My Creative Mistakes (and what to do instead)

I made a mistake

Actually two

Okay a ton but right now I’m talking about these two. 😂

Years ago, I was Creative Director at a FOX TV station and led an amazingly creative team. We won awards, made lots of money and was one of the most recognized FOX TV stations in the country.

We created amazing work.

Then the media business started changing, collapsing, consolidating. Half my team was cut then eventually my position was eliminated.

Over that next year I struggled with what to do, my why and lots of other things. Believed too much hype about myself and really wondered what to do next.

Eventually I started my own video marketing and coaching business.

Now about my two mistakes.

😳 Mistake #1

When I was the FOX Creative Director, I was living thru my team.

I wasn’t creating much, hardly anything for myself. So when the position was eliminated I didn’t have a collective body of work I had personally done.

Don’t get me wrong. My team was freakin’ amazing and I did oversee the final product but I didn’t just create something for myself to well just create.

Basically I had zip to show in terms of a personal brand.

😳 Mistake #2

After my position was cut, during that year of “WHAT NOW?”, I started creating content, mostly on YouTube.

I mean, I had time so why not?

A friend and mentor told me to “stop creating and find a job”.

I thought YEAH. So I totally stopped creating content…for about a day until I realized, wait, I have to create! It’s in my DNA!

🤔 What I learned.

I believe in order to grow, you must always be growing you.

I sum it up like this: CREATE, CONSUME, and CONNECT. (The order doesn’t matter.) 

What matters is that you are constantly creating, constantly consuming (AKA “learning”) and constantly connecting.

Not checking boxes.

Not a race to do more than someone else.

This is about GROWING YOU.

Creating can be different things to different people. 

You may create something that’s similar to someone else (DON’T COPY) but by you putting you in it, it’s unique.

Consuming is about learning, stretching, expanding your world. Not about being the expert but about seeing more than your world. 

⚠️ CAUTION: don’t consume so much that you don’t create anything! (Been there. Done that)

Connect or connections - I prefer connections over contacts. They can be deeper and more fulfilling. 

Anyone can add a contact to their digital Rolodex but not everyone takes the time to really connect with others - your audience, your customers, your clients, etc.

That’s my advice, my experience, my coaching on how not to make the same mistakes I did and work on growing you too.

You can figure out the how. 

But the time is now.

Just create

-Kevin

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