These eggs gave up their lives for their love of creativity

How can I create today? This is a question people should ask themselves each day. Yet, most of us look at the day or week ahead and think, wow, there is so much to do, or, oh crap! I’m really not looking forward to fill-in-the-blank.

Did you ever think how much more creativity you could allow into your life if you actually planned the time and looked forward to it? The common fallacy is that creativity just happens and you take it as it comes, but that is not entirely true.

Why? Creativity doesn’t happen by accident. Aside from what Oprah will have you believe about her whimsical “ah-ha” moments, creativity and inspiration are free flowing, and need time and space to evolve.  The true “ah-ha” moments show up because you were present in the moment, ready to actually hear, see, believe or understand what showed up. You made the space.

Just Do It!  Creativity Will Show Up

Creative juices flow more freely when you offer up the time and space. Only you know what turns you on, what drives you to get out of bed each morning.  So if the windshield looks a little foggy and you can’t quite find your creative zone, don’t judge yourself. Just get started doing something, and you will realize it helps you not only feel better, but takes  focus off the voices in your head that find very creative ways to say no.

Creative expression can be anything from getting your hands dirty with a pottery project, to a full out brainstorm about what gets you jazzed in your business or career. The “how”  can  involve doing something meaningful to you that enables you to break out from the norm, and use different muscles or right brain power. That could include doing something more tactile like knitting, wood working or playing guitar to open things up, or going for a really slow walk where you relish each step and think of it as a mini scavenger hunt.

Yes, You DO Have Time

When taking about creativity, this is  inevitably the comment I hear next…I just don’t have time. Well, you do, if you really want it.

Creative moments are priceless, and they really can be just mere moments. Just plan for those moments consistently. So if 15 minutes is all you have, USE it. Step away from digital equipment and break out the paints, yarn, books, journal, business plan, short story draft, photo album — whatever.

And the most important part — don’t be afraid if there are a few “broken eggs”. By that I mean false starts, unfinished projects or crazy-ass things that will never see the light of day.  Its something we all struggle with when we are tapping into our creative reserves as adults. Who cares! Leave judgment at the door, even better, flush it down the toilet.

The important part is that you are taking the time and space to be creative. That will shift so many things in other parts of your life, including your perspective on creativity and how it transforms your life. Then,  next steps and choices for your business or career will be clearer with all the brain clutter out of the way.

I’ve long said that collaboration will be the new competition once the Millennials take over.  There’s no better example of that than Brazen Careerist.  A blog aggregator and so much more – Brazen has grown to include more than 1,000 blogs from Gen-Y troublemakers all around the world – this blog included.  They’ve been featured on TechCrunch and many other blogs – anyone who is part of the Brazen community knows that their success is also our success.

Nowhere can you find a more diverse set of voices, each one trying to find their way in this crazy-ass world we’ve inherited.

I am very proud to be a part of that community – and encourage you to support them as they launch their new site by paying them a visit.

Thank you,

-Nick Armstrong

With jobs harder to come by than a nudity-free Sasha Cohen appearance, many people have started to ask themselves if they shouldn’t consider a different career.  Maybe even one they don’t have formal training in.

I don’t advocate looking for a job you’re over-experienced for, but there’s no problem aiming for a different career than the one you were formally educated in.  In fact, it’s only natural that over the span of your career, your job interests will shift.  Rob’s question is more focused on what happens when you are trained for construction management, but the only jobs you are able to find are related to your hobbies – things like motorcycle repair.

If you’re trying to go from Civil Engineer to Doctor, I can’t help you.  Otherwise, read on…

The first step is to make sure that the switch will be right for you.  Is the new career something you can commit to doing long-term?  Is it something you have done before or have at least some volunteer experience doing?  Is the learning curve easy enough for you to catch up before your money runs out?

If you answered no to any of those questions, don’t make the switch.  If you can answer yes to all of those questions, it demonstrates that you are passionate about your new career.  Having passion means you’ll be willing to put in the time and the effort to make up for the lack of formal education.  If you’re passionate, you’ll take on internships, do your homework, spend time learning something new every night, and devote yourself to your new career.  Heck, you might even pursue some technical training, if you have the money for it!

The hard truth is, unless you have prior experience or an “in” – someone who can vouch for you and give you a chance, you will likely have to work for free until you prove you have the chops.

The second step is to figure out how you can sell yourself to your employer.  Most employers will look at the education section closely.  Did you go to a reputable university? Do you list your GPA? What was your major? How quickly did you graduate?  Of course, this is under normal circumstances.  In today’s economy, every job opening is met with wheelbarrows full of resumes.  You have to be prepared to be actively and continuously screened out on the basis of your resume alone.  List your qualifications and expertise – making sure to list whatever skills you have which apply to your new career.

Write a specific resume – one that applies to this new career (where perhaps your old resume might not be so effective).

Write a killer cover letter.  People – and this is just one of those human things – love a loser.  Not like, terminal losers, but… the underdog.  The one who’s down and out but fighting to the last to come back.  So, your first choice of career didn’t work out – but it gave you a passion to pursue what really makes you happy.

Dedicate yourself to learning. Find and read as many books as you can. Make yourself an expert in theory, even if you don’t have the practice down yet.

The final step is to find an in.  Network like crazy, find out who the key players are in your new career – people who are local to you, people who you can meet up with for coffee and advice.  Make sure to respect their time and efforts if they agree to meet with you.  Try to make the meeting beneficial for them as well.  A network is a powerful, but sharp, tool.  With just enough direction and pressure, it can carve a path for you.  With too much or too little direction or too much or to little pressure, the blade becomes dull and you go nowhere.

Above all else – never give up.  If you are truly passionate about something, someone will eventually give you the opportunity to prove yourself.

I received a slew of comments from the Brazen Careerist crowd.  Most revolving around, “Look, it’s okay to ‘slum’ to pay the bills.”  I don’t think so.

I have, for the last two years, been perpetually stuck in the cycle I like to call, “This time it’ll be different.” This time, I said to myself – each and every time I started on a new programming job – it’ll be different.  Last time, I had too many bosses.  Last time, I didn’t get the support I needed.  Last time, I hated the constant 50-hour work weeks and crazy, constant stress.  Last time, I just wasn’t good enough to keep up as fast as they (and the economy!) needed me to. (edit: 6/1/09 – added “constant”)

I look at that list of reasons and think, “Oh my god, how do I tell an interviewer these things without sounding like an excuse-filled lame duck?”  My only defense is the truth. I have never lied to a potential employer to get a job.  I put my 5 biggest weaknesses on the About page of my blog.  I talk about life, love, money, and everything else on Twitter… I get boisterous and loud, I am never reserved.  I always speak my mind.  I’ve never had a problem owning a mistake.  If I’m one thing, it’s unflappably honest.  So when I say marketing is my passion, I really mean it.

I have been so tempted to find a job – any job, just to make the fear go away.  There are nights I can’t even sleep from the thought of missing rent, missing a car payment, all these medical bills from my appendectomy.  The thought of having to leave Yoda (my cat) behind because dad is allergic, if I ever had to move home with mom and dad.  I have to remind myself that I have the tools to solve these problems.  It’s only really hopeless if I let it become hopeless.

I’m not some Jim Dandy with no skills.  I’m the gorram man.  I aim to win.  It’s not ego. I won because I was able to give 100% – I didn’t stop until I was the best.  I really cared about the things I was doing.  (ps – gorram is a Firefly reference – it’s a swear word.)

And I remember how I feel about a month into every programming job I’ve ever had.  The nagging anxiety that I have a week to learn a brand new language, the depression of not being so busy I can’t even have lunch with Leslie, the frustration of getting home and being so tired and worn out from the day that I can’t bring myself to work on my personal projects.  I can’t do that.  I can’t be like that anymore.  I’ve never felt that way doing my personal projects – doing my own marketing.  I know that if I were doing what I loved to do, I wouldn’t feel like a failure.

You can’t do your best, give 100%, when you don’t like what you’re doing.  It took me two years to realize that.

I’m not going to settle anymore. I’m not a failure. I’m not a loser. I’m not a slacker. I’m… a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.

Those jobs I had, they would have been great for someone else.  There were problems, sure – mine and theirs.  There were great people and great things to do.  They weren’t the right great people for me.  They weren’t my great things to do.  The next position I take – the next task I perform for money, will be the first step on my real career.  The thing I’ve always wanted to do.

I can’t go back, because it would mean certain failure.  I can only move forward.