creative maverick

Why don’t people change? Why do we struggle on with the same old problems, wanting to be happier, more successful, to have better relationships, but not getting very far?
To explain why I think this is, I need to talk about Bono, lead singer of U2.
A lot of people find Bono annoying, particularly in Britain where [...]

For a lot of us, particularly creative people, conventional goal setting and planning techniques just don’t work.
So how do we engineer a great year for ourselves without all that SMART goal crap? One doing the whole variety of stuff we enjoy while making a good living at the same time?
I gave a talk at January Scanners Night on [...]

Being a careers coach I inevitably meet a lot of people unhappy in their job who want to do something else. But I also occasionally meet people (at social events) who love their job. And it’s funny how shy they are about it.
I ask what they do and they sheepishly reply “Oh very boring, I’m [...]

I started this blog exactly one year ago and billed it as a one year experiment in creative living - an experiment to do what I love doing most, worry a little less about where it might lead, and see if I can end up getting “paid to play”.
Did it work?
Well in April of this [...]

I hope you have a good break coming up over the next few days. If you’re currently assessing what to do with your work next year, here’s a little something to ponder while you’re off…
Try this trick of asking yourself a question and then forgetting about it while you’re off work. Your subconscious will continue [...]

Here’s something Barbara Sher put on her blog a while ago which explains the dilemma of the creative person who hates to do any one thing for very long. If you’re a Scanner, or a Creator (in Wealth Dynamics terms) you’ll understand this very well.
She talks about scientist Clifford Stoll’s TED Talk:
He’s had some exciting [...]

Ever thought about writing a self-help book yourself? If so, you’ll be interested in Suzy Greaves’ interview with me on my experience of writing my book (which I am due to finish for Pearson Education next week). Suzy is one of the UK’s best life coaches and the author or two of her own excellent [...]

Would you like to know where to focus your work so that you can get paid for doing what you love? The key is to find your “moment of magic”.
Think back to a recent time in your work that stands out as a great moment; one when you did something you know you are great [...]

Tom Hodgkinson is editor of bi-annual magazine The Idler and author of several excellent books including How To Be Idle, How To Be Free, and The Idle Parent.
He very kindly agreed to be interviewed for my upcoming book about how to get paid to play.
We did the interview as a video call over Skype and [...]

Leslie Scott created one the world’s favourite games, Jenga. Recently, she kindly agreed to be interviewed for my forthcoming book “Screw Work, Let’s Play”.
Here, she explains how she turned her baby brother’s playing bricks into the world’s second biggest selling game (topped only by Monopoly). She also explains how she kept going through debt and [...]