The document provides career and creative advice for creative professionals. It discusses the importance of having belief in yourself and your work, being purposeful in setting goals and measuring progress, finding creative outlets outside of work to avoid burnout, continuously learning and growing, and surrounding yourself with others in creative fields. It emphasizes that talent alone is not enough and lists qualities like belief, passion, preparation, and perseverance that support and strengthen talent over the long term.

1. Bruce Stanley
Creative Director
SHOW UP – From college to the work place,
working/living as a creative person
The first thing you have to do is...
Give a shit. This attitude will be the difference maker in your
career path and your creative path. There is a reason you’re doing
what you’re doing – have belief.
Creativity isn’t a talent, it’s an obligation. Your talent will not be
enough to get you where you want to go. John Maxwell says on a
scale of 1-10 the most your talent will achieve is a 6.
“The toughest thing about being a success is that you’ve got
to keep being a success. Talent is only a starting point in business.
You’ve got to keep working that talent.” Irving Berlin– The Dean of
American songwriters
Not yet –the enemy of change
Saying “no” is actually better. “Not yet” allows you to put it
off. This allows for time to make your decision, removing the sense of
urgency but sacrificing a beneficial opportunity. Seth Goden’s book
“Tribes” talks about benefits over time. –See chart
Be purposeful – you have to write it down
Start a journal, keep a notebook or just use a day planner.
Whatever you do, make it tangible. Set goals, picture paint, see what’s
in front of you that you want, but live in the present – it’s the only thing
that is real. What are your milestones/objectives? Make sure you can
measure them.
5. Preparation – Positions your talent
– John Maxwell, Talent is never enough

2. Don’t wait – parallel thinking
Today, if you find yourself waiting on someone or something else,
you’ve already lost. It’s ok to not have the answers, but come with
possible solutions when asking questions.
Your Brand
Everything you do represents yourself. Today anyone can find
out anything about you, be careful what you’re doing in your personal
world. Anything you do online is visible – myspace, facebook, twitter, etc.
Package yourself well. From your interview, to your presentations
to the work itself, it’s all about the sell. This will never change.
Be ambitious
If someone told you that you could have what you want but all
you have to do is take one step, wouldn’t you do it? Now, what if they
said take that step in the right direction? Being ambitious successfully
means, thinking before you ambitiously act. Refer to “Be purposeful”.
Always ask, “what will it take to get to _____________?” Just
because you might start out in a position you are impatient to get past,
doesn’t mean there isn’t something to learn while you’re there and how
that will leverage you to the next level.
– Everything has an opportunity attached to it
– Everyone has the potential to contribute to your opportunity
– What do you find the most joy in doing and has the most value
– ask this in your journey
A creative expectation
YOU WILL NOT ALWAYS ENJOY EVERYTHING THAT YOU WILL DO.
It’s just a fact that life comes with sacrifices and pits in our cherries. As
a creative person, your “cream” jobs are not 24/7. Slow down when
you’re enjoying something great. Better yet, find opportunities in the
things that are just good and make them great. However, don’t judge
yourself by the valleys in your creativity. If you’re doing what’s right, those
accolades will come.
Being a creative person means you expect appreciation and
recognition. It’s not a selfish thing. Watch that ego though, you’re not
the only gift God gave to our little world. There are others, and they’re
better than you. Everyone is uniquely creative –yes, everyone.
Keep this card in your pocket at all times.
“There’s a 50/50 chance I might be wrong.”
Your audience’s messaging tolerance has changed. This is a good thing
if you believe in transparency and being real. It’s a bad thing if you still
think advertising is honest and clever.

3. We’re social beings – don’t isolate
Find others like you. Creative people NEED to share experiences.
It’s how we breathe. Working/thinking in a void will melt you, especially
when it comes to your past and future thinking. Because a creative
person’s imagination is their worst enemy. We’re over analytic, we can’t
help it. Locate others with the same interests and your creative lifestyle
at work/play/home will benefit.
When you’re creating you must do it with others. Sure it is
necessary for you to have alone thinking and execution and everyone
has their own work ethic style. But know this...if you work alone, your
talent is alone, and talent is never enough.
Planned Growth
Learning NEVER stops. When you leave school, your next job, etc.
you must continue to grow. Don’t be afraid to try something new, but
don’t out pace your growth. Steady as she goes. Be purposeful. If you
don’t plan for your growth, it won’t happen.
Share your growth. This will take you along way, how did you get
this material in front of you? Someone shared their growth with you.
See above for social behavior. Read a book, take a workshop, go to a
conference, write a blog, keep a journal, just make sure you’re growing.
Find your creative outlet
In most cases, what you do in your creative career won’t/can’t be
your creative outlet. Not to say that only 1% of people find that cream
job, but even still I argue that those people will still need a creative outlet
somewhere else. Why? One reason... you don’t control the outcome.
Your emotional creative self will crumble little by little.
Communication arts mixed with the business world is a paradox.
Creativity was never meant to be controlled. For the creator to create
what he/she feels inside it must be executed in that same vision without
unneeded influence. This is almost always impossible in the business world.
Advertising, marketing, fashion entertainment, etc. will influence
your creativity. You must find a balance with your career creativity and
your creative outlet. Once you have this in place, harmony will occur
and your career will find focus and your emotions will be controlled.

4. WHAT GOES WELL WITH YOUR TALENT?
–John Maxwell, Talent is never enough
1. Belief – Lifts your talent
2. Passion – Energizes your talent
3. Initiative – Activates your talent
4. Focus – Directs your talent
5. Preperation – Positions your talent
“What happens when you don’t prepare? Things you hoped won’t
happen do happen – and they occur with greater frequency
than the things that you hoped would happen.
The reason is simple: being unprepared puts you out of position. Ask
atheletes what happens when they’re out of position. They lose.”
6. Practice – Sharpens your talent
7. Perserverance – Sustains your talent
8. Courage – Tests your talent
9. Teachability – Expands your talent
10. Character – Protects your talent
11. Relationships – Influence your talent
12. Responsibility – Strengthens your talent
13. Teamwork – Multiplies your talent

5. “Not yet.” The enemy of change.
Seth Goden, Tribes