Creativity isn’t Enough

Matthew Deyn
Jul 25, 2017 · 2 min read

Without starting off on a negative slant, the title above was the simplest way I could think to make this posts point across. It is something I want to say for myself as much as I do to help anyone reading.

The use of creativity or ‘inventiveness’ is a brilliant thing and is something I often implement to offer varying angles to what I want to say and how I want to say it however I think it’s easy to think (sometimes) that once the creative part is done then you sit back a bit.

Of course this is not the case!

As Gary Vaynerchuk says execution is the sexy part and I certainly can relate to that (on a micro level).

There’s nothing better than the feeling of having seen something through to the end, done what you set out to do and thus having been rewarded for it. Whether that’s been rewarded emotionally, financially or in any other way you can think of.

So then, how can we get to that feeling more often?

I think to start we need to take away all the clutter. Whether that’s physical or (more likely) clutter in our heads. All of the day to day chatter that is preventing clarity of focus — it isn’t doing any good for you today and it won’t tomorrow either.

Practical, smaller goals are needed. Achievable goals that fill you with a sense of purpose before, during and after completion. It’s easier said than done of course but writing these down, as well as longer term goals that align with your vision are necessary in order for you to break free of your current mental chains — however small they might be.

Once you have these (and you keep referring back to them daily), you will be more encouraged to take action as you will be able to apply your creative juices to the task at hand. Then comes the networking, the reaching out, the work.

Without a map — how will you ever get to your destination?