3 Habits and Conditions for Creating Art

June 14, 2012 by

If you are challenged with consistently creating what is meaningful for both you and your audience, then you may want to consider a few habits and conditions that consistently work for many writers, artists, and creatives.

Even if you do not consider yourself to be an artist – you are, because the creative process is personal to you .

That is what makes it art, and that leads us to our first habit.

#1 – Show Up

In his recently published book Turning Pro, author and screenwriter Steven Pressfield notes you have to show up everyday to do your creative work – it has to be a habit. As he points out, if you expect the Muse to show up, you have to show up.

Inspiration tends to show up when the writer shows up. Put another way, the best way to make good things happen is to make a lot of things happen.

If you only show up when you have to, your art is going to be a struggle. I know, because I have tried it both ways and showing up works better, much better. It works with writing, providing exceptional customer service, and getting that promotion or job.

#2 – Have Expectations

Many of us work well under deadlines, which are defined and often self-imposed expectations.

Expectations are more than hope, they are willful intentions that transform desires into reality. Showing up is taking action on the intentions that are motivated by the desires generated from past experiences (memories).

When you show up with the right attitude you are more likely to create experiences and memories that make future expectations that much more real and readily attainable. 

However you approach your art, you must have the confidence that good things will happen.

#3 – Find the Right Environment

This article is being created at 5:54 a.m., just after sunrise on a beautiful, peaceful summer morning – the air is cool, the birds are singing, and trains rolling in the distance. The environment in the early morning hours is that of quiet and peacefulness, which is when I create best.

When the time and place is right you are more likely to create what you didn’t even believe was within you. 

After a few hours of this I’ll move on to a new environment, which is usually a coffee shop. The change in environment not only gives me a mental break, but also allows for shifting to different types of writing and content creation projects.

Many of us get some of our best work done in airplanes when we are free from the usual distractions. In many ways, that coffee shop is my airplane, not exactly a quiet environment, but one in which I can block out distractions with discipline and the help of headphones and Ambiance, an invaluable mobile app for matching the right sound with your environment.

How about you?

Do you approach your work as a practice for which the result is your art?

If so, what are your secrets for reliably doing it well?

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, is the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business and host of This Old New Business podcast.

He helps mainstream businesses adapt their traditional growth practices to a digital world. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+

How To Run a Smarter Business

June 12, 2011 by

Running a smarter business is an uncomplicated endeavor – provided there is a clear vision, a process for systematically learning from mistakes, and a commitment to productive habits.

Know Where You are Going

A clear vision of the value your company provides to a specific community is essential. Surprisingly, this beginning step is where most companies fail.

A common mistake is a vision or mission that’s self-directed, such as: “We are going to be the best!”  A better approach is to focus on serving your community – more effectively, efficiently, or in a new way that they will likely embrace.

When your staff answers the phone, can they easily and readily communicate how your company can be of service?  Do they understand the needs and desires of your community?  If not, this is an area to quickly address.

My experience is that when every single staff member is clear, it gives prospects and customers a great deal of confidence.

It signals to every everyone that your company has vibrant team of professionals that is focused and ready to serve.

Never Repeat the Same Mistake

I love mistakes!

Mistakes are the unsung heroes of business.  While they may not be pleasant when you are experiencing them, they can produce better ways for operating your business.

When I was a landscape contractor I sat in on most of our design meetings – though I rarely led them.  My contribution came at the end when we would debrief what went right and what went wrong.

The next step was to ensure we didn’t repeat our mistakes.  Usually, this meant minor changes in our procedures.  As is often the case, it’s the little things that matter most.

Mistakes will haunt you when they are repeated.  Those are the ones that hurt the most because you know they could have been prevented.

Simple procedures that everyone understands work best.  They just have to be adjusted to accommodate new lessons learned from new mistakes.

If you aren’t debriefing at every turn you are missing opportunities for operating a smarter business.

Practice Habits that Create Desirable Results

Let’s face it, we all have habits – some good and others not so.  Habits are the consistent actions we take that lead to results.

Good habits progressively build to create increasingly better results.  Bad habits devolve into undesirable results.  It may take time for them to accumulate, but we all know that our habits either lift us up or bring us down.

One of my favorite habits is returning phone calls quickly.  I’ve found that I’m more effective when I move quickly and trust my gut, as opposed to waiting for what may seem to be a better time.

One reason for this may be that I’m tapping into the emotions of my prospect or customer.  All I know is they invariably thank me for getting back to them so quickly.

What are your good habits?

What keeps your small business running smarter?

I’ll bet it’s simple things that are so natural you hardly think about them.  Maybe you should. Better yet, sit down with your team and discuss everyone’s good habits.

This can be a great exercise for appreciating everyone’s unique contributions, while also sharing best practices that others may benefit from.

Leave a comment below or share this with your social community on Facebook or Twitter.  You may also wish to try the Google+1 button in the red bar at the bottom of your browser.

Until tomorrow,  Jeff