If you want to be a doctor you'd better go to school and follow the text book. If you want to send a query letter to a magazine you'd better know the correct way. If you want to invest in Real Estate you need to know the basics before acting on your hunches and likes. If you want to be a by the books person become an accountant. But to make art, to write a story, to create, you don't need anyone telling you how to do this - you just need your heart.

When people want to know my routine or my advice to get a career like I've had I tell them to just dive into what they want to do right now. Be willing to look foolish, to make mistakes, to have things blow up or come out ugly. Be willing to work awhile before your work catches on. Be willing to be uncomfortable. Be willing to try new things, to dream, to laugh, to reach out and be open. Try a schedule, try a non-schedule. Take inspiration from those you admire or work you've seen but don't copy or think they have the answer. Try to make your own way and do what is in you to do.

Try, try, try, do, do, do.

I didn't have a business plan - I didn't even know what I wanted to write in the beginning. I just dived in and over time I developed a business. I listened to people and drew inspiration but I can honestly say that everything I've created has been my own doing. I was just motivated by my art and making a living and here I am. And, for a lot of successful creative people or entrepreneurs this seems to be the way.

There is an article called the "Movable Type, the system I use to run my site):

Years ago I met Richard Branson, the self-made multi-bazillionaire (Steve Harper recently wrote a post about Richard & his book. Take a look) He was opening the brand-new Virgin Records in Vancouver and, after he scaled down the side of the building, I asked him for a bit of business advice. He told me that when he announced he wanted to create Virgin Atlantic people told him he was crazy. All airlines that had tried the cross Atlantic flights has failed and failed big so people couldn't understand why he'd do it. It didn't work, they said. But Richard had a vision and instead of finding out what people did, he asked them what they didn't do or what their mistakes were. After learning this, he didn't repeat any of the same things (mistakes or otherwise), did everything entirely different and put as much fun into as he could. Virgin Atlantic became the first successful cross-Atlantic airline.

They tried, tried, tried and did, did, did.

When I first started I promise you, I bought every book on how to be creative and often stopped reading the books halfway. Before page 32 I'd often feel like a failure because I couldn't write 3 pages every morning - hell I couldn't even get up early every morning! I didn't like writing with a pen at all, I didn't like collaging or keeping journals. I wasn't good at structure; if I sat down to work at the same time every day I'd feel like a prisoner and count the clock but if left to my own devices I could work for 12 hours straight. I didn't like to use "creative lingo" and I didn't have a studio. All the books that told me how to be a successful artist did nothing but make me feel less like an artist.

To save my sanity I stopped reading the books and a funny thing happened - I started cultivating success both financially and personally. I stopped feeling less than or wrong. I stopped questioning my madness and how I worked. I stopped comparing. I stopped wondering if this was the right way or the wrong way or what would so and so do. I stopped believing in all the lies I was being sold and began to just be me - a creative girl who figured what worked and didn't by trail and error. And how lovely it was.

I was thinking of this today because in America, despite it being the land of the individual and personal freedom, I find it's the country that tends to (on it's own) conform the most. We don't want to stick out, do something wrong, be seen as stupid or leave the pack. In America everyone is told you must go to university, get the career, get the house, get the 401K, have the children and pay for their school then retire. And die. That's the right way. And there's 7,569,813,579 books to prove it.

Walk down any street and all the clothing stores sell the same wares. We're told what looks are in, what makeup is it. On TV we're sold that a fat man and skinny woman with 3 snotty children who bicker all the time are the perfect family or that celebrities have it all and you can too if you watch the show to find out what products they use.

In America right now we're being sold this idea of who to be and how to become it. There's very little encouragement to go off the beaten path. As someone who didn't grow up in America, I find this really suffocating and often hard to deal with because I truly believe that in the whole world, America really is the place where you can be anything you want because all the opportunities are here. It's frustrating to see few people jump on this.

I found a site called Hel Looks where two women in Finland photograph strangers on the streets who have "individual looks" which come from high-end department stores to second hand shops. No two people look the same - even best-friends standing side by side have individuality. And these individuals in their bright colours and sometimes crazy platform shoes stand out and not because they read a book that told them too. My guess is that they put things together based on what they were interested in that day and not in what they were told would work.

I can't pull off those looks and I am not so sure I'd want to despite the fact I just spent nearly an hour looking at the photos and being terribly inspired. I'm a Danish girl with a fondness of classic dresses that twirl and perhaps a pin or two here from an antique shop. Even if I'm not wearing brightly coloured jumpers or have three tattoos, I, too, have a unique style. Put together based on my likes and nothing more.

My work also is unique as is how I work and who I work with. I've somehow carved out a pretty interesting little life. How? By trying and doing. By not being afraid to leap off a page. By not wondering if it was the correct way.

What do you need to do? Write? Pick up a pen or sit at the computer when you feel like it and rock it out. You want to paint? Do the same. Want to own a business but can't leave your current job? Start working in the evenings or the early morning and learn about business at your current place of work. Or think of something else.

Don't imitate - it might be flattering to the artist but it is detrimental to your soul. You are unique, I promise you this.

July 6, 2006 | Link to this | Filed in Business Advice