YOU! Focus.

In the land of the creative, the idea is king.

You can be a good designer. A top notch photographer. Or a damn fine writer.

But if that’s all you are, then what you do can generally be done by someone else.

Often for less than you charge or get paid for.

Hell even clients think they can write.

And that’s why ideas are important. And having them is even more important.

Because ideas aren’t easy to come by.

Especially good ones.

And the better the ideas you have. The more in demand you’ll be.

But most importantly when you are in competition for a job, or piece of work, chances are the person with the ideas will come out on top.

So make sure that person is you.

Busy, schmusy. Sometimes you just have to say yes.

Last week I needed some creative help on a project. So I rang a few people whose work had impressed me of late to see if they’d be interested in helping out.

I left a voice mail for the first person I rang. I also sent a text message. I have still yet to hear back from them.

The same thing happened with the next person I called.

And the third one said they’d love to help, but when I tried to organise a time for them to meet up they conceded that they couldn’t do it because they were too busy.

Now I don’t know about you, but I thought that opportunities were there to be taken.

I also thought that they didn’t come along every day.

So if opportunity comes knocking at your door please please please be ready for it.

Or at the very least say sorry, but I can’t help you at this time.

Because the chances of people ringing you more than once are very slim indeed.

I was chatting with some kids about their folio the other day.

One of the ads they showed me was for a product that was crying out to have the negativity associated with it celebrated.

When I pointed this out to them they looked more than a little lost.

So I shared an example with them. It suddenly had them thinking about their folio in a whole new way.

They suggested I share it with you this sunny Monday morning.

Here goes;

Imagine a hair product that has a very firm hold. Now try and advertise it.

Most people come up with ideas around Mohawks etc. Obvious sort of stuff.

What you need to do is think of the negative side – demonstrate the downside of a Mohawk with the firm hold gel.

Like waking up in a pile of feathers because it’s slashed your pillow to pieces. Or a baseball cap severed in two pieces. Or the roof lining in your car getting slashed as you drive.

Dumb stuff I know, but it clearly demonstrates the benefit of the product by turning a negative into a negative.

Which is sure to have a positive outcome for you.

What we do on a daily basis as creative people isn’t really that important you know.

It might be important to you, but it’s not worth tearing your hair out over.

Trust me on this – I went grey worrying about my work.

Finding a cure for cancer. That’s important. Not what we do.

However…

Just because it’s not important doesn’t mean it’s not important.

It is.

It’s just not a matter of life or death.

For as long as I can remember I’ve treated myself to a new notebook during the summer holiday break.

And every January, without fail, I find myself pondering whether or not I should start using the new book, when there are still several blank pages left in the old one.

But because it’s a new year, and because I like to start the year with a fresh attitude, I always use my new book.

I simply must start the year afresh.

New layout pad. New Pentel and Sharpie pens. New desktop photo on my computer. And of course a new notebook.

I’m not sure what any of this stuff has got to do with the Monday Whip to be honest.

But my advice to you today is to put aside all the trials and tribulations of last year and give your creative dreams a fresh start.

It’s a new year after all!

We hate this time of year. It’s when Stan gets a break. He thinks it’s well deserved, but we think he should write Whip’s all year round, don’t you? Jokes! Merry Christmas, y’all!

This is my last Whip for 2011, so I thought I’d leave you with some summer holiday reading.

There’s still a few days till Christmas, so maybe put one of the books on your list for Santa.

Merry Christmas!

ReWork – Jason Fried

I finished this book yesterday. It’s brilliant. There are more wise observations and important life lessons between its pages than any work related book I have ever read.

Just Friends – Patti Smith

If you want to live a creative life, then this wonderful book is for you. Patti knew from a young age that she was an artist and for me defines what being creative person is all about.

Hegarty on Advertising – John Hegarty

Get past the retina scorching orange cover and discover dozens of insightful tales of adland, ideas, creativity, boxer shorts and why you should always zig when others zag.

The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas

Being a good observer of people makes you a good writer. Being a good listener makes you a good writer. Nobody has observed, listened or written about suburban Australia quite like Christos Tsiolkas.

I am always envious of young people who know they want to make a living as a creative.

And even more envious of those who manage to crack an opportunity at a young age.

But if life has taught me anything, it is that life experience is the greatest teacher of all.

Whether that be travelling, taking public transport or ordering from a menu that’s written in a foreign language.

Every experience you have adds a drop or two of wisdom to your creative reservoir.

And the deeper your reservoir, the better your ideas will be.

So with the summer holidays almost upon us, why not make time to get out and enjoy some new experiences.

Trust me. They’ll come in handy one day.

Every big company, as far as I’m aware, has a marketing department.

And the role of the people in these departments is to get brands noticed, considered and ultimately purchased.

So who is looking after your marketing?

That’s right kids….It’s you.

Every time you send an email, every time you talk to an agency or potential client, every time you post something on Twitter, it’s all marketing.

So don’t waste any opportunity to market yourself.

Think about the way that email reflects on your personal brand.

Think about what people are going to think after they hang up the phone after a conversation with you.

And think long and hard about the stuff you post out there on the internet.

Because all of it is marketing.

Personal marketing.

And if you get your marketing right, you’ll get noticed, considered and ultimately purchased.

Are you climbing Everest or just hanging out at basecamp?

I put a call in to my financial planner the other day but was told he was unavailable for the next two weeks as he was climbing Mount Everest.

Which is not the sort of behaviour I expect from a nerdy accountant to be honest.

But when I did a bit of digging, I found out that many high level business people tackle challenges like this.

Getting a job as a creative is a bit like climbing your own personal Everest.

It’s something that requires guts.

And persistence.

It’s something that doesn’t happen in a day or two.

In fact it’s a very long haul.

And along the way you will encounter a great deal of hardship and suffering.

But when you scale that mountain you will experience a feeling like no other.

This week Stan gets us thinking about whether we’re being creative with our creativity.

Did you see the article in the news the other day about kids creating mobile apps?

And when I say kids I don’t mean young people. I mean bloody 14 and 15 year old kids.

This morning I read about a girl who created a successful web business at 18 who has now, at the age of 20, has been accepted into a start up incubator program in the US.

I cannot tell you how envious I am of these kids.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking, they’re probably nerds.

But guess what kids – these young people are using their creativity to create things that make money.

Now I don’t know about you, but maybe, just maybe, this is a better way to pursue a creative career than hawking a folio around or doing something like Award School.

Then again, maybe not.

Definitely food for thought on a Monday morning though.