Just One Joey: entrepreneurship

Showing posts with label entrepreneurship. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Caterina Fake

If you are looking for motivation for following your dreams, or finding your path, Caterina Fake may be the last place you will ever need to look. What did following her path accomplish? Oh, I don’t know, how does founding Flickr, running Etsy, and being named one of Time Magazines 100 most influential people on the planet sound? Exactly. Wow is right.

I have taken her interview on 30 Days of Genius with Chase Jarvis, extracted the information, and used it to answer common questions by readers just like you, who are looking to take their lives to the next level, or at least a different level than the one there are on.

Please enjoy.

How Can I Step Out And Be Bold?

It takes conviction of what you are, who you are, what you care about, and what you are going to pursue.

It’s about being ignored for months or years and still pushing.

It’s about knowing who you are, what you want, and not caring about external rewards.

If you can handle all of those things, then you are ready to go for it. These are the markers of passion.

If you have passion, then you will be willing to work hard, teach yourself, learn on your own, and adjust. Why? Because passion is a powerful force to have behind what you do.

When I was first starting out, I offered to work for free just for information. 3 days a week for 2 months. What was my pay? I was able to attend all meetings and spend one hour a week asking questions of my boss. That’s it, and it was totally worth it. If I was not passionate about what I was doing, there is no way I would put in that kind of work.

Would you be willing to do that for your passion?

If yes, then go for it.

If no, then it is probably not your passion.

Is Your Passion Obvious?

If you are able to listen to your inner voice. If you can reflect over your life, remember your childhood and what you wanted to be when you were older, then yes it is. People are the same throughout their lives. Just because you stopped believing in your dreams doesn’t mean they disappeared, it just means you buried them under the responsibilities you took on as you got older.

Reconnect with your inner voice, your childhood.

Give it room.

It not only deserves it, it needs it.

What If I Don’t Have Time?

There are things you need to do, responsibilities you have to take care of, but then there are other things that you can eliminate in order to make time for your passion. Maybe it’s an hour a week at first, maybe its 30 minutes a day, but you have to start somewhere. Once it has space it will grow. How do I know? Because it’s your passion. It is a seed you have been carrying around that just needs a little water to start growing.

Create small, easily managed goals. Write one page a day. Paint 30 minutes a day. Squeeze it in. It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment, but it needs to be committed to. You need to put yourself and your day in a position to be creative. That could look like many different things depending on what your life is like. Some advice that I have received in the past was to move away from big cities. That may be counter-intuitive, but the less expensive it is to live, the more time you can afford to your creativity.

Clean up your time. Don’t check email all day. Productivity is easier without distractions, so you have to remove them. Have specific times during the day that you allocate to emails and phone surfing, and then have specific time for your creativity. Don’t mix the two. Give them their respective times.

Everyone has their own path. It is about finding what works well for you. There is no formula. People tend to focus on what they like, what they are drawn to, and their inner voice. Be sensitive to each of those things. Take advantage of what you are feeling, and always be moving forward.

Don’t Get Lost

The paths to success are clear. Starting as young as elementary school, the rewards are given to those that follow the rules. Conformity is the name of the game. The drive for success kills people. Just because there are paths laid out for you doesn’t mean that they can’t lead you astray.

Stop chasing prizes.

Chase what makes you happy.

And don’t worry, no matter where you are in life, you can always turn around.

Start where you are, with what you’ve got, and the time that you have.

Quotes

No matter how far you’ve gone down the wrong road turn back.

Stop chasing prizes

Start where you are, with what you’ve got, and the time that you have.

Caterina Fake Links

Website

The Creative Hours (blog)

Findery

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Brian Solis

Ready to get your mind blown? I didn’t know who Brian Solis was before this interview, but I want to know everything about him now. Take everything you know about running a business, creating AND consuming products and throw it all away. This guy is in the business of changing everything (in a good way).

I have taken his interview on 30 Days of Genius with Chase Jarvis, extracted the information, and used it to answer common questions by readers just like you, who are looking to take their lives to the next level, or at least a different level than the one they are on.

Please enjoy.

The Market Has Never Been Busier. How Do I Differentiate?

I know what you think I am going to say, “You need to think outside the box.” Well, you are wrong. You need to re-think what is “in” and “out” of the box all together.

You need to change the rules.

Re-think everything. Re-evaluate everything. Re-build everything.

Sound a little daunting? I know. But it is the way things are in 2017, and it’s projecting out exponentially in the near and distant future. Everything is different now.

The world revolves around the consumer. Companies aren’t selling products, they are selling experiences, with the customers at the center of it all. Everything revolves around them. We are living in an Ego-system ecosystem.

How Do We Adjust To This New Consumer?

Great question.

We need to start designing the experience just as much if not more than the actual product or service itself.

First we need to articulate what an experience even is: It is an emotional reaction to a moment.

What is that moment in relationship to you? Whatever you want it to be. You create the moment(s) by tapping in to raw human emotion.

It is not good enough to be good anymore. In fact, it’s not good enough to be great. You have to understand the role you want to be in a customer’s life and then create around that. It is a whole new level of connecting.

In order to do that you need to ask yourself a few questions. What do you do very well? What do you do better than anyone else? Now, how can you turn that in to an ecosystem for the Ego-System? How will people talk about you? Before they interact with you directly? After they interact with you? How do you follow up with customers? How do you appeal to new ones? What do you want someone to feel after they are done with you?

All of your answers are opportunities to create magic.

It is all about relationships. You need to be intentional about everything you do. It all has a role, a purpose, a context, and connectability. This new outlook will change everything from design to marketing. When you really look at people and what is relevant to them, how they are experiencing things, it gives you the gift of empathy. That empathy gifts you an entirely new perspective. You must engage with people in the way that they are wired, the way they want to interact.

Once you understand the nuances of the customer, and their experience, you understand how you can be better, and what is possible. It is a human-based design because you are designing for humans, not a group.

I Am Not Tech Savvy, How Do I Innovate?

It’s not about tech. In fact, innovation rarely starts with the technology. The experience you want to create develops the technology. Everything is open for something different. Everything. People don’t stop to ask why enough. Why is this that way? Why do we do it like this? How else could this be done? We just take things at face value, or how “it’s always been done.”

It’s time to reinvent based on the people we are trying to serve. Instead of just tacking on to the old technology, the old way of doing things, we need to start looking at a consumer’s experience with us holistically. Think of every single possible experience a customer can have and build to that. We haven’t done that in the past, so you will automatically be thinking innovatively.

Stop looking within your market for innovative ideas. Truly innovative ideas come from elsewhere and are brought back, merged with what you already have, and creates something new. That is true innovation.

Don’t take anything for granted. Legacy thinking doesn’t work. Outside the box thinking doesn’t work. All you are doing is putting yourself in to a different box because you haven’t changed the rules. Innovation starts outside the norms. You have to start with the customer experience before you work on the technology. The horses pull the cart, not the other way around. That way, your innovation will always have intent.

No matter what you are building or creating, you will never achieve greatness without completely exposing yourself.

Quotes

What is an experience?

People will forget what you did, they will forget what you said, but they will never forget how you

made them feel.” Maya Angelou

We need to ask more why, and what if.

Innovation starts outside the norms.

Brian Solis Links

BrianSolis.com

Books

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Tina Roth Eisenberg

Looking for the epitome of a creative entrepreneur? Look no further than Tina Roth Eisenberg. She is an artist herself, she brings artists together, and she creates businesses and apps to help other artists. She is an inspirational woman, surrounding herself with inspirational people, and she shares some of her brilliant insights here.

Please enjoy.

How Do I Become A Professional Creative?

Be self-sufficient. I think that is very important for a professional creative. If you are waiting around for someone to tell you what to do or how to do it, you will be waiting around a lot. For myself, and the people I work with, you need to be self-sufficient. That self-sufficiency comes from a hunger to create, explore, and try new things. Without that, I feel like you will only have a creative hobby.

I work with people with drive, because in the end, that is what is going to allow you to sustain a career. The desire to do good work, that can work well with others, are the people that will make it.

Don’t know if you are a self-starter? A self-motivator? What are your side projects? Self-starters have many interests and side projects. It shows initiative and hustle, two vital things in the creative world. Combine that with humility, and excitement around your craft, and you have a great formula.

Is There A Right Way To Develop A Side Project?

Yes! Don’t look at it as something that needs to develop. Remember, this is your passion. If you look at it as a business right away you will be less willing to experiment, have a greater fear of failure, and will make decisions based on money instead of love. Your decisions should be based around what you want to do, what you want to fix, and what you want to solve. When it comes from an authentic place, it provides a different energy to those that come in contact with it.

That being said, if your side project involves other people, set up a general foundation. For example, if your project involves four people, decide on how to split potential profits. ¼ for each? 20% in to the pot and divide the remaining 80%? Things like that will save headaches down the road, and potentially even relationships.

How Do I Know If It’s The Right Thing To Work On? That I Truly Love It?

That’s easy, you never have to ask yourself that question. If you love something you never have to question if you truly love it.

You need to know what works for you and recognize what you are good at. Once you focus on what you are good at, and love, you will start to develop super-powers around it, and people will react to it differently. There is something about passion and love that changes the way art looks and feels.

An important thing to remember is your passion and love need protection and nourishment. If you are inspired, if you are curious, surround yourself with curious and inspired people. Work with people that are passionate and excited about what they do. You will feed off each other and the product or art will reap the benefits. Enthusiasm is infectious.

Quotes

Enthusiasm is infectious. Confidence is impressive.

Curious people are inspired people.

I want to make something I love for people that love it.

Tina Roth Eisenberg Links

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Monday, January 9, 2017

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Neil Strauss

When you meet someone at a different level in their perspective, it is best to take notice. Neil Strauss has seen a lot, lived a lot, paid attention, and learned. His wisdom on life and creativity pour out in this interview. Limiting it to an hour is a shame. Good thing he is an introspective, share the dirt kind of an author, so we can delve as deep in to his knowledge as we want through his books. A fascinating guy.

Please enjoy.

Forget Zero To One As A Business, How Do I Go Zero To One As An Artist?

If you are struggling even getting started there is a reason. You are allowing your limiting beliefs to keep you at the starting line. I consider “one” being the day you share your art. There are artists that don’t create because they are waiting for everything to be perfect, and there are artists that create, and adjust, and wait, and change, and end up sitting on the project without ever releasing it. If you are in either of those situations, you are allowing your limiting beliefs to get the better of you.

You need to embrace your fears, accept them, and do them anyways.

I think it is extremely important to recognize exactly what your limiting beliefs are, recognize that they are not true and not your voice, accept them, and either deal with them or reprogram yourself to get passed them. That will be vital for you to get to “one.”

Let me address the two different types of “zeros.” I think there is a true zero, an artist that hasn’t really created anything, and there is a 0.9, an artist that just hasn’t shared.

For the true zeros, just create. I love projects where I only know the beginning. Where it goes from there? Who knows? That’s the art. That is creativity. Don’t question it. Whenever you do, you are dampening the actual creativity. Don’t focus on the outcome. Don’t focus on anything outside of the actual creating. Not knowing how something will turn out feels good. It gives you a chance to explore. If you knew the outcome, why would you do it? Give yourself the chance to surprise yourself. Start exploring, go with the path and see where it leads you. Don’t resist where the propulsion is leading you either. You can’t realistically plan out where your art is going to be, who it is going to please, how successful it will be, so don’t focus on it. Everything that takes away from your focus on the creativity is taking away from the creativity.

Now for the 0.9 artists I have a quote, “When you throw a pebble in to the culture you have no idea where the ripples will go.”

Just share.

Please.

When you take too long to release a project you change. When you change, your view on the art changes. It should be a moment in time. It will never be perfect. Do your best, and let it go, see what happens, and start working on the next project.

Your inner critic is a monster, telling you it’s not good enough. Are you strong enough to silence that voice and produce anyways? Don’t fear judgement and criticizing. Do your best and be comfortable with that. Placing yourself in uncertainty is a very confident place to be.

Once you silence the inner dialogue, give yourself a deadline. Nothing crazy, not tomorrow, but a reasonable deadline, and stick with it.

Having that deadline is huge for a creative. You could sit on something for years without one, and how much better would it be? I’ve had stories that I had to write in 2 weeks that were better than stories I had years to write. It pushes you, streamlines your thinking, and will build up your creativity.

Listen, notice, pay attention, and then share.

Don’t plan too much, don’t focus on this style or that style too much. Don’t limit your creativity at all. Just create. Just explore. Then share.

You can spend your whole life trying to get everything just right.

But honestly? What is just right anyways?

Let it go.

Get going.

Quotes

I’m always thinking about the next thing, not where I’ve been.

Storytelling is teaching through metaphor.

The first question in an interview sets the tone: you know something, you are connected, but not too

connected.

Honesty equals a book.

Everything is creative.

If you could just take a helicopter to the top it wouldn’t be as special.

Neil Strauss Links

Website

Books

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Friday, January 6, 2017

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Austin Kleon

A self-described writer who draws, Austin Kleon is an artists’ artist. Assuming he would have to take on the Bruce Wayne/Batman approach to his life as an artist, he surprisingly found that he could do what he loved for a living. This is his advice on how you can too.

Please enjoy.

My Parents Always Told Me That Being An Artist Is Only A Hobby

I would love to tell you how wrong they are, but I had the same outlook when I was younger. My impressions of being an artist were of the “starving” variety. Like Bruce Wayne and Batman, I assumed my life as an artist would be night and day, literally. Doing something I didn’t love during the day in order to support the thing I did love at night.

What I started to realize was it wasn’t as “night” and “day” as I thought. I wanted day jobs that would inform the art. Learn from the day job, taking jobs that would make me better at my craft, then my growth in the craft would help me land the next day job. It turned out to be a beautiful cycle. What was even more beautiful was having the income to create. If you handcuff yourself by having to use your art for money, you may head down a path that you don’t want to be on. Monetary freedom is creative freedom. Keep your day job until you can support yourself with your art. But use your day job to push the art forward.

Don’t assume that because you can’t make money yet that you will never be able to. What do you need to get better at? Start there. There are so many aspects to being an artist besides the art, especially today. Not only do you need to create the art, but you need to market it and manage it. You are your own business.

Doesn’t sound appealing? That’s fine, just find someone who loves your art more than you do, then they can do all the stuff you don’t want to. Where you going to find that person? Exactly, get to work.

My advice is to decrease the tension between creation and self-promotion by combining the two. Make sharing a part of your creating and vice-versa. Sharing should become a daily practice as much as the actual daily practice of your craft. A great thing I have found is the added perspective of an audience helps create the art you are sharing with them in the first place. You will start to build community and networking around your art. The bigger the community, the more likely you can do what you love for a living. Sharing creates an ecosystem of creativity and connecting.

What Do You Feel Is The Foundation Of Creativity?

Everything around you is your foundation.

Too big?

Try this:

Take bits and pieces from everything, and create something completely new. Extract as you go and save it for later. Look for patterns. Create, study, make, study more, create more, etc. You should study as much as you make, and share as much as you study and make.

Got it?

Being a creative is as much about the community as it is the individual artist. The best artists in their respective generations are always products of their environment. Being that person that is connected to many different things allows you to create things that no one else can. The more input, the more output. Look at what you are doing, what other people are doing, and more importantly what they are NOT doing. Once you start recognizing that, you can take it on and create your own niche.

Time is also a huge foundation of creativity. You need to spend time every day sitting in your art. Visit it, listen to it, absorb it, and practice it. Schedules and routines free you. Knowing when you have time for the thing you want to be doing every day is liberating. If this is something you really want to do, you need to make sure you are actually doing it.

Never get caught up in the FOMO (fear of missing out), because you are not missing out. You are doing your thing. Let go of what you think you should be doing, or what everyone else is doing. You are an individual with their own goals and dreams. Following what other people are doing will pull you away from them.

If you need to refocus yourself, if you feel like you are not doing the thing you should be, ask yourself: what would I do if no one was paying attention? Or if no one was looking? That will usually be the thing that seems boring, or not cool, and not what everyone else is doing. That is also the best part. The time you are putting in the effort to reach your goals is the same time that will keep everyone else from reaching theirs.

One day you won’t be here, but you get today. What are you going to do with it?

Quotes

The artist welds their theft in to something completely new.

Don’t flatter through imitation, flatter through transformation.

It’s about content.

Make sharing a part of your daily practice as much as the daily practice on your craft.

Austin Kleon Links

Website

Newspaper Blackout

Books

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Brandon Stanton (Humans Of New York)

Quite possibly one of the best “follow your dream stories” I have ever heard. Humans Of New York creator Brandon Stanton lays out the framework for dreaming wide awake. He may be one of the most selfless artists I have ever come across. He is nothing, the art, and its connection to the audience, is everything. How refreshing is that?

Please enjoy.

Following My Passion Should Be Easy, Right? Because I Love It?

Absolutely not!

In fact, that is the most common misconception I hear. If you are truly passionate about what you are doing it should be extremely hard. Why? Because whatever that “thing” is, you should be doing it all the time. Do not use following your dreams as an excuse to not work. Please. There are so many people out there that do just enough to be able to tell themselves and the people they are close with that they are following their dream, living their passion. Generally, those people are doing a little here, a little there, and getting very little to nothing done.

When I moved to New York, all I did was take pictures. All day, every day. I lived and breathed photography. Why? Because when you follow your passion, you need to completely immerse yourself in to it. It is a sacrifice you need to make in order to make something of your passion. I lived in an apartment with three strangers, in a room that barely fit a mattress, and I loved it. I was never there, so it didn’t matter. I was out and about, taking photos, refining my craft, and making sure I was better when I got home than when I left in the morning.

I never planned on having art that connected with tens of millions of people. If I did, I would never have been able to create Humans Of New York. I wanted to take photographs, and make enough money to be able to take photographs. That’s it. Get better every single day. Produce 4 pieces of content every single day. That’s it.

Forcing myself to create so much, 365 days a year, put me in a situation where I had to bust my ass. Those four pieces of content were not going to create themselves. If I didn’t work, I wasn’t producing, or getting better, or really following my passion.

If you are not working with passion, then you are not likely working on your passion.

In the world of art, that passion, or lack thereof, comes through in the work. It amazes me that on Facebook, basically a medium of stories from millions and millions of people, HONY stands out. I think that is because it is real. There is no bs, no ulterior motive. I tell stories of real people, their real lives, with a caring and attention to detail that they deserve, and people are drawn to it. Without that passion, both for putting in the work and caring about it, I truly believe it wouldn’t connect in the same way.

What Should My Goals Be?

I am assuming that you want to follow your passion because you think it will bring you happiness. I agree that it will make you happy, as long as it truly is your passion, but what that happiness is, is different for everyone. There is no one version of happiness.

My goal was to make enough money to keep doing what I loved.

I, personally, think that is a healthy way to start. That way, you are focused on the craft, the process, and the work. Pressure yourself to work hard, and keep growing. Like I said, come home better than when you left. Each day has the goal of being better than the day before.

Do not pin your values on external measures. I understand that there has to be a certain level of paying attention to money, but if you are not making enough, use that as a challenge to get better at your craft. Be so good they can’t ignore you. Keep pushing. Be competitive with yourself. Not hard on yourself, competitive. Make yourself work every day, all day, in order to get better. It is the one thing you can control. Put in the time, value your work, and constantly get better.

Working with passion, every day, pushing yourself to be better and better every day, will allow you to experiment, and take some risks. When you try something new and different, look back and see if it worked or not. If it did, keep it, if it didn’t, either refine it or trash it. That is the benefit of working with the intensity you are going to work, it is a constant evolution.

Think of it this way: if you get 1% better every day you work, and you only work once a week, that’s only a 52% increase a year. If you work every day, you are able to condense a year’s worth of growth in to a little over a month and a half.

50% better every month and a half?!?! Think about that!!!

What If I’m Scared?

You should be.

It’s a scary thing to do.

How many people truly follow their passion? They talk about it, but rarely do it.

We are paralyzed by the need to make something great, which keeps us from doing anything at all. Having the daily goals made my “goals” small, attainable, but difficult. Don’t think about the final product, the end game. Think about today, tomorrow, and maybe next week. That’s it. It is a growth process. Have you seen the movie Big, with Tom Hanks? What happens when you jump from 13 to 30? You skip all the growth, all the lessons, the skills, then you are just some 30 year old goofball. That’s what happens when you try to go to big too fast. Focus on the craft, the day to day, and bust your ass. Things come from that. Always.

Be better when you go to sleep than when you woke up. Goal accomplished.

Quotes

“It is such a blessing to be the first one bored with your own work.”

“Work without a motive.”

“The more I disappear, the more my work becomes.”

Brandon Stanton Links

Humans Of New York

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Thursday, November 24, 2016

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Sophia Amoruso

Starting from scratch, building through necessity, and growing on EBay, she built Nasty Gal in to a multi-million dollar company. She is an amazing entrepreneur who learned along the way, pivoted, adjusted, and has been a fixture in fashion for over 10 years. Admitting that she stumbled in to becoming Nasty Gal, she is the perfect example of how every entrepreneur should approach work. Look for the opportunities, focus on what is in front of you, and get s*** done.

Please enjoy.

Do I Need To Be Talented To Be Successful?

The obvious answer is yes. There needs to be something there. The not so obvious answer is no. It has been much more important to my business, and ultimately to my success, that I was able to develop a talent rather than have one before I began.

Give yourself the opportunity to develop, grow, and get better.

I started out very small. It was just me, some clothes, and EBay. I found the items, took the pictures, posted them, sold them, and sent them. As that grew, I needed to learn more. The more I learned, the more I needed to do, the better I got, the bigger I got. It was as straightforward of a progression as you can get. I never had a vision of grandeur, some ultimate goal where I was running a multi-million dollar company. I just focused on what was in front of me, how I could improve, and how I could do more.

Do not be discouraged by what you think you have a talent for or not. At this point you are at zero.

Focus on what you can do, and what you need to do. Too many people get caught up in what they think they need to do and miss out on some of the foundational aspects of building a business. If you are at zero and trying to get to one, don’t focus on 1–10. You have to get to one first! Ten will come soon enough.

It is a little embarrassing some of the common business programs I didn’t know how to use 5–6 years in to Nasty Gal. But if I didn’t need them to build the business, why would I waste my time learning them? For looks? For ego? Make sure you focus on the necessities. You will be busy enough with that. There won’t be any time to learn things you don’t need to know!

What Is The Key To Success?

You are going to hate this answer, there isn’t one!

There are different paths and strategies. What worked for me may not work for you. I didn’t go to school, but I could see the benefit of it. I could also see how going to school would have changed everything I did when starting Nasty Gal. I would have seen everything so differently, my whole approach and strategy would have been different. Remember I started micro. I didn’t have a 36 month vision, a ten year plan, or investment rounds. I didn’t take outside money at Nasty Gal for years!

I know what you are going to say, at least give me something! There has to be something that can be used across the board that increases the likelihood of success!

You are right. Here it is: Think and operate at the micro level.

Do what is in front of you, the most important thing for that moment. It is basically the Lean Startup approach. Take baby steps so you don’t over-commit to one thing, or one direction. It allows you to evaluate clearly as you are going, making sure you are making the right move for today, and tomorrow.

When you use this approach you become more resourceful, especially in the beginning when money is tight. You can approach people and offer your services for their services. No money out of pocket. If you can reciprocate value with another person or company you can work around the fact that money is tight. You want to start small, stay out of debt, and build a solid foundation.

This approach allows for thousands of little “breaks,” instead of the Hollywood-style “BIG” break. Each one gets you a step ahead of where you were, and a step closer to where you want to be. These little breaks and moments can be anything: when you get paid more than ever for your service(s), when you realize people are don’t like you because you are successful, or when you have “haters.” Those are all signs that you are doing something good.

As you are building, constantly be evaluating and analyzing how you are doing things. What is working? What can be better? What’s the next step? How can you scale? To be honest, I didn’t even have “scale” in my vocabulary. I saw the potential in making 100 people happy with one type of dress instead of just one. Those 100 turned in to 1000, and so on.

Again, there are so many avenues to success. In my opinion, I think it is best to learn how to do things on your own. You internalize the process and information better, growing in small increments, and building a solid foundation.

Always remember, there is what you have, and what you do with what you have. That can be applied at any phase of any business, small or large, new or old, successful or not. The mindset is up to you.

Quotes

“There is what you have and what you do with what you have.”

“Things get done faster when people like you.”

“I love to over-commit and see what is possible.”

“The greatest change is made through how you treat the person next to you and what you learn from the person next to you. Sharing our stories makes other people feel capable. Telling stories has a ripple effect.”

Sophia Amoruso Links

Nasty Gal

Girl Boss

Nasty Galaxy

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Friday, November 18, 2016

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Kevin Kelly

He is the co-founder of Wired magazine, a best-selling author, and seems to have his pulse on the heartbeat of technology for over 25 years. He shares his philosophies on technology and how you can stay cutting edge in this ever-evolving world.

Please enjoy.

Do I Have To Adopt New Technology?

That depends. Do you want to have more choices? Do you want to increase the possibilities of this world and its inhabitants? Do you want to do things that have never been done, with people you would have never met otherwise, in a way you never thought possible?

Those are personal questions. For me? I say absolutely yes, you need to adopt new technology. You have to.

Does technology create problems? Absolutely.

But there is a catch.

The way I look at it, today’s tech makes tomorrow’s problems. Sound a little depressing? It is, except for the fact that new technology will solve all of those problems. We will be better on the other end of it, with a new set of problems, but with new technology just around the corner to solve them.

The scary, fascinating, wonderful, and amazing part of technology and it’s ever changing nature is that the problems of “tomorrow” may be solved, literally, tomorrow. We aren’t talking months and years like the past, we are talking about days and hours. Without the “bad” you never would get to the “good.”

A little scary? Sure, sometimes.

But the only way to maximize the potential of technology is to keep creating, keep innovating, changing, failing, adjusting, practicing, and finally, succeeding. It is all about deliberate practice. You are legitimately trying to fail in order to figure out weaknesses and problems. It is “failing forward,” as Derek Sivers puts it.

What Do You View As The Main Benefit To Technology?

New technologies allow for genius to shine.

Think about it.

Lives change because of new technology, right? We can all agree on that. But the new technology allows for things to be possible that weren’t possible before that new technology. That may sound too obvious, so think of it in terms of music:

What if Mozart were 100 years older?

What if the Beatles formed in the 1990’s?

What if Metallica started in the 1940s?

They would have been too soon, or too late, and the world would have missed out on their genius.

No Mozart? No Beatles? No Metallica?

Where would music be today?

If there was no YouTube, how many stars would we be missing today? The Beebs? Nope. No

YouTube!

It has never been easier to get your work out there. It doesn’t matter what your area of expertise is, you can find people all over the world to share it with. 50 years ago? You would just be sitting in your house, being an expert all by yourself.

How many companies started in a garage in the 70s and 80s? Now the garage is the entire world (at least those connected to the internet).

That is a wonderful thing.

What Is The Future Of Tech, and How Can I Utilize It?

Our brains are going to be more valuable than ever. Critical thinking. Critical questioning. Creativity. Those three things will be more important than ever because the jobs that require efficiency: cashiers, assembly line workers, even drivers (in the near future), will be done by robots. Humans will be doing jobs that are wasteful and inefficient, like thinking and creating. The “new work” will not be measured in productivity. We will be left with jobs and tasks that are more opened ended.

To put it plainly, answers will be worth nothing, but questions will be worth everything.

Google can practically answer any question you have today. That will become more and more true as time passes and the “question answering” technology advances. But the questions themselves? Digging deeper? That’s where the money will be.

Collaboration is going to be the next big thing for the creative community. We love the idea of the lone creative genius, but that is rarely the reality. Adding other ways to meet and collaborate, not just face to face, is going to be enormous moving forward.

Tech is additive. Increasing choices and possibilities. It increasingly allows people to work on something together that they could never do before.

How do you utilize it?

Experience it. Try it out. Play with it. Figure it out, then put yourself in it.

You will never be able to successfully adopt new technology unless you play with it and learn it for yourself. You can pay someone to do it, but it will never capture the essence of you without your direct knowledge and application.

The big thing now? VR. Play with some goggles, check out some 360 cameras. How can you use them?

The earlier you adopt them the less crowded the market space is. That new technology could be the one that takes your career to the next level.

But you have to try.

Be quick to try, quick to drop, and slow to adopt. Find the things that work for you. Find the ways that work for you. Try everything, then adopt. You need to be very selective in what you ultimately choose.

Quotes

“We tend to over-estimate the effects of technology in the short term and underestimate the effects in the long term.”

“Disruptions always come from the outside. If you want to be successful and stay successful, you need to keep an eye out on what is going on around you, and look for the inroads.”

Kevin Kelly Links

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links