036 The Aggressive Work Ethic of Highly Creative People
Listen. You have control over inspiration. You run the show. Look at magicians, for examples. Curious bunch.
They pull furry mammals out of their hats. Levitate humans. Hide automobiles out of sight.
The great ones make a killing, jet set around the globe, and beat groupies off with a brass-tipped wand.
The not-so-great ones — the average ones — are still amazing.
Getting to that point where the illusion is flawless (thus, magical) involves hard work.
Content creators are no strangers to hard work. But we often view what they do — their level of originality — as magical, something even mystical.
So what’s the trick?
In this 5-minute episode you’ll discover that answer, plus:
- What steps to take when creativity seems to have abandoned you
- Your attitude when creativity thinks you are done being creative
- A wonderful quote by Mark McGuinness about creative breakthroughs
- How to survive a fickle muse
The Show Notes
The Aggressive Work Ethic of Highly Creative People
Demian Farnworth: Howdy friend, this is Rough Draft, your daily dose of essential web writing advice. I am Demian Farnworth, the Chief Content Writer for Copyblogger Media.
And thank you for spending the next few minutes of your life with me.
So, this is episode 36, and we are calling it “The Aggressive Work Ethic of Highly Creative People.” And it’s brought to you by Rainmaker.FM, the digital marketing podcast network, which is built on the Rainmaker Platform — a platform that empowers you to build your own digital marketing and sales platform.
And guess what? You get to start your own free 14-day trial at RainmakerPlatform.com. That’s rainmakerplatform.com.
Now, onto the show.
So I want to follow up on yesterday’s episode. The one on rough drafts. The one on killing the myth that inspiration is something that strikes. That you have no control over.
Listen. You have control over inspiration. You run the show.
Look at magicians, for examples. Curious bunch.
They pull furry mammals out of their hats. Levitate humans. Hide automobiles out of sight.
The great ones make a killing, jet set around the globe, and beat groupies off with a brass-tipped wand.
The not-so-great ones — the average ones — are still amazing.
To this day I don’t know how my daughter knows which card I picked out of that deck (Jack of clubs). And she’s still not telling.
Despite the name, though, what my daughter did — what all magicians do — isn’t magic. It’s a trick, an illusion: “something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.”
Getting to that point where the illusion is flawless (thus, magical) involves hard work.
What Steps to Take When Creativity Seems to Have Abandoned You
Content creators are no strangers to hard work. But we often view what they do — their level of originality — as magical, something even mystical.
But it’s nothing more than hard work. And everyday creativity. Combined.
Moreover it has nothing to do with the muse showing up and everything to do with moxie.
For example …
Imagine you knock on creativity’s door.
Hands in your pocket you listen. Nothing. You look down at your watch. You look down the street. You look at the peephole.
Nothing.
It seems no one is home. So this is what you do … kick in the door.
Kick in the door and go inside.
Raid the refrigerator. Gut the cupboards. Drain the hot water heater with long showers. Stay up late.
In other words, make yourself at home.
And when someone shows up to evict you, fight them off tooth and nail. Nothing magical about that. The work has to be done.
A Wonderful Quote by Mark McGuinness About Creative Breakthroughs
As Mark McGuinness said, “Many a creative breakthrough starts as a creative break-in.”
Listen: people want to pretend the hard work required to create doesn’t exist. They want the spoils without the sweat.
How to Survive a Fickle Muse
Unfortunately, writing is hard.
And because of that the “magic” of a world-class content creator rests NOT in her muse, but in her work ethic.
Which is usually simple and aggressive. Almost unforgivable.
But she doesn’t mind since the reward is the sweet satisfaction of something original.
Something beautiful.
So … web writer … what are you waiting for? Go and kick in that damn door.