As a creative digital entrepreneur, (jeez, I have to find a better term ) I always look for exciting new ways to inspire me. I’m constantly producing, and I need constant input to keep up with it. The questions that I ask myself on a daily basis:
Where can I get new ideas from, and how can I improve the work I do online ?
Reading other sites that linger in the same market is almost never a good choice – the idea pool goes stale and produces lame-ass abominations.
No, sometimes you have to look at “unconventional” places to take your online presence to the NEXT level. Here’s what I do:
1) Get feedback from a person who doesn’t know shit about the online world. One of my best friends is a psychologist in training, and guess how MUCH he knows about blogging ? Zero. NADA. ZILCH. He thinks that WordPress is an American newspaper, and that the blogosphere is an astral term for a spot in the galaxy.
And even though he’s a digital douchebag, I have gained some of the mind-blowing advice from him about branding & blogging. He told me that I should use LESS colors for my online brand (that’s why only use 3-4), he told me I need to be more inspirational (hence the title: “The world needs you”) and a lot of other stuff that has taken my site to the NEXT level.
Not everyone who visits your online presence is digital geek that knows the ins and outs – that’s why YOU HAVE TO ASK a completely NEWBIE about what he or she thinks about your online presence.
And who knows ? You may get feedback that changes your digital destiny. It happened to me.
2) Do something in the real world, I repeat, the REAL world (filled with fleshy creatures called HUMANS !) that has NOTHING to do with your online stuff. Winter time for me is always working time – I glue my eyes on the computer and create like crazy. That’s not a healthy lifestyle, and especially if you overdo it.
That’s why I do a variety of things in the real world:
Visit a unique gallery.Participate in a dinner that mixes “normal” people with homeless and ignites conversation and mutual feel-goodness. Become the DJ of a music quiz. Learn Spanish with a Chilean. Go to church ( no shit – I did that for about 4 times. Pure interest.)
Anything that widens your horizon + and has NOTHING to do with the digital world WORKS WONDERS. Believe me, you will get so refreshed and inspired that you’ll DRAMATICALLY improve your online work.
My fireball friend Ashley Ambirge is a good example – she’s creating an insanely successful digital biz while living an adventurous lifestyle in South America. If you read her awesome online guide “You don’t need a job, YOU need guts” you will see how her exciting lifestyle upgrades her digital work !
3) Get inspiration from completely different niches. If you want to get inspired digitally, I CHALLENGE you NOT to drown in similar markets. The personal development blogger who only reads other self-help blogs is SERIOUSLY missing out. It’s called incest, and results in un-creative miscarriages. If you want to build a remarkable online presence, then get input from DIFFERENT sources.
You know my major inspirations ? Japanese pop-artist Takashi Murakami, video games and comics – the whole nerd package. How much has this to do with digital entrepreneurship and blogging ? NOthing. But those sources makes sure that I create fresh stuff and stand out while others drown in obscurity.
What “strange” sources can you “steal” from ?
4) Break up your digital inertia. Listen, we human have muscles and limbs for a reason. Sitting 8+ hours on our fat asses isn’t what nature had in mind when she created us. We were supposed to run around naked, fetch plants and kill sabre tooth tigers. Nowadays, the only thing we move are our fingers and what we kill is our brain cells. Break that unhealthy lifestyle and get your body back in motion:
I personally make a short break every 40 – 50 minutes, doing some exercises and dancing to my favorite music. I also go outside and jog, do long walks and even ride the bike.
Plz, don’t turn into a degenerate that’s sticking to the screen 24/7.
Work your body – MOVE MOVE MOVE. Dance, jog and walk. MOVE MOVE MOVE.
When you get back to your screen, you’ll feel rejuvenated and ready to rock the digital world.
5) Become more productive by increasing the pressure. I always mention that you must set yourself a deadline in order to be more productive, but let’s face it, even that might not be enough. It’s still operating in pussy mode, and that’s why I turned up the volume:
Create a public contest with like-minded, AMBITIOUS crusaders and put a up a price that ridicules the losers. We called it “The Create and Conquer Challenge” and that’s at stake:
The potential loss of 1000$ and public humiliation through a week long video announcing how much the winner KICKs-ass. Nobody wants to do THAT, and that’s why we don’t just light our asses on fire, we BURN them in order to win the challenge !
COME ON everyone. Let’s get the energy flowing – what things do YOU do that have nothing to do with your ONLINE work but sure AS HELL improve it ??
And retweet this to share the inspirations with your friends !
Join a community of Create & Conquerors
In addition to my best content, you can also get my free comic branding guide and weekly, inspirational cartoons straight into your inbox:
