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Inspiration Event List & A Question for You

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Lately, I’ve been writing quite a bit – some weeks busting out three articles a week for Advertising Week and the Examiner – and yet, I’ve ignored this blog.  I’m sorry, friends.

To start making up for it, I’ll give you a couple quality posts this coming month; I promise.  If you’d like me to address something specific about moving up in your career, creating work-life balance, or something else creative career related, please leave a comment below (or e-mail me privately at angela@definingsuccesscoaching.com).

In the meantime, check out the fun list I created for an article on inspiration.  These are life experience-type ideas that don’t take as much time or commitment as the usual examples of traveling, skydiving, learning a language or taking an art class.  Give some of these a try (or let them inspire you to create your own list) that you can pull from when you hit a creative block:

  • Watch a foreign film (with or without the subtitles)
  • Hang out in a store you’d be embarrassed to be caught in
  • Crash a party or happy hour (You get extra points if it’s an industry-specific event for an industry you know little about. Hint: These are constantly taking place in hotel ballrooms.)
  • Search for the perfect gift for the weirdest person you know (and who isn’t a close friend)
  • Learn to fix something mechanical (e.g., old clock, typewriter, motor)
  • Eat at a foreign restaurant where you know nothing about the type of food
  • Attend an open mic or beat poetry night
  • Go to the most bizarre niche MeetUp group event you can find
  • Get to know festival/carnival/fair workers and their stories (Yes, befriending carnies will inspire you. Trust my experience.)
  • Volunteer at a food bank
  • Spend time in a musical instrument store (if you don’t usually)
  • Play with Mad Libs

Read the full article on ways to get unstuck creatively, if you’d like.  If you do, you’ll learn about my “carny days.”

Remember to leave a comment (or e-mail me directly) if you have something you’d like this blog to answer for you.  What would you like help with?

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Articles, Blocks, Creativity, Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

When “Just Do It” Doesn’t Work

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That big project is weighing heavy on your shoulders. That little task is nagging at the back of your mind.

“I’ve just got to make myself do it,” you tell yourself.

Days later, weeks later, a lifetime later, you continue to tell yourself, “Just do it,” and it remains undone.

The majority of experience proves that people can’t push through obstacles, blocks, limitations, fears and beliefs with willpower alone. 

Maybe you have before or maybe you’ve seen someone else accomplish something against all odds based on what you assume is their desire alone; those are the exceptions to the rule.  If you have pushed through an obstacle before to achieve what you truly wanted, have you been able to consistently do this throughout your life?  It’s hard especially when you find yourself trying to recreate how you mustered up the extraordinary willpower before.

One way to overcome obstacles, blocks, limitations, fears and beliefs is to first acknowledge that “just do it” isn’t cutting it.  Acknowledge there is something in your way and choose to understand it at a deeper level.  Dr. Donald Moine, author and financial advisor, teaches, “Recognition is 80% of the solution.”

Why can’t you “just do it” and be done with it?  Because:

  1. An experience has taught you a behavior or habit.
  2. You’re using an issue as a protective mechanism.
  3. The issue has a payoff or benefit that you value.

When “just do it” doesn’t work, acknowledge what is in your way, understand it and have compassion for it.  Mastering this process may create a breakthrough for you, take that weight off your shoulders, and silence that nagging in your mind.

Speak Your Mind and Comment

Share the one thing that you’ve been telling yourself to “just do” in the comments (by clicking here). Is it starting your novel, finishing that painting, reading that book, visiting a family member, organizing your office, scheduling your vacation, sending your portfolio to your dream company, revamping your resume, requesting that favor, recording that song you wrote, asking for that raise…?  I’ll start with the first comment. 

Filed Under: Blocks, Business, Clients, Creativity, Goals Tagged With: , , , , , ,

To This Day Project – Animated Video with a Heart-Centered Message

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When artists, designers, animators, and all the talented people who choose to work in advertising and graphic design come together to produce something like this…there aren’t words…

It’s human.  It’s real.  It’s beautiful.

To This Day Project

Spoken Word Poem by Shane Koyczan

Animation by Giant Ant

Full Credits

 

 

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Artists, Creativity, Happiness Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Why Are Freelance Advertising Creatives Failing?

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Why aren't freelance advertising creatives making the money their talent deserves? (photo credit: efffective.com)

Why aren’t freelance advertising creatives making the money their talent deserves? (photo credit: efffective.com)

Freelance advertising creatives – art directors, copywriters and graphic designers – have great potential but often fall short in creating and maintaining a successful advertising freelance business.  Getting enough clients to sustain a full-time, lucrative business is the main challenge.  CLIENTS = MONEY  Freelance creatives aren’t landing clients so they aren’t making money (or enough money to continue freelancing and maintain their lifestyle).

Why is that?  Why are many talented advertising creatives unable to make money as freelancers?

Because of their brains.  Some of the best creatives are much more creative-minded than business-minded, much more right-brained than left-brained.*

OR

Because they don’t connect one on one.  While advertising art directors, copywriters and graphic designers have perfected the art of  connecting with the masses through, let’s say, a print ad, they aren’t experienced in generating client leads person by person.

OR

Because they go straight for the jugular…I mean…sale.  It’s a rookie mistake to pitch your services to a potential client before understanding if the individual and/or business is even interested and if so, what their true needs are.  Imagine pitching a serious brochure when a business wants a funny microsite.  Now imagine overwhelming an individual with talk of social media, web banners and mobile apps when they haven’t the slightest idea of what they want their logo to look like.  Freelancers must understand a potential client’s needs and then communicate how as an advertising creative professional they can meet those needs.

OR

Because they offer everything upfront.  Many creatives can do it all; they can create fully integrated campaigns and they can art direct and write.  Even if they can do everything, there are certain things they do better and enjoy doing more.  The freelancers that are having a harder time making money, are the ones who are offering everything upfront and not specializing.  Whether it’s designing packaging or writing radio scripts, freelancers who market themselves as an expert in an area are sought out by clients who need their expertise.  Once a freelancer is hired for what they’re known for, they can offer the client everything else.  For instance, a designer who is hired because of their specialty with packaging can also recommend he or she designs the business cards, brochures, print ads, landing pages, etc., in the same look and feel.

OR

Because they don’t target their ideal clients.  Ideal clients are the individuals or businesses that the freelancer is genuinely interested in and THAT HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY the freelancer.  As an advertising creative career coach, I primarily coach and consult senior- to executive-level creatives.  While I have a soft spot for helping students and juniors (and I do as much as possible), younger creatives aren’t my target audience. As a business owner, I must market to those who can afford the services I provide.  And currently, more than half of my clients freelance or own their own businesses, which I work with them to grow.

OR many talented advertising creatives are unable to make money as freelancers…

Because they don’t follow up.  Freelance creatives aren’t politely persistent – calling, e-mailing, stopping by in person, etc. – until they get a yes or a no.

As a freelancer, which of these is holding you back?  Post it in the comments below.

The good news is that while inherent creativity can’t be learned, business and sales skills can be learned.  Freelance creatives can succeed if they invest more of themselves in learning that left-brain, business side.

 

(*Side note: I am almost equally right-brained and left-brained. My creative side is a notch above my business side. Both sides came in handy when I was managing the creative department at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, and now both benefit my clients as I coach and consult them to get unstuck, reach their goals and finally feel satisfied.)

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Blocks, Business, Clients, Creativity, Freelancers, Goals, Money Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Top 15 Sayings Graphic Designers Hate

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Graphic Designers all around the world cringe when they hear the following:

(in no particular order)

 

1.  “Make the logo bigger.”

2.  “Work your magic.”

3.  “You can grab all the images you need, like the company logo, off of our website.”

4.  “I need it done yesterday.”

5.  “My wife had some thoughts…”

6.  “I don’t know what I want, but I’ll know when I see it.”

7.  “Make it pop.”

8.  “Take it to the next level.”

9.  “Think outside the box.”

10.  “Make it edgy.”

11.  “Make it sexy.”

12.  “Can we fill all the empty space?”

13.  “I started the design already; I’ll send you the Publisher file.”

14.  “Don’t spend much time on all these changes because we don’t have the budget.”

15.  (At revision round 9) “Can we go back to what you showed in the first round?”

 

And to get the bad taste out of your mouth, here’s the best thing a Graphic Designer can hear:

“I wish I had thought of that!”

(especially when coming from someone in the industry)

 

Post the sayings you love or hate to hear as a designer in the comments.

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Clients, Creativity Tagged With: , , , , ,

Creative Deadlines – Jack White Uses Them

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The Music

It was mid-March 2011 and Austin, Texas, was already sticky hot.  My then boyfriend (now husband) and I travelled from San Diego to enjoy the music of South by Southwest.  Many of my advertising creative friends attended the interactive week of SXSW and left merely hours before we arrived.

I wasn’t there for advertising though; I was there to get lost in the music.

SXSW attracts musicians from all over the world.  Every stage, every parking lot, every possible space becomes a venue.  (I first listened to one of my favorite bands Onward, Soldiers in the parking lot of an ice cream shop.)  The talent is unbelievable.  The creativity astounding.

Surprise shows pop up at a moment’s notice.  Jack White of The White Stripes performed an acoustic set during one of these moments.  With no possible way of knowing about his improv performance other than being in the right place at the right time, we weren’t – we missed it.

Jack White uses Creative Deadlines

Much like creating this surprise show, Jack White creates his own deadlines to enhance his creativity.  He uses tension to fuel his creativity.

During the filming of the documentary “Under Great White Northern Lights,” Jack White said, “Book only four or five days in the studio and force yourself to record an album in that time.  Deadlines and things make you creative.”

Advertising is a deadline-driven industry.  I’m sure you don’t need more deadlines there.  Notice though, when deadlines and schedules are set, you get things done.  How can you take that into your personal life?  How can you use that model to reach your goals outside of work?

How to Schedule to Reach Your Goals

One success strategy that helps my clients and me personally is to designate blocks of time to work toward a specific goal. Those blocks of time serve as deadlines which force your creativity to come out to play.  Maybe that’s four or five days every month.  Maybe that’s 15 minutes every weekday morning.  Maybe it’s 90 minutes every Wednesday.

Whatever you decide, put that time on your calendar and treat it like the very important meeting that it is.  That block of time – or “meeting” if you will – will get you closer to what you really want.

If you block out that time from say 7p.m. to 8:30p.m. for the next four Wednesdays, and you find yourself this Wednesday at 6:48p.m. waiting for the clock to change to 7p.m., just start.  Write down what time you started and go for the 90 minutes you committed to.  You know how good it feels to get something done early.

Your success will come from putting the blocks of time on your schedule, protecting those times and moving into action during those times.  If Jack White can set aside a block of time to record an album and make it happen, then you can set aside blocks of time for your goals too.

If you like this blog post, please share it with others via Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, however you like to be social.

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Clients, Creativity, Goals, Time Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

2 Ways To Face Your Fear

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fearFear.

It immobilizes us.

It keeps us up at night.

And it can do more than keep us alive.

(For the sake of conversation, let’s divert our attention from fears that coincide with our survival instincts.  Let’s talk about being afraid of things that won’t kill us.)

5 Of The Top 10 Fears Boil Down To 1 Fear

Fear of Public Speaking

Fear of Intimacy

Fear of Failure

Fear of Rejection

Fear of Commitment/Making the Wrong Choice

What do these fears have in common? Five of the Top 10 Fears revolve around the Fear of Fitting In.

Fear Of Fitting In

Wait, but we’re creative, isn’t that how the majority of our lives have been?  People called us those, “Creative Weirdos,” or “Awkward Artist Types.”  And look where it got us – into an industry that awards us based on how creative or radical or weird our ideas are!

As advertising creatives we’ve found the place where we can fit in and we embrace not being the status quo.  And yet, how are you doing with the fears of public speaking, intimacy, failure, rejection and commitment?  Are you letting the Fear of Fitting In hold you back in any of those areas?

2 Ways To Face Your Fear

As in the post “When ‘Just Do It’ Doesn’t Work,” it’s important to acknowledge what is in your way, understand it and have compassion for it.  It’s OK to feel afraid; everyone does at times.  Understanding your fear may entail understanding what your fear is truly protecting you from.  With that, you have two options in facing your fear – using it as fuel or weakening it.

1. Use Fear As Your Fuel

Advertising creatives are competitive.  Why not use your competitive nature and compete against your fear?  Go head to head with the fear that’s holding you back.

Which will win – your creativity or your fear?

Which will persevere – your desire to be happy or your fear of what that may take?  

What if you could channel that anxious energy into overcoming what you’re afraid of?  Use your fear as your fuel.  How empowering would that be?  Afterward, you’d feel on top of the world!  You were the one who gave that killer presentation.  You were the one who pitched the best idea to your ECD.  You were the one who took the leap of faith and committed to that new job.

2. Weaken Your Fear

If going head to head with your fear isn’t your style or if the fear is too strong, then concentrate on reducing it.  Again, understand where the fear is coming from and acknowledge that it’s most likely trying to protect you.

My clients have gotten the best results by weakening their fears in the following 5 ways:

  1. Thinking of a time when they faced another fear and pulling from that experience (For example, how you embraced your creativity and found an industry that expects it.)
  2. Planning and preparing how to handle the fear – including different options
  3. Looking to role models who have battled their own fears and won
  4. Focusing on the motivation for overcoming the fear and the benefits that come with the victory
  5. Reprogramming their thoughts about the fear by creating positive intentions

According to an article in Psychology Today by Karl Albrecht, Ph.D., “Fear, like all other emotions, is basically information.  It offers us knowledge and understanding – if we choose to accept it – of our psychobiological status.”  Albrecht goes on to write “And the more clearly and calmly we can articulate the origins of the fear, the less our fears frighten us and control us.”

Fear Is An Opportunity

Fear holds us back.  Fear keeps us in the tiny box where we are, where we don’t realize we’re suffocating.

Being afraid of something signals an opportunity for personal development.  When you push outside of your comfort zone – especially to the point of feeling fear – that’s when the most growth happens.  You can break out of the box.

Life After Fear

Imagine what your life would be like once you conquer your fear.  Really.  Take a moment and imagine.  How would your life be different?  What could you accomplish?  Who would you become?  Would you be more satisfied?  Would you be happier?

I challenge you to either use your fear as fuel or to weaken your fear to the point where you can have that life after fear.  You can have all that you’ve imagined.

Share one fear that is holding you back (one that doesn’t challenge your mortality).  There’s no judgment here.  I’ll start in the comments section.  Share one fear and whether you are going to use it as fuel or weaken it.

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Blocks, Creativity, Fulfillment, Goals, Happiness, Money Tagged With: , , , ,

Happiness in Advertising?

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Advertising People are Leaving Agencies

Research shows that 30% of advertising employees will leave their agencies this year. (This is one of the main reasons I’m working with advertising agencies through presentations and high-level career coaching.)

Driven to Help Advertising People

When I saw the question, “How Much Do You Utterly Despise Working in Advertising?”, I immediately wanted to reach out to miserable advertising people, GRAB THEM BY THE SHOULDERS and tell them it doesn’t have to be this way – THEY CAN BE HAPPY! I know the vicious cycle too well; I lived it and I have the solution. I can help whether it’s through an agency presentation, agency-sponsored coaching program or working directly with an advertising art director, copywriter, designer, ACD or CD without the involvement of his or her agency.  It’s my passion.  It’s my purpose.  And it’s also my biggest frustration to know that there are people in the advertising industry that don’t want to go to work in the morning and don’t know that they can change that.  When I get all fired up (e.g, this very moment), I have to remind myself that I can only help those that want the help (like my past and current clients)…oh and those that know an advertising career coach like me exists. And with that, I’ll end this public rant of sorts (which can’t quite compare to the intensity of the rant in the video below created by Deutsch LA) and get back to telling the industry I exist and I want to help.

Cannes Session

It’ll be interesting to see what Deutsch LA proposes and what they share about their “ownership culture” during next Monday’s (June 18, 2012) Cannes session “Ending The Agency Talent Rotisserie.”  Deutsch LA created a series of videos as a teaser including the video above, which were included in the AdFreak article with the subtitle Deutsch wants to make you happier.

What I Do – Money and More

Yes, turnover is costly to agencies and money is important to a business, but it’s not all about money.  Keeping talented creatives is a must.  Attracting talented creatives is a must.  And a certain level of happiness is a must if you want to create great ads consistently.  Deutsch LA recognizes that, “this agency talent rotisserie has real costs, on recruiting, creative excellence and business development.”

I push my clients to make substantial shifts toward employee satisfaction (custom to each agency and  advertising creative individual’s needs), so that each can be fulfilled when they were previously stuck.  So they can dramatically slow down or stop the agency talent rotisserie.  I guide them to the balance of efficiency with palatable culture.  They go from talk to action.  They go from their employees leaving to their employees being happy to work there again.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Articles, Business, Clients, Creativity, Fulfillment, Happiness, Money Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Creative Week 2012 Highlights

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One Show Interactive Awards

Enjoying the company of my long-time friends, Creative Recruiters from GSP (Linda Harless and Zach Canfield) and DraftFCB (Rafi Kugler) was a personal highlight during Creative Week 2012. Here we are the final night of Creative Week at The One Show Interactive Awards.

Creative Week 2012 was a whirlwind, an incredible whirlwind.  Each day started with a breakfast presentation at 8:30a.m. and ended with parties that lasted until 3:30a.m.  (Note: That’s 19 hours of inspiration, networking and good times, and it’s impossible to do it all for 5 days straight.)  Here are some whirlwind highlights:

  • The people that think the Big Idea is dead are outnumbered.  No one is arguing about the Big Insight (as a replacement) yet.
  • Curate the funny.  That’s advice from Ron Faris, the Director of Brand Marketing for Virgin Mobile USA.
  • When an audience full of want-to-be authors are asked if they’ve ever wanted to write a book, 2 people will raise their hands – the guy who’s written a book and me.
  • Adobe’s VP of Experience Design, Michael Gough, never mentions the word “creativity” to his people.  For Adobe, it’s about the alignment of 10,000 people and getting them all moving in the same direction.  Imagine the “creative” alternative…
  • Every 7 to 10 years puppets become viable again.  The people of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop believe we’re on the onset of that.
  • The best networking happens after the events.  While business cards can be exchanged during pre-scheduled networking times, the most natural, genuine (and fun) networking takes place when people are hanging out because they want to.
  • The concept of “collaboration,” with its best of intentions, continues to be the black sheep in discussions on creativity.
  • People want to work with cool people and do cool stuff.
  • If phone chargers are gold, finding an outlet to use in Manhattan is platinum.
  • 72andSunny sat on a panel for provocative advertising and then swept The One Shows (yes, plural, both the advertising and interactive awards) with their provocative ads.

Coming soon: Advertising Week the first week in October 2012.

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Articles, Business, Clients, Creativity, Events, Time Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Creative Week 2012

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The eve of Creative Week 2012 is upon us. This week, May 7 – 11, Manhattan and Brooklyn will be buzzing with sessions on creativity, panels on storytelling, and awards for the best design, advertising and interactive work in the country.

As a Creative Week Contributor, I will be tweeting from events live @DS_Coaching and posting blogs on the Creative Week Tumblr throughout the week. I’ll be attending everything from The Freelance Shift panel to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Legacy session to the Education Summit to the highly-anticipated Creative unConference to The One Show’s Design, Advertising and Interactive Awards as well as The 91st Annual Art Directors Club Awards. It’ll be a wild and creative ride. Stay tuned.

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Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Business, Clients, Creativity, Fulfillment, Happiness Tagged With: , , , ,
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