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Creativity

Want to be a professional photographer?

Creativity/ Quitter August 24, 2011 • Comments

A lot of people do. The advent of digital cameras and editing software has encouraged a bajillion people to be professional photographers.

Becoming a photographer is easier than it’s ever been before.

Becoming an amazing photographer? That’s still incredibly difficult.

One of the weird things that happens as you work hard to become a professional photographer is that sometimes people think you have to be doing it full time to be considered a “real photographer.” Sometimes people will consider it a “hobby” or a “fun passion” unless you don’t have a day job.

I recently saw a great post from a photographer named Nathan who talks about that very issue.

He read my book Quitter and discusses the power of the word “no” from chapter 1. He also talks about the relationship between his dream job of being a photographer and the day job he’s holding down right now. (And why there’s nobility in both.)

Check out his post “Why I work a day job.”

Larry David & the 3 problems with critic’s math.

Creativity/ Quitter August 12, 2011 • Comments

Larry David feels just like me and you when it comes to criticism.

You’d think he wouldn’t. He co-created Seinfeld, the most successful sitcom of all time. His current show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is a smash success. He’s on the cover of this month’s Rolling Stone Magazine. And yet, he still does the same math you and I do when it comes to critics.

What’s critic’s math?

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1 easy way to get better at public speaking.

Creativity August 10, 2011 • Comments

Last Saturday I gave a speech about how to keep kids smart and safe with social media at the MOPS International Convention. (Mothers of Preschoolers.) This Friday, I’ll open for a rapper named Lecrae at a musical festival called Purple Door in Pennsylvania.

Those two experiences will be very different. And that’s kind of how my weeks are right now. Three years ago I’d never spoken professionally. Three years later and I’m doing it almost every week for an audience that is usually wildly different from the one before.

Along the way, I’ve had to learn how to get better at public speaking. I haven’t had time for intense classes or training or a million other traditional ways to improve. So I’ve improvised and fallen back in love with a concept I first learned in the eighth grade. What do I do to get better at public speaking?

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What a 7 year old taught me about fame.

Blogging/ Creativity July 29, 2011 • Comments

Right now, it’s easy to self promote.

It’s tempting to spend more time and energy on promoting your idea than you actually spend on creating your idea. With social media we have a thousand ways to grab a bullhorn and tell the world what we’ve created. Which I think can be a great thing. I’ve loved the ability to tell people about the Quitter Conference or my books via social media.

But sometimes I fear the promotion of the idea has become our goal, not the idea itself.

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How to keep your edge.

Creativity/ Quitter July 11, 2011 • Comments

A few weekends ago, I was on the show Fox & Friends. I did it “on the wire,” which means I sat in the Dave Ramsey studio and appeared live from Nashville.

It’s a nationally broadcast show with a weekly audience of millions and millions of people. I was nervous, but since this was my fourth time being on the show, I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I was the first time.

When I texted my team leader that I was doing the show again, he wrote me back something that I thought was brilliant. Here is what he said:

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Don’t know where to start? It’s time to draw some monsters.

Creativity/ Quitter July 8, 2011 • Comments

When you see someone who has acquired some degree of success, it’s easy to assume that their passion found them like a pure white unicorn unexpectedly showing up in their backyard. They were having coffee in the kitchen and just looked up from the window over the sink to see a dazzling white horse with a horn standing by the bird bath. In wonder, they followed it outside. As they approached, it gently moved away, turning back to make sure they were following. Then, like a surreal Lassie, it led them deep into the forest. After following this magical creature, they were eventually led to a beautiful treasure chest. And that’s how Stephen King became an author.

But that’s not really how it happens. I wish it did. But nobody stumbles on their dream like that.  I used to constantly try to have “touchdown moments.” Have you ever seen a movie where a football falls at a fan’s feet? The fan picks it up and then inexplicably throws a 50-yard touchdown. The coach sees it, they immediately put a uniform on him, and he wins the game. Hooray!

Finding out what you’re meant to do is rarely like that. A lot of times, finding out what you’re supposed to do comes at the end of a lot of failure. In fact, sometimes you have to draw monsters.

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