Stop following all the trends and expert advice, and do it your way, dammit. | Articles for Creative Rebels

Sorry for swearing, but I just believe in this so much!

Look, it's not about me. It's about you and how awesome you are. You have amazing ideas and you can make amazing things happen. If you'd just stop listening to "experts" and comparing yourself to everybody else. I mean, sure, they give good tips and everybody else is amazing, but come on! Nobody else is YOU, therefore their tips and styles don't matter.

What matters is that you're a creative rebel and you're allowed to be one.

Let me show you a few examples of people who do their own thing.

Exhibit A: Gary Vaynerchuk

Do you think anyone ever told Gary: look, man, you gotta start your own show and do those "inspirational rants" of yours? No! They probably told him to build his mailing list and start a podcast. In the meantime, he was learning and doing his wine show because he knew that's what he was meant to be doing. Because he knew himself.

And he'll tell you: You have your own strengths and you gotta use them!

He'll also tell you that it takes time for things to pay off. You'll have to do a lot of work before "your thing" pays off, so you'll have to be very stubborn and hard-working. If you're not ready or willing to do that, you'll never "strike out" and be "successful".

This is his latest inspirational rant and I agree with him 100% - nobody's an overnight success. It takes lots of work and lots of talent and lots of serendipity.

If you haven't watched his latest videos, do it. They're getting better and better, and what's more important - more rebellious by the day. Kudos, Gary!

P.S. Another two phenomenal videos: self awareness and Monday Motivation.

Exhibit B: Farideh Ceaser

The first I heard of Farideh was via her course on facebook ads. Practically everyone I followed and liked praised it, which must mean one of two things: a) it's really good, or b) they are all hypocrites/affiliates and make money off it. Doubt it's the second one.

Anyway, that first impression was... meh. But when I went to her site - POW.

You see, Farideh is also a musician, who sings songs like this one:

(If you ever wanted to fire a client, this song is for you.)

Isn't it fantastic and so funny? And do you think any expert in their right mind would ever advise her to do it? Or that any of her successful friends did it? Nope. It was a gamble - like everything in business. You find your way by experimenting.

And even though there aren't many shares, I think it paid off because it gives her brand character, and IMAGE is more important than traffic. When every website is the same and all the "experts" say the same, it helps to STAND OUT. I mean, she even raps!

And if you're one of them multipassionate peeps, like myself and Farideh, check out my recent post about creative convergence. The struggle is real.

Exhibit C: Allison from Wonderlass

Confession time: I only found Allison's website yesterday, but I felt compelled to include her because everything she does and writes is so unique, and so lovely.

You see, she really likes her cat. I mean, really. Mr. Purrie is everywhere. But she didn't think "oh man, everyone's going to see me as a crazy cat lady" or "nobody else loves their cat THAT much". She thought: I love my purry pillow and I'm going to tell the world!

The best part: She has an amazing sense of style, so the photos she took of Mr. Purrie in this article (14 Very Important Business Lessons I Learned from My Cat) are gorgeous (see below). And they illustrate her points beautifully. I'm a fan of hers now.

Most of all, I wanted to include her here because: She inspires a sense of play.

In a world/industry where everyone is talking about exposure and traffic and business plans, this girl shows us business and blogging can be FUN. Which is exactly what I've been trying to convey, even though maybe her web design is way funner than mine.

Take some time to PLAY his week. It doesn't all have to be "work".