A book to help you thrive as a creator amid the demands, distractions, and opportunities of the 21st century
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A real Swiss Army knife of all-around mental ammunition for those of us slugging it out in the trenches of this new century.
Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of The War of Art
How can you chart your course and make meaningful progress when you set out on an original path, where there is no conventional career ladder, no job security, and the usual rules don’t apply?
I’ve spent the last 21 years coaching creative professionals to overcome these challenges and achieve their artistic and career ambitions.
In this book I share 21 of the most powerful insights that have emerged from the years I’ve spent coaching creatives like you—as well as from my own practice as an award-winning poet.
Whether you are a fine artist, a performer or entertainer, a commercial creative, or a creative entrepreneur, many of your biggest challenges are the ones that are familiar to all creative professionals:
- Finding—and staying true to—your deepest sources of inspiration
- Carving out time to produce great work amid the demands and distractions of 21st century life
- Balancing creativity, money, and your professional ambitions
- Giving yourself a break from the relentless perfectionism of your Inner Critic
- Creating your own security in an uncertain world
- Believing in your vision when people around you just don’t get it
- Deciding whether to approach publishers, record companies or other middlemen, or to “go direct” to your audience
- Attracting an audience from scratch, or breaking into a tightly networked industry as an outsider
- Dealing with rejection, criticism, and plain unvarnished failure
- Dealing with fear and anxiety—about your work, about your audience, about the critics, about failure, and even about success
This book tackles these challenges head on and provides answers you won’t find in books of traditional career advice.
- Everything is powered by love
- Reach for the stars
- Something old, something new
- Your creativity is your security
- Forget the career ladder—start creating assets
- Personal development is professional development (and vice versa)
- Your struggle is a clue to your superpower
- There are four types of work (and one matters more than the others)
- Desire beats discipline
- Your motivations are always mixed
- Play the game you want to play
- Pick two out of money, fame and artistic reputation
- Find your medium, choose your media
- Stay small, go global
- Learn from the best in the world
- Don’t let the crappy part put you off
- Be thankful for your Inner Critic
- Hustling is part of your job
- Stop trying to earn money—start creating value
- You can have all the excuses you want
- Courage may be the missing ingredient
I have deliberately kept this book short, so that you can burn through it in one sitting for a burst of inspiration. Or keep it handy on your phone and consult it in the quiet moments of your day, or on those days when you need to dig deep for motivation.
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Game-changing insights from one of the top coaches for creative professionals
Mark McGuinness is an award-winning poet who has been coaching creative professionals since 1996.
Based in the UK, Mark coaches clients all over the world, and consults for creative agencies and studios.
Mark is the host of The 21st Century Creative podcast, where he shares insights on the creative life and interviews leading creators in the arts and creative industries.
He is the author of Productivity for Creative People, Motivation for Creative People, and Resilience: Facing Down Rejection and Criticism on the Road to Success.
He also contributed to two international best sellers from 99U, Manage Your Day-to-Day and Maximize Your Potential.
Mark’s work has been featured in Creative Review, the Wall Street Journal, Vogue US, and on the Discovery Health Channel.
Mark McGuinness is a rare cat—part poet, part coach for creative professionals, part old-time, overeducated Brit who thinks deeply about stuff you and I have never heard of … a man who has lived the life and has watched and worked intimately with hundreds of others who’ve done the same.
Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of The War of Art
Of all the writers I know, I have learned the most about how to be a productive creative person from Mark. His tips are always realistic, accessible, and sticky. It’s not just talk, this is productivity advice that will change your life.
Jocelyn K. Glei, Host of Hurry Slowly and Founding Editor, 99U
Pick up your copy of 21 Insights for 21st Century Creatives:
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