Tag: creativity

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!

henrymoore

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.

In between rhyme (creativity exercise)

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Write, create, innovate: exercises

mridhaThe Greek philosopher Aristotle, was originator of  advanced human thinking in ancient Greek and in his book ‘On Interpretation’ he describes how words were powerful tools for his thinking – especially when words were connected to a thought he wanted to materialize, execute or one that conveys a meaning of creativity. He believed that in such way we are encouraging creativity and paving the road for possibilities to come.

In many already suggested exercises (see section ‘Write, create, innovate: exercises’) certain experiences, and the way how our senses react to environment have served as a given trigger for an emotional response that can be translated into a creative outlet.

Today, and in the exercises to come, let our focus be more on language, rhythm and melody of the words that can also train our creative thinking and especially be useful for other forms of writing.

I suggest we start with an internal rhyme like:

I try to write, remembering your kiss as you held me tight.

‘Type, type!’ I say to myself; ‘Don’t get fooled by a sentimental hype!’

So, you see the first and the last word in the stanza rhyme, giving the verses completely new feel and meaning to the written sentence.

For your exercise, you can call to mind an issue you have and pick one word of your own interest (it might be connected to a topic you are writing on, project you are working on or any other word that ‘bugs’ you somehow 🙂 Write in flow, without too much thinking – just try to follow this one simple rule; don’t pay attention to the logic or the meaning behind your verses; use simple facts about the situation, what you think, what others might think, what you could try or what you already did, what could be holding you back and other thoughts related to the issue..

This is more leisure and fun approach to brainstorming, which can be also beneficial: relaxed manner of thinking decreases tension and helps us become more open to the hidden treasures that language holds for us.

Have you already tried this exercise or something similar before? Please share in the comments below.

What can you expect on “Business in Rhyme” in 2016

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Business in Rhyme

Probably most you remember that a couple of weeks ago I ran a poll about future topics you would like to see more featured on this blog.

Creativity, writing and entrepreneurship were the leading topics with the most votes, which is also in alignment with most read/liked posts in the past year. So here is what I intend to do:

  • once a week (at least) there will be a creativity exercise, mostly based on writing and poetry techniques – but not as a typical prompts but rather in more engaging ways;
  • there will be more posts exploring the possibility of how you can turn your writing and creativity into a viable business;
  • also I would like to go beyond the value of poetry for business, but how it can help us in different areas of life  – something like this post.

My general intention with this blog is to really make a space and a community where we can all share our experiences and also learn in an engaging and fun process – so there will be some other novelties as well (I don’t want to reveal everything at once 😉 )

I also want to thank you all for an amazing ongoing support for this blog and my recently published poetry – it simply makes this worth while and it’s an encouragement to make it even better and more resourceful.

Looking forward to get “busy in rhyme” with all of you here!

Maja

The Poet’s Manifesto

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Business in Rhyme, My personal rhyme - from time to time, Read, write, lead!, Write, create, innovate!, Writer's creative bites

To set the tone for a year ahead, as an experiment, I’ve decided to post a poem I wrote recently, inspired by some of the poems I’ve read here on WordPress. My poetry is heavy and melancholic, in the form of prose poems and this is quite different and out of my comfort zone 🙂 –  I hope it will motivate you and inspire you in your writing poetry.

The Poet’s Manifesto by Maja S. Todorovic

I am the poet.

You are the poet.

Poetry is everywhere:

in your squinting eyes due to  the bright Sun beams;

in the smell of your first morning coffee;

in the smile of your friend when he sees you;

in the angry voice of your boss, when he teases you;

in the playful butterfly resting on your fingertips;

in the warm, passionate breath on your lover’s lips;

in the barking of your neighbor’s dog;

in the dense fog, heavy autumn rain;

in your unbearable pain.

That’s why you write:

you don’t need to explain,

to confess,

to impress,

anyone, just in vain.

You write because you feel,

you experience,

unsaid, unknown, unseen,

unheard, words unthrown.

You don’t write for adoration

or appreciation.

You don’t write for praise,

someone else to be amazed.

Your poem is your breathing.

Your poem is your existence.

Your poem is your persistence

to continue dreaming.

Words and letters, surprised

gathered here to take off their masks

to let you know:

whenever in doubt –just write!

Your creativity is well disguised.

Sometimes is shy,

encourage it to shine:

– just write!

 

4 simple tips on how to use procrastination productively

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

procrastination

There is always some period of the year, like the holiday season or when we plan/go on a vacation and at that moment simply too much is happening in our lives: work, family, home chores… and we do feel overwhelmed, tired, lack of inspiration and ideas. Yet projects need to be finished, house cleaned, meals cooked…

I have found that in times when too much is going on in my life, my creativity is not on the top of its strengths: I have actually notice that I begin to put off things, postpone for later when ‘I have more time’ and ext. It’s something I call saturation point and procrastination just seems an easy way out. This can also happen when you lack clarity about your project or you might have too many ideas and have problem decision making. So, instead of forcing yourself to do anything, take your time to procrastinate productively – by distancing yourself from the task at hand and finding a perspective you need.

My first tip is to meditate and relax.

When you start to feel anxious about too much things to do or lost in your creative project take 15-20 minutes to relax, deep breathe and meditate, find inner peace; center yourself around your initial idea. What do you want to accomplish? What’s the purpose of the things you are doing? What’s the priority and what can wait?

This will help you regain the confidence you need in your work and you might come up with new ideas how to accomplish your tasks – it’s a great way to get your focus back.

Journaling.

Journaling is also something I like to do – it’s like having a conversation with myself. Putting all of your thoughts, ideas, doubts, frustrations on paper can have not only creative but healing power as well. There are numerous ways how you can use journaling and free writing techniques at your advantage, but really any type of writing can help you unstuck and move forward.

Talk to a friend.

If you have a good friend or a family member that can understand and support you – it’s a good idea to have a chat – open up and look at the situation from someone else’s point of view. Maybe you are missing out on something – listening to different opinions can actually be a creativity booster.

Go outside.

Take a walk. Be present and watch how life effortlessly unfolds: nature is one of the best creativity teachers, inexhaustible source of inspiration and it’s one of the most productive ways to use your procrastination time.

 

3 little secrets of Shakespeare’s huge success

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

shakespeare

William Shakespeare is one of the most famous British  poets and writers. He had quite turbulent and dynamic professional life and all those conditions did influence the quality and trajectory of his work. He was probably already  working as an actor and writer in London when in 1593 theaters become closed due to severe outbreak of the plague.

We can note that as a turning point in his work when he diverts from the business of scriptwriting to the pursuit of art and patronage. Aware that at the moment he can’t pursue his career in theatrical marketplace, he devotes his writings to the eighteen-year-old Henry Wriothesley, third Earl of Southampton. Venus and Adonis, and later published Lucrece opens the door for him to position himself as a professional author and to reap wider attention of aristocracy.

These facts reveal Shakespeare’s ability to seize the opportunity and employ his talents and skills in such way that he didn’t let his current conditions limit him in his work – so that’s the first secret of his success: we should always seek and explore different ways to express ourselves – which can ultimately take us to something even greater.

Documents also witness that William Shakespear was in partnership in an acting company in London, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which after the crowning of King James I, in 1603, changes its name to the King’s Men. Shakespear was aware that ‘two heads are smarter than one’ and joint force can lead to much bigger success. From all accounts, the King’s Men company was very popular and the second secret to Shakespear success was his appreciation and awareness of the power of co-creation: that we shouldn’t try always to do everything on our own but rather strive to make meaningful connections and partnerships – which is beneficial for each side involved.

William Shakespeare’s early plays were written in the traditional style for that time – nevertheless he is also very well known for the innovative moments in his writings. Sometimes he would adapt the traditional style to his own needs, using metaphors and rhetorical phrases that didn’t always naturally follow the story plot. He didn’t fear using new words in front of the audience like ‘captious’, ‘intenible’, ‘multitudinous’ and ‘incarnadine’ which quickly found their place in the English vocabulary. This explains his third little secret: he didn’t stride from experimentation and innovation. In order to survive in the business world we need to be brave, try new things and take risks.

Surely, even nowadays we can learn a lot from Shakespeare’s entrepreneurial approach to doing business – being that art, management or writing.

(Biography resources: Poetry Foundation and biography.com)

I’ve just stolen your best idea!

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

Elizabeth Gilbert

“How come?” You might ask. “Is it even possible, simultaneously, but independently come to a pretty much same idea?”

It’s a tough question. Yet through history there are many evidences of multiple discoveries, especially in science, where researchers independently came to same conclusions and results. For example, the case of electromagnetism: Joseph Henry, lesser known American scientist and engineer, discovered the electromagnetic phenomenon of self-inductance. He also discovered mutual inductance, independently of Michael Faraday, but Faraday was the first to publish his results. In later years, two scientists did meet and collaborated but in the scientific world Faraday reaped all credits and praise.

Oxygen, chemical element was discovered independently by Carl Wilhelm Scheele, in Uppsala, in 1773 or earlier, and Joseph Priestley in Wiltshire – yet the Priestley took the credits since he managed to publish his work first. Antoine Lavoisier, a French chemist, also discovered oxygen in 1775, was the first to recognize it as an element, and coined its name “oxygen” – which comes from a Greek word – meaning “acid-former”.

But this kind of phenomena is not limited to scientific work only. In her newly published book, Elizabeth Gilbert shares her own experience – when two people come to pretty much same idea – even when it comes to writing a novel. She had an amazing story for a novel and she wanted to write it for years. During that time a lot of personal and family changes happened in her life and it simply kept her from completely devoting to writing. And all the time she struggled. One day she accidentally finds out that a friend of hers and a fellow writer, Ann Patchett, came to pretty much same idea about the novel (the plot and geographical location just resembled too much). Her friend manages to publish the story with noticeable success and at that particular moment she new that somehow it wasn’t ‘her novel’ and that idea simply found other and better conditions to flourish. She further notes:

The worst and most destructive conclusion I could’ve drawn was that Ann Patchett had stolen my idea. That would have been absurd, because Ann had never even heard of my idea…People convince themselves that they have been robbed, when they have not, in fact been robbed. Such thinking comes from scarcity  – from a belief that the world is a place of dearth and that there will never be enough of anything to go around.

And I completely agree with this point of view. We do live in the ocean of ideas. Especially in the Internet era we have almost limitless access to acquired knowledge and information resources. And every one of us is a fishermen. Each day, each minute we try to catch new ideas and make them work for us. But like with every fishing process:

  • are we patient enough to wait for the right catch?
  • is our ‘fishing rod’ strong enough to sustain even the biggest catch?
  • and do we have a developed plan what shall we do with our catch – if we are not fast enough it might just jump over the deck back to the sea!

In other words – even coming to a good idea is usually the easy part. But the conditions, our skills, our determination and devotion to a process will ultimately determine if our idea is going to fruition into something valuable or maybe somewhere, in the other part of the world, someone else has invested more energy, time and other resources to implement similar idea. Each idea has to be welcomed, nourished in such conditions that it has all that it needs to grow.

What I truly believe is that the idea cannot be stolen.  Actually that exact fear that we might not be the first is keeping us from our ‘best creative self’. What we can do is to try strategically to position ourselves and our idea and prepare in advance for the work ahead: along the way reexamine our objectives  – it will help us stay on the course with our creative project and make important decisions.

 

 

Catch new ideas while redefining the obvious

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Write, create, innovate: exercises

red

Through out the day we encounter many words – some we like,  some we dislike; some we even avoid to use, or we overuse. Why is that?

To every word we attach our meaning, definition and somehow just one word can influence our way of thinking and how we form opinion.

The next exercise I’m going to propose belongs to type of writing that some experts and psychologists call free writing. As in this article, author Joel Friedlander sees that  free writing:

  • is a practice that helps to liberate your writer’s voice and connects you to the vibrant stream of creativity that lies just under the surface of our ordinary thinking.
  • can be used to launch you over a writer’s block, to explore painful emotional memories, and to work out problems in a longer work. It can be used for making contact with one’s own unconscious.
  • is a simple, structured practice that is flexible and forgiving. It can be used as the base of a writing practice, or spontaneously whenever you want to go deeper into a subject.

You pick one word – it can be a word related to your current project you are working on or just some random word you find interesting, attractive or annoying. The purpose of the exercise, is in your own words to write down general definition, widely accepted meaning of the word.

Then ask yourself do you agree with given definition and give your reasons why you agree or disagree.

Afterwards continue writing what’s your own meaning, what emotions it triggers and ext.

For example, the word danger. One of the generally accepted definitions is life-threatening situation. For me, first impression is the  feeling of unease, uncertainty, fear, unpleasant surprise and losing control over situation.

You can write as long as you like. One, two paragraphs.  It’s possible that at one point you will feel stuck and think “This is stupid, it doesn’t take me anywhere!” , which is the critical point -by continuing to write, you are unlocking a new stream of ideas that otherwise you might have stopped before they had chance to get out.This type of playing with your insights, examining thinking patterns – opening the word can help you further tap into your creativity potentials. I personally find this exercise very useful – especially when it comes to writing/creating something new, from  personal perspective. It can be helpful in terms of crafting a story, poems and blog post and all you need is just one word to start.

Give it try and share your experience in the comments below.

What would you like to read on “Business in Rhyme”?

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Business in Rhyme

This blog has been existing almost 6 months and it’s turning into a great community.But of course, no matter how much it gives me space to learn and share my experience – it’s not only about me. So here I created a simple poll that gives you the opportunity to vote which topic of your interest you would like to read more or know about more. You can add your own answers as well. Poetry will stay the central focus of the blog, but I’m interested to see your opinion in which direction this influence of poetry we can further explore.

We are soon approaching New Year and there are some additional novelties that will enrich Business in Rhyme and make it more interactive. I hope you’ll find them attractive as well.

For now, thanks for taking time to vote.

Maja