Finding a strong WHY as a creative – part 1

Finding a strong WHY is one of the most important things as a creative.

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To finding yourself a strong WHY sounds easy, but can be a very challenging task. Especially if you are a creative person who likes to do a lot of things, like me. I shoot portraits because I’m a person lover and I love the esthetical aspects of fashion photography. But, I also love to travel, especially to new cities. And I love skiing. Two worlds that are pretty far from each other.

I think this is a situation that most creatives are facing once in a while in their life. What shall I do with my talents and what is my heart longing for? To really sit down to think and map out what you want to do in your life as a creative and content creator from time to time is one of the best things you can do.

If you are Swedish I can really recommend you to read “Framgångsboken” by Alexander Pärleros. He talks about this topic and how important it is to have a strong WHY in your life among a healthy mind and soul. That book was on my list of summer reads and the inspiration for this blog post. He also has a very good and successful podcast called “Framgångspodden” where he interviews successful people.

The start of finding your WHY is success

The first question to finding your why is to answer the question: what is success for me? Because if you don’t have a clear definition of what success is for you as a creative your path ahead will be diffuse and blurry. As a wise person once said “if I don’t have a goal, how shall I know what road to follow?” We are 8 billion people on this planet and there are probably as many definitions of success as well. And, you can define success in both a professional and a personal way. Know that money is not a definition of success,it’s a result coming out of it, just as happiness is.

For me, as a professional content creator, success is to be able to create amazing photography that makes other happy or feel wow! To tell a great story and to help others to be better creatives. Success for me is to be proud and feel happy about the work I produce and the clients I have. I want to feel that the work I share makes a difference and is of importance, maybe not for everyone, but for me. As a resultof the above I make money that will allow me to travel and go skiing with my friends and in the same time I can feel happy about it.

Your definition of success doesn’t need to change the world. The important thing is that it’s of meaning for you! If this success then flows over on to someone else it’s just a big bonus.

Everyone said “you can’t do it”. But I refused to give up my dream

A sentence you probably have heard before. The successful creative, struggling and working against all odds, achieving his dream. But why do these people achieve success and sometimes fame? 

We have all been there. We have been crying, laughing, sweating and been terrified. But still we refuse to give up our dreams to be filmmakers, illustrators or fashion designers. Why? WHY, that’s why! When we have a strong vision of our goal and a strong WHY I’m doing this, we tend to have the stamina and strength to ride out the hard times we face. That is why we don’t give up.

This will wrap up the first part of this topic. For the next part we will talk more about how to find and define your WHY.

Love,
Johan

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