Creative Class

Garth Beyer

Each era prior to the present is defined by what people did with their hands: agricultural, manufacturer, knowledge based. (Knowledge: experiments, hands on activities, tests.)

Now our current era of the connection economy has produced a new class of workers. Nonchalantly coined by Richard Florida as the “Creative Class.” This class of – better called artists than workers – don’t reside in cities that are built around assembly production, construction, or mechanical organizations.

There’s no age requirement, no credential, or resume that qualifies you as part of the creative class – it’s a conscious (and consistent) decision.

The difference between being part of the institutionalized workforce and the creative class is like writing a report as a homework assignment and writing it in a way that you would also share it with your peers, your community, your friends, and your tribe.

It’s the difference between doing banal, monotonous, industrialistic work and melting your passions, mentally building a mould, then transforming your liquid art into something emotionally tangible.

These artists of the creative class are managers, engineers, consultants, teachers, painters, entrepreneurs, connectors, and all around movers and shakers – but with a new class flair.

My reason for telling you this is so that you know that you’re not the only one. There are others like you. Others that are fed up with the assembly line work, others who are afraid to step out of the box (and dance), others who want to make, not just a positive impact, but real human connections.

Your ideas are valued. Share them.

 

Stay Positive & Welcome To The Creative Class

Garth E. Beyer

 

Three Things I Know For Certain

Garth Beyer

1. Everyone is lonely. Connect.

2. Everyone wants love: in objects, in relationships, in their work. Be human.

3. It’s not that everyone is fighting their own battles, it’s that they are losing them. Have empathy. 

 

Stay Positive & Success Is Leveraging All Three

Garth E. Beyer

Give In. No, Really.

Garth Beyer

There’s a million reasons why we surround ourselves by loved ones. Some obvious. Others, not so much. One reason in particular is to allow us to admit defeat but benefit from it.

Let me explain.

From time to time, our loved ones who support us, who helps us, and even, at times, look up to us, turn sour. Our loved ones are often “more knowledgable and experienced,” leading them to have a “realist” opinion of our decisions. In other words, sometimes those closest to us can be downright negative and even hurtful.

They will tell you that you are getting yourself in too deep, that you’re jumping the gun, that you can’t handle something, or it’s too much for you to chew. Now, I suck at math, but I ace’d statistics. If people who care about you – enough of them – are suggesting that you take a step back, take a breather, go with the easier option, if they tell you that you are pushing yourself too hard. Listen.

If you have one, two, or three loved ones suggesting it, maybe you should at least consider their option. If you have four or more loved ones advocating that you take that step back. Listen.

Yes, people who love you most are also those who worry more than they should. But this is as much of a reminder to listen to your loved ones as it is to make sure they hold you accountable.

Nothing is worse than letting loved ones down. But there’s a difference between that and having them being happy that you let yourself down.

 

Stay Positive & Sometimes People Look Up To You More When You Give In

Garth E. Beyer

The Choice

Garth Beyer

We all have this same choice: to be who we say we are… or not.

Of course, the first problem is getting people to say they are something: a writer, a photojournalist, a skater, an artist.

But once it’s out in the open, it has to be consistent for it to matter, for it to make a real impact. Consistency is what separates the pianist who plays just to get by and the pianist who can get by while only playing 15 times a year. There’s a significant difference.

For those who “make it,” all it is they are really making is the same decision every day to be who they say they are. No special talents. No pills. No pep talk. Just  a conscious decision made consistently.

 

Stay Positive & It’s Always A Choice, Never A Habit

Garth E. Beyer

Connecting

Garth Beyer

Three is company, four is a party, but 10,000 doesn’t make an organization anymore.

It has flipped. Now there are more organizations than ever before. But more organizations doesn’t mean larger groups. You may recall this idea that what is next for the Internet is whatever will connect compact groups (organizations) with other compact groups, without fusing together.

There’s stranger connections and more gratifications from the tighter organizations. There is also more results form an organization of 20 than an organization of 2,500. More and more people are beginning to see the benefit of being uncomfortable, but connecting.

In a world filled with possibilities to connect, why are we not connecting on all levels?

 

Stay Positive & It’s More Than Just About Organizations

Garth E. Beyer

Payback

Garth Beyer

The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.

The only people you should look down at are those you are helping up.

The only people who you should step on are those trying to put you on their shoulders.

The only people you should ever ignore are the imaginary ones in your head saying that you’re not good enough.

The world is full of people. Excluding the ones in your head, everyone is human.

 

Stay Positive & Be Human In Return

Garth E. Beyer

Did Kurt Vonnegut Have It Backward?

Garth Beyer

You tell me.

Kurt Vonnegut says,
1. Find a subject you care about.
2. Do not ramble, though.
3. Keep it simple.
4. Have the guts to cut.
5. Sound like yourself.
6. Say what you mean to say.
7. Pity the readers.

8. Stay Positive & I Think It Works Backward Too

Garth E. Beyer