Why Try To Get Out Of Your Box, When You Can Use What's In It?
My birthday is Wednesday, but some of my family celebrated it early the other day. They asked me what advice I had to give.
First three thoughts:
My birthday wish is that you take these to heart.
Stay Positive & Click
Garth E. Beyer
And it’s strategy is beautiful.
Click the picture to read about the whole makeover process.
Dr. Margee Kerr is the staff sociologist at ScareHouse, whose website I don’t even like being on. In a brilliant article over the The Atlantic, I read her saying, “To really enjoy a scary situation, we have to know we’re in a safe environment.”
There’s an insurmountable truth to that.
With that, I must ask, is standing up on a stage to give a three-minute speech any worse than running through a 30 minute haunted house? Is asking that girl you think is cute for her number scarier than being chased by a blood soaked 6’4″ man carrying a chain saw?
When you’re afraid to follow through with something, I’m unapologetically admitting that it is because of you, not because the audience or those around you are making you feel unsafe. How could an audience that is just sitting there make you feel unsafe public speaking? How could a girl just doing her homework listening to music make you literally fear for your life?
There might be a scientific answer behind these questions, but I believe it is more of a subconscious inaction of realizing the state of fear that you’re in. Very few walk up on stage and after acknowledging that they are afraid, ask why.
On the flip side, let’s jump to a good explanation of why people are the first to raise their hands and face their fears.
“Lots of people also enjoy scary situations because it leaves them with a sense of confidence after it’s over,” said Kerr.
Just as Kerr has seen someone scream and jump and then immediately starts laughing and smiling, I have seen hundreds of people trembling, get up, give a speech and walk off the stage smiling and looking forward to doing it again. When asked if they are afraid to give another speech, the answer is “yes.”
It’s not just about public speaking either. It’s making that phone call you’re afraid to make, it’s putting your art out there for everyone to see when you’re afraid of the feedback, it’s sending in that letter, fearing you will get rejected. Those who do are what a call Confidence Builders. Those who do are no more afraid than you.
Stay Positive & Become A Confidence Builder
Garth E. Beyer
Photo credit Manipulation done by me
Let me tell you a quick story.
I was recently working on a fictional newsletter to help me learn InDesign. I had an instructor looking over my shoulder every now and then to comment on my work. I designed the newsletter for the shareholders of a fictional railway company. Naturally, my newsletter had the company’s name as the header. It was a simple black text on a light blue background (colors of the company).
To make the distinction that the newsletter was for shareholders, I put exactly that – “shareholders” – in black type, half over the light blue background box and half on the white background (the paper).
Some would see it as I saw it: beautiful balance between who is most important (the company and the shareholders), slightly abstract, and it was the first thing to catch someone’s eye – rightfully so. The instructor saw it differently.
She saw it as unorganized (even though I had every bit of the text perfectly aligned with the rest of the page). She saw it as distracting (forgetting it’s the part of text everyone should see first). Essentially, she thought it was wrong.
“Wrong?” Sure, I’ll give it to her. It could have been improved.
But, “not right?”
I like to remember the Law of the Many, which has two focal points worth briefly mentioning. First, the theory of it implies that there will always be at least one person in the world that thinks what you did was right. And it’s often more than one person.
Second, the Law of the Many gives you the right to reject rejection, to deny someone’s disapproval of what you did. If I had 20 instructors tell me it was wrong, I might think differently about it. But one, just one person telling me it’s wrong?
Failure is a hard thing to sell. If you’re wise, you won’t buy it.
Stay Positive & Don’t Ever Forget That There’s Always Room For Improvement
Garth E. Beyer
Photo credit
A lot of people don’t follow through with an idea because they think others will just rip it off, essentially stealing it.
Aside from the fact that their idea was likely stolen from some other artist anyway, I’ve decided to write today with the intention of putting this worry of theft to rest.
A great idea never just happens. A great idea is a good idea actually executed, created, put to the test. Great ideas require a deep investment; both time and emotion. The myth is that great ideas are worth hanging on to.
They’re not.
If the market sees a great idea become a successful idea, then the market will naturally spit out artists that will attempt to mimic your great idea. Twitter became a success, and then dozens of other apps that run just like Twitter were developed.
Do you believe the founders of Twitter are still there running it? Think again.
They are off creating something else while the market is wasting its time and energy on replicating (stealing the idea) of a successful business to earn small profits off the laggards.
If you have a good idea, implement it and turn it into a great one without the worry of it being stolen because if it’s a great idea, it will.
And that goes to your advantage because you’re off developing the next great idea while everyone is trying to steal your first idea.
Having your idea stolen just means that you’re in the lead.
Stay Positive & Keep Creating
Garth E. Beyer
Photo credit
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