As I was sitting here attempting to write a 20 page paper, due tomorrow, assigned in September, that I just started today... I came across a handout in my notebook that my Advertising Professor* gave our class on the first day of the semester. It's a short article written by Doreen Dvorin of Kamikaze Creative called "The Creative Personality: Could This Be You?" If there's anything I have ever been serious about, it's this: the handout changed my life.
Maybe that's exaggerating a bit. But after I finished it, I had a major epiphany about my life and antics. I finally felt like I belonged in the world.
Maybe that's exaggerating a bit too. However, this article scared the shit out of me simply because I really couldn't have written a better autobiography. With every point I read, I freaked out even more.
So now you want to read it. Here's the whole thing, verbatim, from the paper.
THE CREATIVE PERSONALITY: COULD THIS BE YOU?
Although we creative types like to think we’re one of a kind, unique, unlike any other, truth be told—we’re more alike than we admit. Our hair, our dress, our language, the cars we drive, the food we eat, the jokes we laugh at, shows we watch. Look around—kindred spirits abound.
What, you might ask, should I expect from the creative personality? What traits point to a great creative thinker? Here are ten easy ones. And one to survive in the ad world on. Before you dismiss the thought you are more like your peers than not, think about these. Before you say “That’s Not Me,” ask someone you love.
1. A sense of people, events, and problems. In the ad world, an innate ability to read people, to know what makes them tick, is essential. In my experience you must also love and respect them. At best, we are instinctive motivators. At worst, natural born manipulators.
2. A good vocabulary and the ability to use it. Not just writers—all good creatives can usually talk circles around most people. The ability to argue both sides of any issue is also key. My ex-partner used to say if I hadn’t been a copywriter, I would have made a great lawyer. I’m still trying to figure out if she was mad at me that day.
3. Strong sense of humor. Creative people think we are really funny. We might be, but our sense of humor can be so offbeat and bizarre—most people don’t get it. That’s fine with jokes between us. Just remember we ad folks must make the rest of the world laugh, too.
4. High level of energy. We are frequently “socialized hyperactives” (I believe today’s term is “ADD”). Always doing something, delving into unknowns, exploring a variety of interests. Can’t sit still. Or sitting still, get lost in our heads. Boredom can—and often does—get us into trouble.
5. Impatience. Creatives tend to have four projects working at once. Read three novels at a time. Complete other people’s sentences if they don’t get it out fast enough. Want that answer NOW. Not that we’re obnoxious—only eager to get on to What’s Next. (Most creatives I know leave good jobs not because of money—but because they’re tired of the same accounts, same city, same people, same whatever.)
6. Spontaneous Imagination. To say we tend toward exaggeration is not to say we are studied liars. We just find plain unvarnished truth boring. Hyperbole is, after all, more entertaining and thought provoking. (Don’t know what hyperbole means? See #2 above.)
7. Kept imaginary friends as children. Unlike accountants and engineers, we prefer the illusory—it’s so much easier to relate to. We tend to create—and connect—to others as we want them to be. Not necessarily as they really are.
8. Independent and nonconforming. The fact we are many aside, each of us take great pride in Being Different. We work very hard to stay that way.
9. Uninhibited in thoughts, feelings, and fantasies. We might be easily hurt and insulted—but never easily embarrassed.
10. Enjoy disorder, contradiction, and imbalance. In fact, we thrive on chaos and love creating it. We live for a constant state of upheaval and disarray.
11. For the Advertising Creatives, add strong ego and a survival instinct to match.
So basically: I just took 35 minutes away from writing my paper-- worth 30% of my final grade-- just to re-type this entire article off of the handout because it's no where to be found online (another wasted 10 minutes) and then to write this blog that is irrelevant to my productivity but I had to do it because I already had my mind set on it after finding the handout and I wouldn't be able to think about anything else until I wrote it...
My point exactly.
HQ
*Ken Yednock, a spectacular man and advertising mastermind.
11.26.2009
Thanksgiving and Miranda.
I forgot how much I love Miranda July.
Writer, performance artist, musician, actress, film director, artist, breath-of-fresh-air crazy person. Her uncanny ability to make you view the simplest situations in life with a new perspective taps into a subconscious portion of human emotion that not many artists can reach. This, combined with her whimsical, lighthearted tone that is woven throughout all of her work makes creativity seem so simple yet profound.
She designed an entire website on the surfaces of kitchen appliances (literally). She wrote a whole book of pointless stories. Her work points out small things in life that we may not notice as much as we should-- but when you do notice them, it's inspiring. Some of her stuff is farfetched, some is even pretty dumb, but most of it just makes your mind wander into neat places.
Her movie is called "Me and You and Everyone We Know." It's pretty good if you like indie flicks.
Anyway, just check this out: http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/00025
And if you're patient, watch this:
Writer, performance artist, musician, actress, film director, artist, breath-of-fresh-air crazy person. Her uncanny ability to make you view the simplest situations in life with a new perspective taps into a subconscious portion of human emotion that not many artists can reach. This, combined with her whimsical, lighthearted tone that is woven throughout all of her work makes creativity seem so simple yet profound.
She designed an entire website on the surfaces of kitchen appliances (literally). She wrote a whole book of pointless stories. Her work points out small things in life that we may not notice as much as we should-- but when you do notice them, it's inspiring. Some of her stuff is farfetched, some is even pretty dumb, but most of it just makes your mind wander into neat places.
Her movie is called "Me and You and Everyone We Know." It's pretty good if you like indie flicks.
Anyway, just check this out: http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/00025
And if you're patient, watch this:
On a complete sidenote, Happy Thanksgiving. I ate all day, then came home and ate the leftovers for no reason AT ALL. The only thing I can move on my body right now is my fingers.
Cornucopian dreams,
HQ
11.22.2009
Speechless.
I have never seen something as amazing as what I am about to share with you.
http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html
This 28 year old genius from India, Pranav Mistry, is working on a project that aims to combine the physical and digital world-- and we're not just talking virtual reality, people.
The man himself is inspiring; When he was 5, his father, an architect, built him an electronic video game because the family couldn’t afford an Atari machine. He was exposed to inventions and innovation at a young age, and it is apparent with this robotic masterpiece he churned out of his brainpower.
I truthfully am so speechless that I cannot even offer my insight on this product. All 13 minutes of this presentation are worth your time.
That's all for today.
HQ
http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html
This 28 year old genius from India, Pranav Mistry, is working on a project that aims to combine the physical and digital world-- and we're not just talking virtual reality, people.
The man himself is inspiring; When he was 5, his father, an architect, built him an electronic video game because the family couldn’t afford an Atari machine. He was exposed to inventions and innovation at a young age, and it is apparent with this robotic masterpiece he churned out of his brainpower.
I truthfully am so speechless that I cannot even offer my insight on this product. All 13 minutes of this presentation are worth your time.
That's all for today.
HQ
11.18.2009
Kairos
If you thought the Bob Garfield chapters were bad, wait until you read this.http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/nov2009/bs2009115_016982.htm
It’s disheartening that our world and technology is changing so quickly that our best educators can’t keep up with teaching it. This article says it best— employers are expecting college graduates today to enter the workforce being equipped with all of the latest digital knowledge, and even to teach others within the company. But— how easy is it for us now, in college, to fully learn the latest tools when our professors don’t know how to use them, either?
Ultimately, how do the millions of us in college right now, without structured digital education, thrive in the upcoming job market? There’s the stigma surrounding Gen-Y that we are lazy. However, I believe our generation is going to emerge as the polar opposite of lazy because of the urgent need to start teaching ourselves. There’s a massive shift happening that Gen-Y needs to view as kairos, or “the opportune moment,” to shine.
I’m currently reading Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers,” and he discusses how the most successful and rich people didn't become successful solely because of their intelligence and drive, but because of the opportunity that arose as a result of the cultural context. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were obviously brilliant, but they both were born at the opportune year to be the opportune age to take full advantage of the “computer-boom.” That, combined with practice, hard work, and intelligence, created success for them. The richest people in history were born at times where the world was changing— John D. Rockafeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Andrew Mellon are numbers 1, 2, and 6 richest ever. And, coincidently, they were all born around the industrial revolution— when change was happening at exponential levels. Even Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook happened to be in college at the opportune moment to take advantage of the next shift in communication when social media was in its infancy. He founded the thing in his dorm room, whereas people like me were still in high school; not the opportune age to have the means or focus to create something like Facebook.
But guess what? The tech-shift is still happening. And many of us are still in college. Those younger than us are most likely going to receive digital education, because by the time THEY are in college, the professors will establish a curriculum to cover it. However, for those with the entrepreneurial spirit… it may be kairos.
HQ
It’s disheartening that our world and technology is changing so quickly that our best educators can’t keep up with teaching it. This article says it best— employers are expecting college graduates today to enter the workforce being equipped with all of the latest digital knowledge, and even to teach others within the company. But— how easy is it for us now, in college, to fully learn the latest tools when our professors don’t know how to use them, either?
Ultimately, how do the millions of us in college right now, without structured digital education, thrive in the upcoming job market? There’s the stigma surrounding Gen-Y that we are lazy. However, I believe our generation is going to emerge as the polar opposite of lazy because of the urgent need to start teaching ourselves. There’s a massive shift happening that Gen-Y needs to view as kairos, or “the opportune moment,” to shine.
I’m currently reading Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers,” and he discusses how the most successful and rich people didn't become successful solely because of their intelligence and drive, but because of the opportunity that arose as a result of the cultural context. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were obviously brilliant, but they both were born at the opportune year to be the opportune age to take full advantage of the “computer-boom.” That, combined with practice, hard work, and intelligence, created success for them. The richest people in history were born at times where the world was changing— John D. Rockafeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Andrew Mellon are numbers 1, 2, and 6 richest ever. And, coincidently, they were all born around the industrial revolution— when change was happening at exponential levels. Even Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook happened to be in college at the opportune moment to take advantage of the next shift in communication when social media was in its infancy. He founded the thing in his dorm room, whereas people like me were still in high school; not the opportune age to have the means or focus to create something like Facebook.
But guess what? The tech-shift is still happening. And many of us are still in college. Those younger than us are most likely going to receive digital education, because by the time THEY are in college, the professors will establish a curriculum to cover it. However, for those with the entrepreneurial spirit… it may be kairos.
HQ
11.17.2009
The Begininning Of The End
I just read a disgustingly horrifying few chapters of Bob Garfield's new book "The Chaos Scenario." As a 21 year old Advertising Major about to enter the agency world, I'm still trying to decide if I should embrace his insights and take the changing world as a creative opportunity, or hide under my bed with my VHS's, CD players, house phones, Cable TV, and N64. Anyone that knows me understands my hatred for technology and change, but Bob made a point in the first page of his book. "If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevancy even less." Hence the birth of this blog.
I usually write down things that I find pretty cool in a notebook that sits beside my computer. I'm making the transformation and posting it to the digital space instead of Mead 5-Star. Perhaps some other people out there share a brain as random and A.D.D spackled as mine.
If you're an advertising major in college and want to have anxiety attacks for the next few weeks, download the free chapters of Garfield's book here ----> http://thechaosscenario.net/blog/.
I also know attention is the new scarcity. Ending here.
HQ
I usually write down things that I find pretty cool in a notebook that sits beside my computer. I'm making the transformation and posting it to the digital space instead of Mead 5-Star. Perhaps some other people out there share a brain as random and A.D.D spackled as mine.
If you're an advertising major in college and want to have anxiety attacks for the next few weeks, download the free chapters of Garfield's book here ----> http://thechaosscenario.net/blog/.
I leave you today with a picture of my current cell phone, which embodies the story of my life.
I promise in upcoming weeks I will post some interesting content for your entertainment. Usually I just tell people about sweet things I come across, but since social media is word-of-mouth on steroids...
I also know attention is the new scarcity. Ending here.
HQ
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