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Being multi-creative: a curse or a blessing in disguise?

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Business in Rhyme, Read, write, lead!, Write, create, innovate!

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This story you are reading  turned out to be longer than I wanted/expected, but it was never intended for bragging about my achievements: on the contrary…

When I was 5 years old I wanted to be a rock star.

That apparently didn’t happen. Then, at age of six I had to be satisfied with short ballet lessons. Soon, already at a school a fling towards poetry was quickly forgotten and “heavy” stuff like math, physics and chemistry took place. I grew up in an environment and belief system that only by being a good pupil/student, hard working in some technical field would only pay off. In high school somehow I got fascinated with magnetic fields,  earthquakes and volcanoes (although in my home country there isn’t almost any). Yet it was interesting scientific field, unexplored enough to satisfy my hunger for knowledge…Strangely enough, due to some circumstances I got a chance to work in the medical field and apply my engineering knowledge in a completely different way! A gratifying experience that introduced me to a whole new world. Nevertheless, I worked in research for several years, when I fell in love with sustainability. Again, my curiosity was awaken and I branched into a PhD research, connecting geophysics, management and sustainability.  And that’s how I led my life until my early thirties. In the meantime I took language courses (English, Italian, Dutch..), dance lessons, ext. I traveled across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, Africa..Taught at the University and worked as a consultant for big corporations…As a great fan of mythology I drifted into learning astrology as well, which is still my active hobby…

Then first health issues began to appear (with some I’m still dealing with) and obviously something was wrong. We sometimes pay high prices for our high ambitions, yet something inside  is driving us to move forward. Being multi-creative, curios about the world and having many interests turned out to be both curse and a blessing in disguise, for me. You simply don’t know how to stop, but insights and revelations thrill you all the time; you always feel like you are playing; that you have insatiable need for new and that you have inexhaustible source of energy.

In very interesting post How to Deal with Multipotentialite Burnout,” Wapnick articulates how we may go “too far” in pushing the boundaries of our capacities to keep achieving.

It’s a collapse. Complete mental exhaustion. While most people experience burnout from time to time, creative people who have multiple interests are prone to hitting this point more frequently and more intensely. It makes sense, considering how passionately curious we are, and how easy it is for us to lose ourselves in our projects.”

As much as I am the proponent of creativity, it really can have a dark side – which I have also experienced. And today I would say that the key is balance – as much is for every multi-creative person of great importance to honor each part of their creative soul.

It’s what keeps them alive and empowers them. But not at the expense of health or that something else you need to sacrifice. The timing is also crucial. In my case, if I could do something differently, I would do things at much easier pace.

Often people ask me: “But, don’t you want to specialize in just one field, to become a great expert”? And I say “No. I strive for experience, for taste of something new; there is always a drive to learn something new.”

A common denominator for most of my creative outlets is research and writing. And that’s what I mostly do now, but at much slower pace..and I read a lot of poetry! 🙂

About year and a half ago, poetry silently again entered my life and many things changed for better – even my health since poetry has a healing properties for me. After some time thinking I decided to share my positive experience about poetry in this blog and explore further how it can be beneficial in our stressing work life.

So, if you recognize yourself as a multi-creative person, never neglect your needs. But, instead of ‘everything now and here’, enjoy in your creativity with ease and be compassionate towards yourself; strive for contribution, adding value in what you do, and never shy from learning. It’s a prerequisite for any type of growth.

When  you do things from your soul, you feel a river

moving in you, a joy.

When actions come from another section, the feeling

disappears.  Don’t let

others lead you.  They may be blind or, worse, vultures.

Reach for the rope

of God.  And what is that?  Putting aside self-will.

Because of willfulness

people sit in jail, the trapped bird’s wings are tied,

fish sizzle in the skillet.

The anger of police is willfulness.  You’ve seen a magistrate

inflict visible punishment.  Now 

see the invisible.  If you could leave your selfishness, you

would see how you’ve

been torturing your soul.  We are born and live inside black water in a well.

How could we know what an open field of sunlight is? Don’t

insist on going where

you think you want to go.  Ask the way to the spring.  Your

living pieces will form

a harmony.  There is a moving palace that floats in the air

with balconies and clear

water flowing through, infinity everywhere, yet contained

under a single tent.

Rumi

From a struggling creative to a thriving entrepreneur: 3 surprising aspects you need to consider

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Business in Rhyme, Write, create, innovate!

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The truth is: you can be very good at arts or writing – creative, interesting, refreshing, innovative, but if you lack certain business skills, hardly will your art ever get real market attention it deserves. There is a snobbery feeling that surrounds the idea of commercializing arts, hence – if you want to make a living from something that you are passionate about; something that comes from creative action – you have to start from somewhere.

When you think more clearly there are certain traits that accompany both artists and entrepreneurs. Like entrepreneurs, artists usually have a vision and a necessary drive to make that vision reality. On the other hand, having your own business requires certain degree of creativity: how to make your business unique or how to attract and impress customers?

But there are three important areas that I would like to emphasize, which every creative should explore and develop in order to become a successful business owner.

1.Know your limitations

Are you a good strategist? Are you firm in your decisions? How much are you prepared of your valuable time to spend on administrating tedious bureaucratic work and how eager are you to invest in the promotion of your work? Do you like to network or you rather spend hours and hours in your secluded creative space, contemplating your next piece and not having interest in anything else? Because, how at the beginning of your entrepreneurship you answer these questions can determine the course of your business. Many talented artists that succeeded, didn’t succeed by chance – they implemented strategically developed plan and had very clear idea what they needed to do. As an aspiring creative at the beginning you are mostly on your own – how much you invest, determines how much it will pay off later.

2.Be curious and do your research

To turn their work into sellable products, creatives first must know market demands. Do you know your audience? You have to be clear if there is an interest in what you have to offer. Then, do you know the monetary value of your work? Many artists struggle with estimating price range of their products because overvaluing is as much bad as underpricing your work.

3.Build your web of collaborators.

Now, the third aspect allows you to work on the first two simultaneously. You are not the only creative/entrepreneur starting his own business. Mingle, meet & greet similar people who have skills or services that you might lack! You can exchange services and help each other move forward with building the business. You will certainly broaden your network and is also an opportunity for you to promote your products/services.

The key is to find a balance and be persistent. There will be good days, but also bad days. Ideally, as proposed by  The Design Trust creative entrepreneurs should spend around 40% of their time creating, 40% on marketing, 10% on administration and 10% on professional development. Some of these things can be quite overwhelming, but being determined in setting your goals and working on them will help you derive your priorities, day by day, project by project.