Profits Without Production

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I got turned on when I saw Krugman’s NYT’s post, “Profits Without Production.”

I thought to myself, “Finally, he sees it too!” Alas, while I am sure he would agree with me, he sees profits without production in a different light.

Nevertheless, since you cannot read what I thought he wrote. I’ll write it.

It wasn’t until the start of the industrial revolution that “production” became mechanical, void of emotion, and downright dirty. Prior to the industrial revolution, to “produce” held power. Anything that was produced contained a bit of the person who produced it.

Production took hands (many of them), impromptu thought power, and personal insight (not mechanical). There were technicalities before there was anything technical. Then, once the industrial revolution hit, “production” took on an entirely new meaning.

It’s as you can expect, recall, and still see industries trying to continue. During the industrial revolution production was being carried out by robots, assembly lines, programmers, and chain reaction contraptions. No grit, no personality, and no heart. The only connection was between two wires. Profits came from faster production. As a result, the process to creating goods was a stale, monotonous, banal one.

Now, though, we’ve entered the post-industrial revolution which has – I don’t want to say returned, but has reconditioned “production” and given it an all new meaning. Production has maintained its sense of efficiency and multiplicity while involving the human spirit, a person’s passion.

This post-industrial revolution is the collaboration of the assembly line and creativity. However, not in the sense that one piece of creative work is repetitively created, rather, art (whatever your art may be) is continuously created, day in and day out.

For me, I write something different every single day. Alisa Toninato, instead of molding a typical metal pan over and over, sculpts something different, again and again. Now, those who are profiting the most (financially and internally) are those who have salvaged the key parts to production, but, generally, tossed the industrial revolution concept away.

Profits don’t come from production, they come from the interaction created from making more art. And making more art comes from doing enough weird things until they get noticed.

 

Stay Positive & Potatoes Pototoes, I Suppose

Garth E. Beyer

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The Big Things

Really aren’t the big things. And, actually, the little things don’t add up to the big things.

What makes us feel that something is big is a quick succession of noticed and understood little things.

Telling someone you love them isn’t a big thing. Simply, in that moment, you are processing the 10,000 little things that make you feel the way you do.

Finally sharing your creations, your art, is not a big thing. It’s just a realization that you feel connected with people who want your work, that you feel satisfied with what you’ve made, that you appreciate all that you have been given and are ready to give back, that you care about those whom this product will help, that… this list of little things is endless.

It’s not about the moments that take your breath away, but all the thoughts and feelings you are acquainting that moment with as your breath escapes you.

Happiness comes from noticing the little things. The richest happiness comes from noticing the most little things in the shortest period of time.

 

Stay Positive & Big Idea, Huh?

Garth E. Beyer

A Couple Types Of Creativity

Creativity

The first is unexpected; the type that just comes to you out of nowhere; that moment when you have never been happier to have a notepad in your pocket, or a paintbrush in hand, or pieces of your art around you.  Hirschman would argue that this is the best kind of creativity.

Hirschman wrote:

Creativity always comes as a surprise to us; therefore we can never count on it and we dare not believe in it until it has happened. In other words, we would not consciously engage upon tasks whose success clearly requires that creativity be forthcoming. Hence, the only way in which we can bring our creative resources fully into play is by misjudging the nature of the task, by presenting it to ourselves as more routine, simple, undemanding.

The second kind of creativity is a lot like hitting your head against the wall in hopes you will knock out a creative idea. Or, less physically painful, you toy around with different tools and dies you have at your reach until something starts looking like a creative piece of art.

I fancy this second type of creativity. It allows for frustration, it tells whether or not a person is determined and passionate or not.

And heck, if anything, I always say that some people hit their head against the wall just because it feels good when they stop. It’s a win-win situation, whether you end up creating something or not.

 

Stay Positive & If You Don’t Try, You Fail

Garth E. Beyer

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Bubble Wrapped Creativity

You don’t know art until you’ve done/seen/tried something crazy.

Pop art for instance?

It doesn’t take a lot to be creative. It just takes a little something here and a little something there and a little something to combine them.

“Something,” in this sense, really meaning “anything.”

 

Stay Positive & Combine What You Can Then Combine What You Can’t

Garth E. Beyer

You. Yes, You… Why?

You, reading this, why are you making me wait?

I want it… I want a lot of things actually. I want to see them, read them, purchase them, interact with them, write about them, talk about them, play with them. I want what you have.

Why do I have to wait? Why am I waiting without knowing about your progress? Even worse, why am I waiting to get my hands on something that is already complete?

What are you waiting for?

The right time? The spot light? The spot on QVC? The 9 second reel on NBC?

There are people out in the world and online that are searching for what you have or what you are slowly (yes, I’m calling you out) working on, but they are searching now. Not later, not when you’re ready to deliver, not when you write on your Facebook page that your work is finally available. Now. That’s when they want it.

Simple solution: give it to them.

 

Stay Positive & Then Go Make Better Art

Garth E. Beyer

You’re Not The Only One To See Things

We all see interesting things. Whether it’s faces in places or just plain odd sights, there’s a plethora of communities who share the experience together.

The web has allowed us to be weird, to share what and how we see the world, and most importantly, it has allowed us to search and find others who see similar interesting things.

What do you have to share?

 

Stay Positive & Go Share It Already, I Want To See

Garth E. Beyer

What Makes A Successful Blog

Those who have said that content is everything, to focus on content first, that content matters most were partially wrong. Wrong, mainly because information is already infinite. Content is already there and all blogging is about is presenting information in an original way.*

What makes a successful blog is not so much the information you provide as how you provide it. Yes, of course it needs to be valuable information, but do you present it in a blunt, matter-of-fact way? Or, how about presenting it in a comedic, captain obvious way? Or, be extremely passionate. Or, express your message in 10 words or less.

Anyone can deliver, but how you deliver means everything.

*The restructuring of information is often misinterpreted as content creation. No. Content is already there. Restructuring is about show, not tell.

 

Stay Positive & Not What, But How

Garth E. Beyer