BUSINESS EDU Succeeding in Business is Easy if You Know How to Steal – by Cathryn Castle Garcia, Owner, ClearStoryCoach.com, The Azores Cathryn Castle Garcia is a writer, business strategist, & co-owner of C2G2Productions.com, a multimedia production company.
I’m a professional content creator and brand strategist. I make a living coming up with fresh, new innovative material for my clients. But the truth is, I’ve probably never had an original thought in my life. And neither have you.
fine art, like paintings or sculptures, or that ridiculous banana duct-taped to a wall “art” that sold for over 6 million bucks at a Sotheby’s art auction last November. I’m talking about creativity and the art of succeeding in the diving industry. I’m talking about getting noticed and getting people to want that thing you do enough that they willingly open their wallets and give you money for it. There’s an art to converting a customer into a buyer and closing a sale. So, you’re an artist. “Success Leaves Clues” If nothing’s new under the sun, how do you make your business stand apart from the crowd and get noticed? Author and motivational speaker Tony Robbins says, “Success leaves clues. Go figure out what someone who was successful did, and model it.” Perhaps Robbins sugarcoats it more than Pi- casso’s, “Art is theft.” But still. They’re saying the same thing. To be successful, you don’t need to be original. You just need to steal good ideas and put your personal spin on them. Stealing Lessons: Stealing is the best and simplest brand strategy there is. Let’s start with a review on branding and marketing. You are your brand. Your business is your brand. Marketing is everything you do to promote your brand. When it’s time to come up with branding and marketing plans, including advertising, social media campaigns, blog posts or podcast topics, you don’t have to spend hours
Why? Because originality is a myth. Everything we think and do as creatives is inspired by our lived experience in the form of where we grew up, the books we read, the places we’ve visited, the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the music we listen to and, so on. Everything that already exists works its way into our brains and informs our thoughts and creative expression. You and your business are nothing new. Before you let this bum you out, take a deep breath and rethink it. This is genius of Biblical proportion, as in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” All creative work builds on what came before it. So, you’re never starting from scratch. I didn’t understand the concept of creative thievery until I stumbled upon the work of artist and author Austin Kleon, whose book, Steal Like an Artist, destroyed the originality
myth for me. In his book, he offers 10 transformative principles to boost creativity. The book opens with Kleon quoting Pablo Picasso, who famously said, “Art is theft.” Kleon explains this truth well and encourages creative people to
blankly staring at the ceiling, wait- ing for inspiration to strike. In- stead, steal. Here’s how: Take the “Shiny Objects” Survey. You’ll need a blank journal and a pen. In this ex- ercise you’re looking at things
“steal” ideas – not to outright copy them and pass it off as their own, which would make a person more a**hole than artist – but to collect inspiration from various sources and innovate from there. “But I’m Not an Artist” You might be wondering why you’re reading an article on creativity in a business magazine. Maybe you’re muttering, “But I’m not an artist, I’m a business owner.” I disagree. Stay with me a sec while I explain. Even though I quoted Picasso earlier, I’m not talking about
you’ve bought. Start by surveying your home, your office, your closet, your storefront. What brands are you noticing? Write a list of various brands you’ve invested in. Your shoes, jeans, brand of coffee or energy drink, your laptop, car, etc. Next, for each brand, answer the following questions: What attracted you to that brand? How does the product make you feel? What does it make you think? Why did you select that brand over another? What catch-phrase or slogan does the brand use? What color scheme is prominent in their adver- tising?
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