Hope Is Where The Heart – Isn’t

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

As creative, we are able to blend fantasy and reality quite easily in order to dream up amazing things and envision impressive futures, but then, we ‘hope’ that those dreams will materialize. The problem is that ‘hope’ itself is actually pretty ‘hopeless’, and yet, many of us believe wholeheartedly in it and allow it to hang tightly onto our precious dreams.

Imagine feeling that intensity as a ‘billion dollar idea’ pops into your head. What do you do? You rush to grab a pen and some paper (right?), then excitedly try to collect every single detail as your brain erupts and rapidly overflows with gold lava. To celebrate the fact that you’re now ‘rich’, you sip on a glass of wine and pat yourself on the back for the great idea.

Then, you neatly fold your billion dollar sheet of paper, and lock it away in the depths of your safe so that no-one can steal it – it is a billion dollar idea after all. Let’s not forget that you do take a few minutes from time to time to reflect on the idea, with a radiant grin of contentment as you think “one day if I’m patient enough,” solely because of the promise you made to never forget your brilliant idea.

Unfortunately, not once do you bother to develop a plan of action. That, my dear friends…is hope. You’ve most likely already been acquainted, which is something we should all challenge ourselves to work on. I’m right there with you guys. This post was inspired by a friend of mine and is a reminder for myself as well!

Hope doesn’t provide internal or external motivation. If you’ve been just relying on it, wake up and realize that you’re just procrastinating, and dragging your feet doesn’t cut it when you’re running the whole show.

If you have a heart for entrepreneurship and don’t want to spend your life bringing someone else’s dream to fruition – guess what?! You need to get rid of ‘hope’. Take some time out to be honest with yourself about why hope has become so appealing to you. Is it because you’re naturally a procrastinator?

Maybe because you’re actually afraid of failure…or possibly afraid of success. Whatever the case, you’ll realize that no matter what your reasons are, hope is just a cop-out, and you should spend your valuable time planning and executing your vision. If you want success, you have to get your hands dirty and make it happen.

So friends, how exactly do you get your hands dirty?

  1. Make a decision. In terms of your goals, are you in or out? The road will not be paved with gold. In fact…you may have to climb a mountain and struggle the whole way. Are you ready to climb? Decide to be 100% in or 100% out.
  2. Create goal-sheets that incorporate your vision. I like to do separate sheets for finances, relationship, career and personal. Try to be realistic in terms of your timeframe.
  3. Solidify your dream. Now, take some time to make sense of your dream and construct a well thought out idea. Is it realistic? Should I be dreaming bigger? Would simplifying things make it better?
  4. Consider a patent. If you have a really amazing idea for an invention, you may want to look into getting a patent for your idea.
  5. Make a plan. So you decided to run with the billion-dollar idea. Think about the entire step-by-step process of bringing your dream to life. If you have a mentor that you can trust, now may be a good time to seek some advice from them.
  6. Use your plan to re-evaluate your goal sheets. You may want to accomplish your goal in 1 year, but after creating a plan, realize that it will take 2, even with a solid plan. If you’re determined to stick to your original goal sheet…come up with a better plan. Whatever you do though, make sure that your goal sheets and plan work cohesively, or you will become easily frustrated.
  7. Make yourself proud. Promise yourself that you won’t let ‘hope’ stand in the way of your greatness and carry out your plan with 100% dedication.
  8. Continually motivate yourself. Surround yourself with doers…not just dreamers. Consider this quote by Les Brown: “The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry our their dream.”

Let’s get rid of ‘hope’ and start taking responsibility!

METAMORPHOSIS:: The Storytelling Process

/0 Comments/in , /by

As promised, I have invited a couple of friends and colleagues to contribute to my blog, and today I present a guest post by my friend Vanessa, on her approach to the storytelling process.

My mind freezes in childlike wonder when someone tells me a good story. It can be a well-written song, a verbal story, design or painting. In that moment of sensory awareness, that one story is literally the most awesome thing that ever hit my brain. No matter what emotion I feel, the awesome factor intrigues me. It’s probably the same for you as well – we humans like being entertained.

You may not have ever given it much thought, but the reality is that a meaningful story is the simple, flawless presentation of an idea or occurrence. For all of you realists out there…maybe you should cover your ears and hum a peaceful tune through this part: the story doesn’t have to follow the laws of the universe.

Yup, you can dive into the exaggerated and ‘impossible.’ It doesn’t even have to follow chronological order. The effectiveness relies on it being genuine – even genuine randomness is allowed, because people want to feel something real. A story about pigs flying can actually be a great adult story…as long as it’s told in the right manner and causes some type of emotional shift.

So, what does this have to do with you? Well, chances are that you’re reading this blog because you’re working either directly or indirectly with people, and value that. If so, conquering the art of the storytelling process, whether you’re a copywriter, marketer/advertising agent, entrepreneur, or designer, etc. would be beneficial to you.

I’ve found that something really helpful is to understand that storytelling is a process of metamorphosis, and use that in your storytelling process. A great visual reminder would be to think of a caterpillar and the stages it goes through to become that beautiful butterfly while you’re prepping for your story.

For the best results, you should fully complete each step before going onto the other. Let’s have a look at them:

Stage 1: Turn Fear Into Curiosity (visualize the caterpillar)

Be open-minded. The caterpillar, bound to the ground throughout its life must first embrace the novel and possibly scary thought of being in a vulnerable state (cocoon), hopefully surviving it to see the world again – to soar into the sky (an unknown territory) as a butterfly one day. Be the caterpillar. Visualize your end goal, but let go of all preconceptions of what it should be, because ‘should’ is a barrier. Fearlessly wonder into unknown territories and allow your mind to be a blank canvas while giving yourself the permission to paint like a wild person.

Stage 2: Let Curiosity Inspire Thoughts (visualize the cocoon)

Just as the caterpillar encloses itself into it’s cocoon, it’s time for you to dive into your creative space. Now that you’re free from all limitations, begin to actually paint that canvas like a wild person, believing in your abilities and trusting your mind to project you forward into the best version of your end goal.

Stage 3: Mold Your Thoughts Into Ideas (visualize wings emerging from the cocoon)

The caterpillar, full of life begins to burst through a once enclosed cocoon. You too, are almost there. Your thoughts have carried you and you are in a wonderful place. You’re also bursting with life, ready to create something amazing. We’ve all been there…we see the end goal and we want to just run ahead, but our idea needs to be fully mature to get there. As hard as it may be to exercise patience, just remember that only a well thought out idea has the power to spread its wings to fly. Visualize the outcome you want and come up with great ideas to make it happen.

Stage 4: Make Your Idea Become Reality (visualize the beautiful, soaring butterfly)

It’s time to fly. That cocoon has served you well, and it’s now time to shake the remaining pieces off, spread your wings and soar into the experience. At this point, you should have a solid concept that you can run with. You should be able to implement it flawlessly from beginning to end.

And now, as you soar in confidence with your storytelling process, knowing that you have a solid foundation and structure, look around and observe all of the bright eyes gazing in awe of your presence…and storytelling.

 

How to Rebrand Yourself: The Miley Cyrus Way. Another Installment on @eZangaInc by Me.

/0 Comments/in , /by

Where has summer gone?  It’s already August!

Back to the topic at hand.  It’s a new month and that means another new post written for the eZanga blog.  I have to admit that I have been having a lot of fun writing for them and the title of this post might just prove that.  This month’s title:  How to Rebrand Yourself – The Miley Cyrus Way.  Before you roll your eyes and start groaning, take a peek and hear me out.  I promise it’s not a post about twerking.  In fact, I think I only make use of that word once in the article…or twice.

Head on over to eZanga and check it out:  http://colleeneakns.me/1snNqsU

 

 

ezanga-guest-blog-post

Are You Branding or Being Branded? Another Installment on @eZangaInc by Me.

/0 Comments/in , /by

It’s a new month! Well technically we are already halfway through July, but nevermore…I have another guest post on the eZanga Blog. This month I am staying within the topic of personal branding and asking, “Are you branding or being branded?” Curious? Then head on over to the eZanga Blog and check out my guest post here: http://colleeneakns.me/1qbG88s

 

 

Check Me Out On eZanga!

/4 Comments/in , /by

My first regular, guest contributor, on an on-going basis, monthly, yay I get to write for someone spot!  Can you tell I am excited?  About a year ago the team at eZanga.com interviewed me for their Small Business Spotlight series and a few months later, I wrote a guest post.  Fast forward to now, growth and expansion on their part and they have asked me to be a regular contributor in the areas of personal branding (everything you see me doing here) and design tips for small businesses.  I’m pretty excited since I have really come to enjoy writing and spilling my guts brain in the space I have created here.  Plus, it made me do a little dance and sing, “You like me. You like me. You really, really like me!

So skip on over to the eZanga blog and read this month’s contribution:  Personal Branding:  When It’s Not Really About You

please.

Oh, and don’t worry.  I’m still a regular contributor here as well.  🙂

 

ezanga-guest-contributor