July 5, 2009

“Ignore everybody,” says Hugh MacLeod in his insightful and fun little book Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity.

With a real original idea, others cannot give you good advice. People might not understand the idea. People are used to you operating in a different vein, before the great idea. MacLeod notes that “great ideas alter the power balance in relationships. That’s why great ideas are initially resisted.”

Read MacLeod’s little book. It will inspire you and cause you to think, think a lot. Consider these other pointers from Hugh:

— “The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours.” And you have to keep control over your idea. Don’t let others muddy the waters.

— “Put the hours in. Doing anything worthwhile takes forever.” You’ve heard it before. Do the work. Put in the time and the effort. Persevere. Successful people have lots of stamina.

— “Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.” Don’t lose that creativity! Struggle hard to keep yours, or return to it and revel in it.

This is just the tip of MacLeod’s iceberg of tips. Read the book to learn more about these statements:

— “Worrying about ‘Commercial vs. Artistic’ is a complete waste of time.” I’ll bet that’s a tough one for many artists.

— “Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.”

And so many more. 40 to be exact. Ignore everybody + 39 others.

I’ll say it again. Read this insightful, inspiring, and amusing book. Look at his great cartoons, written on the back of business cards. Carry some in your pocket.

And visit Hugh at www.gapingvoice.com. That’s where he started reaching out to all of us.

Filed under: Leadership

About Simone Joyaux

A consultant specializing in fund development, strategic planning, and board development, Simone P. Joyaux works with all types and sizes of nonprofits, speaks at conferences worldwide, and teaches in the graduate program for philanthropy at Saint Mary’s University, MN. Her books, Keep Your Donors and Strategic Fund Development, are standards in the field.

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