Being creative is just like skateboarding

Being creative is just like skateboarding. Why? Because you need to be INNOVATIVE. Rodney Mullen, professional skateboarder, demonstrates this in his Ted Talk, which can be found here.

I learned how to speak with passion from Rodney Mullen.

Just listen to the way he talks about skateboarding. You can feel his heart in his voice when he shows you the different tricks he and his peers have accomplished. We all need to find that one thing in life that gets us THAT excited, that passionate, that emotional.

I learned how to empower others from Rodney Mullen.

To me, that is one of the biggest things creatives forget about. This business isn’t about who has the better idea, it’s about empowering each other to come up with something better. Share your ideas with others, let others share their ideas with you, and that will make every idea better. Respect opinions and respect that someone else has walked where you haven’t, and that they could take your concept and connect it to something they’ve been through and create a new insight you couldn’t possibly see.

I learned how to use other people to better myself from Rodney Mullen.

The key to my success is looking at what other people have done and using it as a way to make my work better. I love looking at graphic design sites, peering into the soul’s of the artist who created the work. Why did they use that color, that typography? How in the hell did they make this look this good? Analyze, analyze, analyze. Take what other people do, make it better, and give it back. Give it back so others can use the work to make themselves better, starting the cycle yet again.