creative maverick

I went to a networking event last week with a friend. There were lots of people there from big companies that I thought would be good to talk to. The problem was I ended up having conversations I wasn’t interested in. My friend looked bored and I realised I was too. I was choosing people I thought I should talk to, not the ones I really wanted to - a habit ingrained from my many years of consultancy work in big corporations.

So, thinking back to the first Creative Maverick habit, I realised how differently I would behave if I wasn’t thinking about growing my business. I would just talk to whoever looked interesting, and I would talk to people I already knew and I liked.

I started to do this that night and met a couple of great people and had fascinating conversations - ones that spurred new ideas and possible new connections for my business; connections I would love to make.

Imagine what would happen if I always worked on this basis. My business would continue to grow with less strain and a lot more fun.

And yet there’s that habit ingrained from so many years of ignoring what I really want - the part of me that says “I should speak to that guy from Microsoft - he could bring me loads of work”.

So I thought of a quick test, a kind of mantra to keep me on track:

If I were a millionaire, would I do this thing I am considering doing right now?

If I was sorted for money and didn’t have to work, would I do what I am about to do? Would I talk to that person? Or would I talk to someone else who looks interesting but might not appear to be an important connection?

Moment by moment, this simple, rather materialistic-sounding question will guide me towards my heart. Of course, there are sometimes things we need to do in our work that we are not in the mood for but if the answer to the question keeps coming up no, a rethink is clearly needed.

Theoretically you could just ask the question “Do I really feel like doing this?” but it’s amazing how many of my clients cannot answer questions like that effectively. (Read more about what causes this)

If you want to try this habit, carry around a reminder of it. You may need to change the wording to work for you. “Millionaire” can mean many things but to my mind implies a level of established wealth that while you may not be able to retire for good, you would have a great quality of living without working for several years. This is a good position to make choices about your work from - the heat is off but you may still need to work further down the line.

Note, I avoid the word rich, because really I am already rich. Anyone on even a passable First World income is. If you don’t feel rich right now, let this convince you.

Leave a comment and let me know how you get on.