How to Become a Professional Creative

I like to start with, “Make up your mind.” For many people, creativity is just something that happens. A lot of the successful creative I know have passion for creativity and it’s an aspect of their lives they are passionate about. “They think about it all the time, what comes next in their projects, new ideas for work they’re doing or new ways to get ahead using different outlets or platforms”, NewsVarsity.

Creativity isn’t just what you do at work 6 hours a day 5 days a week. It’s something you do 24/7 whenever you can get away with it… which is often!

Immediately thinking about the creative side of things every waking moment

Means that when you finally sit down to work on your art form – whether it’s music, video editing, writing, comedy – you are more likely to be creative. There are multiple reasons for this, but the main reason is that your mind isn’t cluttered with other thoughts. When I’m sitting down to write a blog post I’m thinking of what I can do in order to get people excited about reading it and scrolling all the way down without getting bored. If I was at home watching Netflix or playing on my phone, then when I sat down to write that same article my head would be filled with thoughts like “I need to clean the dishes,” “I should call mom,” or “How much longer until Breaking Bad comes back on?” Not only would those thoughts distract me from writing but they’d also stop me from enjoying the process.

Professional creatives don’t get paid to talk about what they did that day

Or how their weekend was, but rather to create something new and exciting that others will enjoy. So when you sit down to write a blog post, make sure it’s because you’re passionate about sharing your own thoughts on what you find interesting or funny or important with other people. The more passion you have for your creative work the easier it’ll be to produce something worthwhile for others to read/watch/listen to.

It can be hard at first

When sitting down in front of the computer screen (or paper, book, sketchpad) knowing nothing is going to happen that isn’t your idea – especially if you’ve always done it the other way, i.e., waited for inspiration to strike you in the back of your head every now and then. But if you’re passionate enough about what you do when that happens, when an idea does strike, when the moment is right – when you least expect it – you’ll be ready with pen or keyboard or paintbrush in hand ready to capture that idea before it vanishes into thin air.

Also, don’t be afraid to share your work with others!

Not everyone will like what you do but some people will relate to whatever creative thing you put out there and they may share their thoughts on what inspired them most about whatever effort you’ve made available for public viewing. That’s how I get my best ideas sometimes for The Indian Jurist – hearing what someone else thought about something I created.

The best creatives aren’t just known for one thing they’re known for many things because they never stop creating! They don’t wait until they think of the next idea either, they go out and find it before anyone else does… or at least get started on it so no one beats them to the punch. One of my favorite quotes by Maya Angelou says it all:

• “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them”, Waterfall Magazine.
• I took creative writing classes in college once upon a time (and got an A+ too!). And during those years I was exposed to people who were real writers