Making Something Different

Its been said that “there is nothing new under the sun”. Its true everything is a twist on an old idea, but its the quality of the twist that matters.

Creativity is just stealing another idea and twisting it.

One of the best bits of advice in business and life is to, “Do something you love to do.” Whether you are a fantastic baker, a would-be director, a website design pro…if it makes your heart sing, you should try to make it the work you do for a living. However, that cannot be the end of the story.

Why not? Because you will have to earn that living, and you may even need to be competitive in the field or industry in which you are working. That usually means a bit of creative thinking and problem solving will be necessary. This can be hard to implement because you need to be true to yourself as you make something different, and yet you also need to succeed.

While some business experts say that the key to this is to strive to make your business known for something unique (Panaggio, 2014), it isn’t just that simple to say, “Okay, I’ll just make sure I make something truly unique and be able to do what I love.” Instead, there are a few good ways to lay the foundation for success and gain a good, competitive edge.

The first thing you need to do is know everything that is “out there”. Knowing your market is essential. You must be ready to put in the work and discover that a lot of others are doing the same “unique” thing you have done. Spend time knowing everything possible. After you know what’s out there, you can simply do a “mash up” of the things that appeal most to you.

Whatever two or three ideas seem most in line with your craft or interest, just find a way to combine them. Doing things in this order (from the inside-out) let’s you get an accurate perspective on what it is you actually like the most, and this is always going to be reflected in the work.

Don’t actually “do” something different; just tweak things relating to the work you enjoy. As an example, if your looking to make something different as a video director or in the world of design, explore those fields, figure out how to make something different and stand out from all of the “noise” and competition, but don’t suddenly decide to direct energy towards another career or field. We all take in experiences and make them our own. Video production and film making is the highest art form in the world right now… lots of noise.

Your interests and skills are uniquely made and can give you an honest method for doing inspiring work. Your dedication to the learning process and development of something “different” will help you to succeed. It boils down to using the unique gifts and perspective you have been given and develop your “voice”. Copying works for a while but it needs to be used as a spring board to accomplish greater things.