The ugly parts. Because the truth is that not everyone is meant to be an astronaut, not everyone is meant to be a doctor, not everyone is meant to be a sandwich maker and, certainly, not everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur.

Below I’ve outlined what I consider to be some of the most difficult parts of being an entrepreneur, the underbelly of entrepreneurship in an age when entrepreneurs are celebrities. I say this not to discourage would-be entrepreneurs, but to paint a realistic picture.

1) There is a sense of isolation that is really profound. We’re all used to being part of a reference group. When you’re an employee of an established business, you have your colleagues. When you’re in college, you have your classmates. And when you get involved in the community, you have fellow organization members. But when you start a business, you are truly on your own. If you’re lucky, you may have a partner or a co-founder, but that’s it. There is a tremendous sense of isolation and loneliness that comes with not having this reference group. Not a lot of people like to talk about it, whether out of embarrassment or because it doesn’t fit with the perceived personality type of a successful entrepreneur, but the sense of isolation is real.

2) Most businesses provide a lifestyle and a job, but they don’t provide wealth. For example, most restaurant owners probably take home an income that is not much greater than that made by a restaurant manager at a popular chain. That’s important to understand because we think of entrepreneurs as wealthy when the truth is that most entrepreneurs have a job and a very difficult job at that. This is another important misconception that’s not often discussed.

3) It usually takes many years to build a business. I’ve run three businesses in my lifetime: a very simple business, a moderately simple business and a very complicated business. In the first business, the “simple” one, it took me a year to make profits. In the second business, the moderately simple one, it took me about three years to become profitable. To make the third and most complicated business profitable and scalable, it took us about six years of grinding, stretching and pushing. It even took Facebook 5 years to become profitable. It is not common for a business to skyrocket to revenue and profitability. For most entrepreneurs, it takes many years to build a real company.

4) You have to manage people. When you’re running a business, you’re constantly managing, not just employees but vendors and customers as well. You’re always the bad guy, you’re making difficult decisions, and, in many ways, you’re alone with your decisions. I had a friend who ran a business and he used to refer to himself as the Grim Reaper: He was always the guy with the bad news, always the guy to find the problem that really needed to be addressed. Managing people is not easy, and it doesn’t come naturally to many people. However, it’s a critical part of being a successful business leader and entrepreneur.

If you love what you’re doing and you like business, being an entrepreneur could be a great thing. It’s certainly good for the country, but recognize that it might not live up to the picture painted in the popular media

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New Tip: Three Ways Introverts Can Boost Their Personal Brand

Picture, for a second, a man. He is not very outgoing. Pretty reserved, actually; he spends a lot of time alone. When in crowds his mind gets jumbled, and his heart starts beating just a little faster. The man knows of his true potential, but can’t even begin to think about carrying out the steps needed to get there.

If this sounds like you, chances are you’re an introvert.

But introverted people have personal brands just like the rest of the world, and denying that will most likely lead to a mediocre career path. The truth is, introverts have the potential to command just as big, if not bigger, personal brands than even the most extroverted people.

Here are some ways you can build your personal brand without giving up too much of your personal space:

1. Public speaking

Every introvert’s worst nightmare is, unfortunately, a very important part of building a personal brand -- but much of the time your fear is simply a result of your mind playing tricks on you.

One of introverts’ biggest stigmas of public speaking is thinking the audience will judge them poorly during their speech, no matter how well-rehearsed it is. This can seriously affect how the speaking engagement goes. A method that works for many introverts is to repeat something such as, “The audience will not judge me poorly.” The more you repeat it, eventually you believe it (at least temporarily) and perform better than if you hadn’t.

People come to your speaking events because they want to learn more about you and what you’re talking about. There is also no problem in extending your Q&A session in order to take a little pressure off of yourself.

Use your network to score speaking opportunities on live podcasts or webinars. While they may not be as effective as non-digital public speaking, these opportunities allow introverts to grow their reach and credibility in a way that makes them most comfortable.

. Digital presence

The Internet provides the benefits of interacting with people all without ever having to leave your room. Through social media, you can network with people around the world, all from the comfort of your own personal space.

You can also publish quality content and share it with your followers in order to maximize reach and establish further credibility as an influencer. Writing your fantastic ideas and thoughts for the whole world to read can do amazingly good things for your personal brand.

3. Traditional networking

Social media still doesn’t substitute for traditional networking. Meeting people in-person is the most ancient method of networking for a reason -- it works.

But who’s to say you only have to meet people at trade shows and networking events? Instead, simply research people you’d like to speak with and create a list. Then, find out where they’ll be speaking or which events they’re attending and go there yourself.

Once you get there, you’ll already have a person in mind to speak with, so the thought overload of who to talk to first or where to start won’t be as overwhelming. It may take a couple times to get used to it, and it may not always go as planned, but having that short-term goal can help you forget your anxiety so you can make the most from your conversations.

Entrepreneurial tip: 7 Ways to Dress to Impress

Entrepreneurs spend countless hours on their education, networking, writing papers, getting credentials, taking workshops and classes -- anything to stay competitive and get ahead -- but a majority of them overlook their own visual résumé as part of the package.

Never underestimate the power of your own image. When you dress in a way that lets people know you have a sense of security, and present yourself in a professional manner, it makes a huge difference. When you dress sloppy, you send the message that your comfort and the way you like to dress are more important than your customers, investors, partners and employees.

Sure, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, but sadly, that’s not how the business world works. Everyone makes snap judgments about the people they come in contact with every day. Your appearance contributes to others’ opinions of you.

Here are seven tips on how to project a more professional image at work.

1. Prevent wrinkles and missing buttons. Inspect your clothes regularly and hang or fold your garments immediately after wearing. If you notice a button missing, sew it back on or take it to a seamstress.

2. Keep your clothes and shoes looking fresh and in good condition. Make friends with your local dry cleaner, tailor, and bootblack. It’s the details that will make a difference between you and your competitors.

3. Pay attention to your nails. Everyone looks at hands. Keep your nails clean and trimmed. Your nails are an indicator that you’re likely to pay attention to details at work, too.

4. Don’t skimp on shoes. You have only one pair of feet, so buy the best shoes you can afford. Keep your shoes polished and scuff-free. If the heels are worn down, get them repaired. Men, buy cedar shoe trees. They will preserve the shape of your shoes and will help control odor and absorb moisture.

5. Pay attention to your accessories. Invest in high-quality, useful accessories. Carry a nice pen, briefcase, portfolio, and a leather-covered notepad or tablet.

6. Keep a jacket handy. Whenever you wear a jacket, it shows that you’re armed for business. Keep a jacket on the back of your office door or in a dark garment bag in your car in case you’re called to attend an important presentation or an unexpected meeting with a customer or client.

7. Dress for your client’s comfort, not your own. Stay away from clothes that are too tight, too short, too baggy or too revealing. If you’re not sure whether you should wear something or not, don’t take a chance. If it doesn’t fit well, dump it or donate it. Always dress a step above what your client will be wearing.

Branding The Product: You (contd)

In having a personal brand dimension, this shows you what you look like to someone else - what specific attributes go into the image of your brand they carry around with them in their mind. Remember you are a product that is to be launched; those that would ‘purchase’ you should carry a good impression about you. There are 3 dimensions which people connect to a brand through; they are roles, standards and style

Let us now take them one after the other, remember that this 3 dimension explain how you are being perceived by someone else.

1.            Roles;

In business, when consumers think about a brand-whether it represents a product, a service, a company, or an employer – often they first describe it based on what it does for them. Regardless of how it was built (standard) or how it looks (style) a car have to start, move, stop keep the rain out, and keep the passenger in (roles).

Building a strong personal brand starts from a similar base. It starts from being competent, which means to be at some level qualified (or, more accurately, ‘perceived’ to be qualified) to do something for someone. Your roles are the fundamental reasons you are in a particular relationship with another person; father or mother, sister or brother, boss, attorney, friend, financial or spiritual advisor, spouse or former spouse, nurse, colleague or -worker, classmate or team mate.

Before you can begin to make your personal brand distinctively different, you must ensure that you a have demonstrated to the person with whom you want a relationship that you can competently meet their needs and desire. A prospective heart surgeon who faints at the sight of blood or an apprentice bricklayer who falls ill after an hour in the sun has little chances of succeeding.

Let us cite an example of Mr. XYZ, he relates to different to people in different ways as a speaker, father, husband, businessman etc. Before his enthusiasm can begin to differentiate him in someone else’s mind, he must be able to demonstrate his ability to competently do what needs to be done in each relationship setting.

To develop a strong personal brand, start by identifying the nature of the key relationships you plan to have. You must be insightful and realistic about the types of relationships that will support your journey to success, and clear headed in your assessment of your own ability and willingness to offer the role required.

2.                   Standards; How You Do It

If roles are the known part of a brand, standards and style are the modifiers –the descriptive adverbs and adjectives that create a uniquely detailed picture of your brand in someone’s mind. Standards are often measurable or can be defined somewhat objectively.

The point is not to constantly change your standards of behaviour in a quest to try please everybody, no matter how different their needs and expectations or how incompatible their values and yours are. Focus your standard on the relationships you chose to build with people who truly matter to you.

For example, if you want people to really perceive you as really committed to doing great job, what are your quality standards? Are you prepared to make sure that every detail is covered, however long it takes, or focused on those most essential to getting the job done?

Similarly, are you a take change person? More directives when it comes to solving problems or do you hold back and let others try to work things out for themselves? Are you flexible in your approaches or highly systematic? Are you high priced or budget based? Highly tolerant or very demanding? High maintenance or low-stress?

If you want to be valued for a strong personal brand at home what is your level of investment in your relationship with your spouse, children or siblings?    How much of time, talent and attention do you give them? If you want your friends to know they can count on you, what evidence do they have upon which to base that judgment? How do define being there for them? Is that the level of performance they expect and need?

To build strong personal brand, it is critical to recognize that people cannot see your intentions, they can only see your actions. But from their perception of those actions they make judgments about your standards as well as your roles – not only about what you do but how well you chose to do it.

3.                   Style: How You Relate

Style is your brand’s personality it is the subjective counterpart to the more objective attributes of standards - the part that makes you uniquely yourself in someone else’s mind.

Often the words people use to describe style elements will have a strong emotional touch; friendly, easygoing, intense, aggressive, professional, fun, energetic, introvert, extrovert controlling, fire spirited, open or biased. It is not uncommon, for people to describe different brands in their lives strictly in terms of style.

Note that those words tend to be subjective not overtly measurable. Let because brand builds an emotional connection, they can carry just as much weight as more quantifiable, standards. Here’s where a lot of the colouring in a relationship comes in style cannot have real impact or significantly contribute to the building of a strong personal brand unless the other two dimensions of role and standards are firmly established.

Style is important, but image, to once again refute the common assertion, definitely is not everything. If it is the proverbial tip of the iceberg – the smallest part of something but the only part that is visible; because it shows, it is an important navigational aid but it is still only a small part of something much larger and deeper.

   

 So far we have focused primarily on the external side of what it takes to build a strong personal brand – the elements and attributes that strengthen relationships, as perceived and judged by the other person involved in those relationships. We have relied on examples and observations to give a general understanding of how brands work. Now we are going to turn inside and look at what drives and inspires those people who build strong personal brands.

Close investigation of people with strong brands typically will show they have used authenticity to fuel their success. The dictionary defines ‘authentic’ as ‘true to one’s own personality, spirit or character’ when it comes to relationships; authenticity is what others say they want most from us. We make the most lasting and vivid impressions when people witness us being true to our beliefs, staying in alignment with who and what we really are. That is authenticity. Three powerful ‘banners’ can guide you on the road to being authentic.

Branding The Product: You

       

     ‘People make an opinion about you in the first 7 minutes they meet you’

The word branding in this situation needs more emphasis to be laid on it, what do you carry about as your name, sex, member of an organization and what you have? Branding is just not for companies, Nollywood celebrities, politicians or highly paid athletes. People in all works of life are starting to use self-branding to get ahead in the game of life. The simple factor that often explains the difference between a professional who is competent and doing well and one who earns a significant income and generates lots of business is self-branding, branding the product – you.

Branding the product – you (self – branding) is a strong personal identity based on a clear perception about what you stand for, what sets you apart from others and the added value you bring to a job; the situation of achieving your vision. Your self-brand is the sum total of other peoples’ feelings about your attributes and capacities, how you perform, even their perceptions about what you are worth.

To Brand or Not To Brand?

Many people think if they do a good job, their career will go on fine. But no matter how secure your position seems to be, you are in a competition with more people than you think – personality competition. To some people, branding may seem manipulative or phony. They think branding is being pompous and say that they are not good at marketing themselves.

If you don’t brand yourself others will. The fact of the matter is you are giving people the power to brand you if you do not do it yourself. Self-brands are created not born. Branding is mainly a process of analyzing a product in relationship to a market figuring out how to maximize the brand’s potential. Branding is creating an asset out of something. It is a matter of satisfying a market need in a different manner and figuring out a plan of action – the marketing plan to build awareness and trial of the brand.

Self-Branding Mindset

Self-branding means seeing yourself as a marketer would look at a product that he/she wants to make a winning brand. You don’t think of yourself as an employee even if you work for a boss. You think of yourself as working for yourself, marketing the brand you.

The first thing a marketer does is analyze the market and the product to understand what opportunities are, what the threats are. What are the current conditions? What are the assumptions about the future? What problems need to be solved? What needs are not being met?

Act like the marketer of the product – You

In self-branding, after analyzing the market, you do a self-audit (SWOT analysis). What are my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? How does my brand compare with the people I am competing with?

You focus on key attributes and resources that differentiate you- Skills, abilities, even personality traits you have that are a solution to a market need. Then you adopt what Theodore Levitt called ‘the marketing imagination’. You build a self-brand identity that is different, relevant and adds value.

Plan to Dazzle

Write out a marketing plan. It is important to set personal brand goals with a specific time frame and plan of action for achieving these goals. Just like a marketer would, you write down marketing activities to achieve your goals. Of course, you execute the marketing plan. You can’t get to where you want to go unless you plan it and then do it.

Characteristic of a strong personal brand

1. Strong personal brands are Distinctive

Your brand starts to become strong when you decide what you believe in and then commit yourself to acting on those beliefs.  Making a commitment means doing what you said you would do despite the obstacles. As your beliefs are not always shared by another, standing up for and holding to them is often a courageous act, and courage of this kind is none too common in our world. That by definition is distinctive.

To truly understand what it means to be distinctive is to learn that it implies much more than just being different. Brand building is not image-building.  It is not selling you to someone else. It results from understanding the needs of others, wanting to meet those needs, and being able to do so while staying true to your values. Your values affect not only what you think and feel but also how you behave. In fact, how you act on your values distinguishes you from the crowd. As people observe your actions, they make Judgments about why you do what you do. Those Judgments then become the perception of you they carry around with them. The more distinctive the action may seem the better defined your brand becomes for them. In other words, personal brand connect and grow strong when they focus on meeting the needs of others without saucing the value on which they are based.

It cannot be over emphasized that a strong personal brand is not some kind of veneer – something painted on to present a more pleasing appearance. It is a reflection of those ideas and values that are distinctively you. This is the only substance upon which a truly lasting relationship can be built. The lesson:

‘Your personal brand is based on your values not the other way round’

2.       Strong Personal Brands Are Relevant

Being distinctive is not the only thing that matters to someone else. What you stand for needs to be relevant to them. Relevance begins when a person believes that you understand and care about what’s important to them. It gains strength every time you demonstrate that what is important to them is important to you. The synergistic effort of being both distinctive and relevant is what ignites the power of a personal brand.

Relevance is often a function of circumstance. Parents are naturally relevant to their children, for they are the caregivers and protectors of those children. The relevance of one spouse to another extends far beyond the bonds of a marriage contract: the actual relevance occurs when both people in marriage are concerned about and committed to each other’s well-being.

 

Relevance is what distinguishes a friend from an acquaintance. A worker may be only relevant to the degree that what they do affects what you do, whereas a mentor’s support and activities in your career and future makes the relationship far more valued and lasting than an ordinary relationship with a fellow employee. Your relevance to a client or customer is determined not only by your product or services but by how it (and you) can proficiently solve their problems and meet their needs. The more relevance you demonstrate, the stronger your brand become to them. That is why strong brands always attract attention: they attract attention from those who find them the most relevant.

       

Building relevance involves a skill we call “thinking in reverse”. If you want to be considered valuable to others, you must move out of your world into theirs. Your first concern is to determine their needs and interest. Then you have to connect those needs and interests to your own personal strengths and abilities. 

That means relevance is a process. It starts with questions, what do they want? What do they need? What do they value? What do they expect? When you have a sense of someone else’s needs and their frame of reference, that information allows you to guide your action in ways that will make you relevant.

The lesson;

“Relevance is something we earn by the importance others place on what we do for them and by their judgment of how well we do it”  

3.       Strong Personal Brands Are Consistent

The third component in building a strong brand is consistency – doing things that are both distinctive and relevant, and doing them again and again. Consistency is a hallmark of all strong brands. As a brand, you only get credit (acknowledgement) acceptance, or recognition by others) for what you do consistently. Consistent behaviours define your brand more clearly and concisely than the most polished and practiced patter.

In a relationship, consistency is established by dependability of behaviour, over time, people learn that they can trust you if they experience consistent trustworthy behaviours. In the absence of personal experience, they may decide to trust you because of what they have learned of your track record from others. Your previous actions – not your intentions – lead them to believe that you can be counted on to behave in a similar way again and every time you behave the way they expect, you reinforce the strength of your brand with them. Trust grows.

Conversely, the quickest way to diminish and unlimitedly destroy someone’s trust is to become inconsistent. No matter how high the highs may have been, roller- coaster behaviour will work against the long-term prospects of any relationship.

The lesson;

“Consistency is the hallmark of all strong brands. Inconsistency weakens brands and suspends belief”

For the purpose of this analysis, the ‘right way’ to go about building a strong personal brand is to make sure your brand resonates and is relevant, in the most distinctive way possible, for those people with whom you want to build strong relationship, on a long- term basis.

Building a strong personal brand takes courage. The way to make a distinctive, enduring, positive impression on someone else is to ensure that who you are, what you say you are, and what that person experience from you are the same, time and time again.

To see that in greater define we are going to explore a three – dimensional model for understanding how people perceive your brand, which are your personal brand dimensions.

to be continued.........