Step away from the pack: Why find your creative purpose, personal brand, & create a platform?

Einstein said several things about creativity and imagination, but the one that sticks out among the many is, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination”.  Imagination begets creativity and creativity can enhance anything you do.  If we are talking about career specifically, creativity and imagination are what can separate you from everyone else.  When trying to pull away from the pack there are 3 facets that should be taken into consideration to help thrust you into a successful place whether it is for you, your job position, or your business.    

Creative Purpose: If you feel that your purpose is to create, you should hone in on those skills and use them to catapult you into the career of your dreams.  W. Clement Stone said, “When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it.”  It doesn’t matter if you discover your creative purpose within your current work, or if your creative purpose drives you to do a specific kind of work. The important part is to find it.  This is the motivation that you need to set you apart and make you the best.  The thing about your creative purpose is that it is unique to you.  No one else can recreate you and the uniqueness that you bring along.    

Creating a Personal Brand: Lair et. al. (2005) define personal branding as being a process in which people and their respective careers are marked as brands.  They also suggest that success comes from self-packaging rather than self-improvement.  A personal brand helps you define what makes you special and sets you apart.  Shannon Kincaid a local artist in Dallas, Texas shared a piece of valuable advice that resonated.  She said, “Don’t be everything to everyone instead be something to someone.”  This is important because you get to focus on what you do best, and you can give that your time and concentration sans distractions.  Tom Peters discusses how the personal brand helps you identify distinctive qualities that set you apart, which seems to be the theme connecting you creative purpose and imagination.  The point is to be different, innovative and creative.  Then be the best.      

Building a platform: Creating a platform is a concept that is a bit more concrete than finding creative purpose and branding yourself.  Creating a platform seems to be the natural progression of moving forward with the idea.  Once you have figured out your mission and your brand you then have to find or build your market.   Michael Hyatt makes the point that good ideas are no longer enough.  This relates more to you marketing yourself as an individual, but can still apply to a specific job position or business because having a platform is simply about being heard.  Building a platform will enhance visibility, and in a world of social media it will strengthen your connection to an audience that shares your passion and ideas.  If you want to stand out having a platform is the way to help you achieve this.  

Today more than ever it is easy to get lost in the background, or drown out by the sound.  Applying these concepts to your creative work can help you fight through the white noise and step into the forefront. It takes hard work and a lot of imagination, but it is possible.  Einstein also said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.” Tap into you and be the next coming attraction.