STOP WORKING NOW!

DAWN OF THE CREATIVE AGE

There once was an age of hunting and gathering, a time when people did massive amounts of work just to eat and survive, and then there was the agricultural age, a time when people toiled in soil for survival, and then there was a revolution in human thought and they called it the industrial revolution, a time when men and women alike worked in factories, 10, 12, even 14 hours a day for decades in hopes to provide for their families and hopefully be rewarded by a company pension ...ultimately retiring to for a brief time before death.

There are great numbers of the human population that remain in these times, from the tribes of Belize to the modern-day farmer, these populations are alive and well, however, in this article we will explore how the current revolution is a creative one. Unlike many believe, we are not in an informational age; information is everywhere and available at our finger tips 24-hrs. a day thanks to Google. We are now experiencing a true creative revolution and to thrive in this new age, you need to transcend all of the old mind sets and learn to STOP WORKING!

But being an entrepreneur is hard work!?!

Don't get me wrong, I know it is hard work becoming an entrepreneur, launching a business maintaining, what, I mean growing a business, especially when the world economy is not at its' best. What I am saying is that if you are an entrepreneur that is making stuff with your hands or doing any kind of work that makes your muscles sore after a long day, then you now have an opportunity to transform what you do with your hands into an idea, an idea that can be taught to others, an idea that has the potential to help you free yourself from needing to do the actual work!

If the work is pleasurable, perhaps you absolutely love cleaning carpets, working on cars, whatever, then keep doing it while you can. And on the side, start to teach others how to do it. Become a teacher of your craft and you will have elevated yourself to the next level of entrepreneurial success.

My friend Matthew, one my true brothers really, builds gymnastics beams and sells them on eBay. The product itself has fairly good margin and he's honed his craft to a science, so he's pretty darn efficient at it. Now, since the design is pretty much the same each time, besides maybe a different colored carpet surface or longer length of beam, this type of work is not creative work. However, the day he decides to type up a digitally downloadable eBook, perhaps called, "How to Make Money In Your Garage by Helping Kids Fulfill Their Dreams," he will have placed himself ahead of the pack and become part of the creative revolution. The next step could be to create an online video training membership site that shows people what to do step by step, sample modules could be:

1. Setting up your workspace

2. Equipment safety

3. Buying materials on the cheap

4. Following blueprints

5. Creating a quick website

6. Posting to eBay

7. Finding buyers

8. Becoming an expert

9. Asking for referrals

10. Boosting sales with repeat buyers

So, now, Matthew could continue to build and sell these gymnastics beams in his garage until his heart is content, however, on the side, he could put some effort into selling his how-to series.

Some may think that Matthew would be training his competition, however, visit the section in the Pro Factors Network on Abundance and you'll quickly understand that it is in your best interest to train other people, and that these people will never put you out of business.

A quick note on the difference between creative work and work. My friend Kevin is a professional photographer and he's darn good at it. As a matter of fact he has won numerous awards and has been featured in numerous magazines, however, his work is great because he puts his creative energy into it. Anyone can pick up a camera and take a photo, but only Kevin can produce the images that he shoots. And despite the fact that his photography by itself puts him solidly in the creative revolution, he makes a majority of his yearly income not from his photography, but... that's right, teaching others how to be great photographers. And Kevin does not spend one minute of the day worrying about his competition, he is his own creative genius.

Now Kevin has become enormously famous for his image software that helps photographers use Adobe Photoshop to make their images even more like Kevin's. And does he now worry about creating competition for himself? No way, he makes a fantastic living off the sales of this software and experiences a huge sense of giving back to the photographic community by helping his fellow photographer. Way to go Kevin!

So, here's the challenge. No matter what type of work you are in, start thinking about how you can transform it into an idea that can be reproduced by others. Become a teacher of your craft and join the creative revolution.

Act, Move and Play like a Pro!
Michael Joseph