Life Lesson

No One There To Tell You

Garth Beyer

That’s the biggest problem for the members of the creative class – there is no one there to tell you what to write on, what to create, who to connect with, how to develop a tribe or when to launch a product.

Sure, you can read suggestions on a blog, watch a tutorial on YouTube, or follow Wiki’s how-to list, but that is the opposite of what defines you as part of the creative class. The toughest part is meant to be self-assigning work – creative work that matters, I might add.

Creativity, by my definition, is interaction with ambiguous results. There is no one there to tell you exactly how to interact or specifically what the results will be – it’s up to you to set the goals, to trailblaze your way to success, and discover what works best for you.

No one tells me to write every day or to interact with 10 people a week on Twitter or to repeat the process of consuming > producing > sharing, I simply do it because not doing it doesn’t lead me to become the creative person I want to be.

When you stop looking at your creative actions as optional, it’s as if you don’t even need anyone there to tell you.

 

Stay Positive & Be Your Own Boss

Garth E. Beyer (sure, you will think your boss is an asshole at times, but at least he delivers.)

 

 

 

Looking for team members!

Garth Beyer

The other day I caught myself with Twitter opened up to interactions. I was sitting and waiting for someone to interact with me. I would tweet an interesting idea or question and wait for someone to notice, someone to reply. Boy, was I doing it wrong.

After realizing this, I switched back to my Twitter feed and started interacting with others. In minutes I was in the middle of conversations with a handful of people.

It seems that on Twitter – and in life, really – more people sit and wait rather than seek what they want out. Often times, what you are waiting for, is more or less, exactly what hundreds, thousands, millions of others are waiting for. Almost everyone I interacted with obviously had there interactions tab opened, waiting for someone to reply.

People seem to be classified as one of two people: either you move or you wait.

This blog post is about a little of both.

A partner and I are getting together a team of creative, passionate, and communicative people. Some ideas we will be producing this summer is a community art event where everyone can be an artist, as well as an online news website where people can go to discuss ethics in regard to recent events, e.g., Boston Bombings.

We are based in Madison, Wisconsin, so first, if you do not live in Madison, I would like you to share this post with anyone who does that you think would have interest in participating. We are very open to ideas and odd talents. If you do live in Madison, right on!

Secondly, I want to note that if you want to be part of the team and do not live in Madison, that’s not a problem! Obviously, we will need tech and organization tasks fulfilled. In this world, distance no longer prevents the important work of getting done. We need you.

Ethics, Energy, And Enigma

We aim to create a positive enigma. We plan to puzzle people in a way that they wonder why people have not put on events like ours before, or surprise people by connecting them with other like-minded people they have been waiting for. Through this transfer of energy, we will make a ruckus that leaves a ripple effect into the thoughts of everyone involved. The way one views the world will be brightened and we are changing the way ethics are influenced in this post-industrialistic connection economy. It’s the time of the creative class. It’s the time to stop waiting and start moving. We are here.

You can get in touch with me through email at: thegarthbox@gmail.com

 

Stay Positive & Be Bold

Garth E. Beyer

 

One Person Position

Garth Beyer

I love when I hear from someone working that they are the only one working the position. Because I know they are lying.

In reality, they aren’t working alone, they have people from different groups, departments, sections helping them out when things get tough. (If they don’t, that’s because they didn’t ask for help. May I suggest transferring to a position where you don’t need to?)

What I would love to hear when I ask for confirmation that they are really the only one working: “Yea, and I’m doing a hell of a job. The same results if you were to hire five people.”

Now that’s the person I would want on my team.

 

Stay Positive & Become A Linchpin

Garth E. Beyer

Getting A New Perspective

Garth Beyer

Pulling from the content I have wrote for my new book, here are five ways to get a new perspective. Oh, and don’t worry, there are many more in the book.

1. Talk to a homeless person.

2. Go into a speciality shop (an old record store, or a rock shop) and ask the owner how he/she got into business. Listen.

3. Give someone your number.

4. Invite yourself over to someones house.

5. Make complete eye contact through an entire conversation.

 

Stay Positive & Switching To Different Perspectives

Garth E. Beyer

“I think that’d be really difficult”

Garth Beyer

I had an idea for an app, much like the Google Goggles. It came to me after I saw a wicked font on a banner. I thought to myself, why not create an app that takes pictures of a font and can match it for you. It’s like Shazam for writers and designers. In addition, it would link you to websites where you can download or purchase that font.

I pitched the idea to a friend, and my friend said, “I think that’d be really difficult. There are so many and most are licenses/pretty expensive”

So is anything else of value. My friend obviously isn’t into the risk taking, or the “if there is a will, there is a way” mindset, or even into the idea of just giving it a try.

I couldn’t help myself but reply back, “Yea, but nothing worth it ever came easy.” If anything, because his response was such, I am even more convinced that it could be a phenomenal product. What do you think? Have any ideas yourself? Do you get this type of response when you pitch them to friends? I hope so.

 

Stay Positive & So It Goes

Garth E. Beyer

Where To Start

Garth Beyer

That’s the question isn’t it?

You want to work for Twitter, you want to start a business, you want to kickstart your freelance career, or – in my case – you want to get into public relations.

Sure, you can read some books, bookmark some websites, favorite a few blogs and justifiably consume, but that won’t get you started. There’s no action to that; it’s passive learning and passive learning is preparation, not actual movement.***

The most solid way to start any journey is

with a conversation.

Screen Shot 2013-04-29 at 7.28.36 PM

An email, a tweet, a message is all that it takes to start. After connecting with @E_Humphrey, we conversed about the PR industry, we began interacting with each others tweets, and we even found out that we have a lot of the same connections in town.

And how did both her and I make those connections? It all starts with a conversation.

 

Stay Positive & Go Find A Mentor, A Friend, A Teacher

Garth E. Beyer

*** the exception is if you start a blog where you share what you learn (my pr box)

 

Getting Opinions

Garth Beyer

I’m an op-ed writer and one would think that I come up with my opinions and then spread them, adjusting based on feedback. As the saying goes, “my opinions change with new information.”

However, that’s only part of it. Before I have my opinion, I get others.

The problem with having your own opinion first and bringing it to your editor (your boss, your manager, your teacher) is that once you open it to them, it stays between you two; sharing it with others becomes the act of a traitor.

Your opinion becomes a treasure piece between you and the person toward the top of the hierarchy. Or in other cases, it becomes a piece that must be critiqued, but not by someone below their level of expertise.

When you have an idea, an opinion, or a thought for improvement, share it with as many people on your own level (or one close to it). By skipping this step, you turn your work into a commodity when it should be priceless yet free. When you skip sharing your opinion with others: your friends, your family, your coworkers, then you miss out on one of the most important aspects of having the opinion in the first place – they are the ones you are trying to reach/help/connect/improve. You’re not going to be picked by the editor, your boss, or the CEO, however, nor should you attempt to pick yourself for them. Get chosen by the millions of people around you, and trust me, if you’re opinion resonates enough, your boss will call you forward and you will know that you picked yourself for the sake of others, not for the sake of being called forward.

 

Stay Positive & Oddly Enough Opinions Emerge From Cooperation

Garth E. Beyer