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RIGHTS OF USE Feel free to email, tweet, blog, and pass this ebook. Around the web. But please don t alter any of its contents when you do. Thanks. All Rights Reserved. JOELMWAKASEGE.COM JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 2
1 HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR WINNING DIFFERENCE AS A CREATIVE To create. You show up. You re a creative when you say you re. There s no correct path to becoming a real creative. Audacity, not talent, makes one person a creative. And another a shadow creative. To show up its the only difference between success and failure. It s exhausting. It s demanding. It s frustrating. Nonetheless show-up. When you do. Only do, while daring greatly. *** It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly Theodore Roosevelt JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 3
2 THE SECRET TO YOUR CREATIVE LIFE? UNDERSTAND YOUR UNIQUE STAR It s not too late. What you re feeling. It s not your ego. You re yearning for a more creative life. Nothing is too petty, too silly, too stupid, or too weird. Do what you love. Your dreams matter. What will family and friends think? Let them think what they want. Think mystery, not mastery. In mastery, you do what you re told. Like reading a dull but recommended critical book. Mastery numb us out, turn us off and tune us out. In a mystery, you explore what interests you. You do what intrigues you. A mystery can be very simple: if I drive this road, not my usual road, what will I see? JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 4
3 CLUELESS ABOUT CREATIVITY? GET STARTED WITH THIS ESSENTIAL TIP Just do it. Give yourself permission to start small. Don t jump. Go in baby steps. When it s hard. It doesn t mean it can t be done. It means you will need help. Be ready to receive help. From your higher power. From your supportive friends. From yourself. Don t yell at yourself. Be nice. Be willing to accept. Anything worth doing. Is worth doing even badly. If you didn t have to do it perfectly, what would you try? JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 5
4 IS PERFECTIONISM KILLING YOUR CREATIVITY? AND HOW YOU CAN REVIVE IT Perfect and bulletproof are seductive. But they don t exist. There s a crack in everything. That s how the light gets in. Leonard Cohen s song Anthem Perfectionism kills. Why? 1. Perfectionism is not self-improvement. Perfectionism is, at its core, about trying to earn approval. It says you re what you do and how well you do it. 2. Perfectionism is other-focused: What will they think? It s a hustle. It s exhausting because hustling is exhausting. It s a never-ending performance. It says please do perfectly. 3. Perfectionism is not the key to success. In fact, research shows that perfectionism hampers achievement. Perfectionism is correlated with depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis or missed opportunities. JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 6
ONE EASY-TO-USE CREATIVITY TECHNIQUE EVERY TIME YOU CREATE Dare greatly and walk into the arena. The fear of failing, making mistakes, not meeting people s expectations, and being criticized. Keeps us outside of the arena. Where healthy competition and striving unfolds. Have courage and the willingness to engage. Don t sit on the sidelines and hurl judgments and advice. Dare to show up. Let yourself be seen. JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 7
5 WANT TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR CREATIVITY? GET THE EGO OUT OF THE WAY The ego is a slick, conniving, and dangerous liar. Like all hustlers. Ego always tells you to compare, prove, please, perfect, outperform, and compete. Ego doesn t own stories or wants to write new endings. It denies emotion and hates curiosity. Ego says avoid truth and vulnerability. It says feelings are for losers and weaklings. Ego likes blaming, finding fault, making excuses, inflicting payback, and lashing out. Believe me. Ego sucks the joy right out of life. Don t let it. Are you not sick and tired of hustling for yourself worth? I am. JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 8
6 THE OVER-LOOKED DETAIL THAT CAN TURN YOUR CREATIVITY AROUND Purpose. A purpose is the opposite of despair. To despair is to believe tomorrow will be just like today. A purpose is to believe there is still more to do. A purpose makes you understand. Emotional attacks made by people not engaged in problem-solving have zero value. A purpose makes you understand. You can do everything right. You can have all the support. You can be 100 percent ready to go. And still, fail. A purpose gives you courage. To talk about failure. Because when you do. It becomes something else. A learning experience. A trial. A reinvention. No longer failure. Despair is fear in disguise. JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 9
7 HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR HIDDEN CREATIVE STRENGTH Ignore everybody. Walk on a path of your own choosing. Yes, it s not secure. Yes, you re moving toward the unknown. Yes, you re improvising. But what s the alternative? Follow someone else s route for too long. And soon you lose the ability to map out your own. Creativity requires faith. Give yourself the gift of faith. Trust that you are on the right track. You are. JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 10
8 DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS AND SUPERCHARGE YOUR CREATIVITY Don t squander your creative energies. By investing disproportionately. In the lives, hopes, dreams, and plans of others. Discover the joy of practicing your creativity. There is room for all of us. Much fear on creativity is the fear of the unknown. Surrender your need to control the results. Learn to enjoy the process of being a creative channel. There will be many times when you won t look good to you or anyone else. You need to stop demanding that you do. It s impossible. To get better and look good at the same time. JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 11
9 IS THIS COMMON CREATIVE FEAR PUTTING YOUR CREATIVITY AT RISK? Do not fear mistakes. Create freely. Allow errors to show themselves later as insight. When you correct your originality into a uniformity. The work lacks passion and spontaneity. Don t get ensnared in getting the details right. Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It s a pursuit of the worst. The part that tells you nothing you do. Will ever be good enough. You should try again. No. You should not. JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 12
10 THE ONE IRREFUTABLE, UNIVERSAL LAW OF CREATIVITY SUCCESS Be curious. Yes, curiosity requires surrender to uncertainty. And yes, curiosity like vulnerability can lead to hurt. But what s the alternative? To choose certainty over curiosity, armor over vulnerability, knowing over learning. Shuts you down. For ideas to become a reality. They have to be received with open hands, inquisitive mind and wondering heart. If you re not willing to explore and ask questions. How will you come to those aha moments? JOELMWAKASEGE.COM 13