Everyone Is A Creator
Jason Stapleton
Founder of Leveraged Coach? for successful coaches and consultants who want growth without sacrificing a great life.
Over the last few days, I’ve been sharing some thoughts on the economic and cultural challenges we face as entrepreneurs.
Especially those of us who are coaches, consultants and experts.
Yesterday I wrote to you about artificial intelligence and how to “AI-proof” your business.
You can read that letter here: https://jasonstapleton.com/how-to-ai-proof-your-business-and-income/
In that letter I wrote,
What was true yesterday will be true tomorrow…Human creativity will continue to be the highest-value activity you can engage in. It will also be the only commercially marketable activity you can profit from in an economy transitioning to artificial intelligence.
Today I’d like to continue that conversation.
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If you’re not in an occupation traditionally thought of as artistic you might not see yourself as “a creator”.
You might think creativity is something only a select few are born with.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Creativity isn’t something reserved for a select few who’ve chosen a career in the traditional arts.
It is a fundamental part of being human.
The famous music producer Rick Rubin explained creativity this way:
“To create is to bring something into existence that wasn’t there before. It could be a conversation, the solution to a problem, a note to a friend, the rearranging of furniture in a room or a new route home to avoid traffic.”
It’s a fallacy to believe that creativity starts with nothing and ends with something new.
The creative process is built on the foundation of previous knowledge and understanding.
To be creative is to look at the world through a unique perspective.
To make connections between seemingly unconnected things and express those connections in the form of new ideas, solutions and perspectives that can be used to elevate the human experience.
Sadly, our education system and current economic model doesn’t foster this kind of thinking.
We’ve created a system where rote memorization and the strict adherence to standardized processes are rewarded while admonishing creative expression.
We raise good “worker bees” and praise the behavior of those who follow the rules.
That was fine at the start of the industrial revolution. But it stifled the creative genius that exists in “working-class” people who now find themselves at risk of losing their livelihood to a machine that can follow orders far cheaper and more efficiently.
It’s also created a society of people who feel anxious, depressed and unfulfilled.
As entrepreneurs, we feel trapped between two opposing creative forces.
That is the current battle we see being waged on social media today.
Should you follow the formula of successful content that everyone else is using?
Or should you risk your financial future by creating something truly unique?
I would argue that the greatest fulfillment and success can only be found where artistic expression and commercial production overlap.
Operate to far to the left and you become the misunderstood “starving” artist.
To far to the right and you’re no better than an AI algorithm, churning out soulless work devoid of originality.
The future belongs to those who operate within their zone of creative genius.
Those who can find the connective tissue that binds ideas and concepts together into:
What I want you to know is that you are more than capable of doing this.
You were born with a creative spirit that’s dying to be set free.
We are living through one of the most disruptive and innovative moments in human history.
It has never been easier to connect with your true tribe. People who are desperate for human connection and the solutions you are uniquely qualified to provide.
Don’t waste the opportunity you’ve been given. It’s a gift no previous generation has been offered.
It would be a shame to squander it.
Jason
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