Monday Sparks

You may have noticed the same trend that I have been watching.

In fact, I have written about this before, a few months ago.

What I’m noticing is that the marketing of freelancers and solopreneurs is becoming more and more about looks, sound bites and high production values.

It used to be that we just took a headshot with our web cams and used those on our sites and as avatars. And when we made videos, we would just set up a camera in our office or dining room (which I still do).

But more and more, I’m seeing high-priced professional photos being used as avatars. I read a post on Google+ the other day about someone flying down to Los Angeles to test a studio setup for his upcoming series of videos. I’m also seeing a lot of work being done on grooming, lighting and makeup, to make good-looking entrepreneurs, male and female, look their best.

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At some point you might have said something like, “Oh man, I’d be happy if I could just pull in an extra $1,000 this month.”

Would that really make you happy? Yes and no. Yes, you would be happy to have achieved your goal. But that state of happiness would pass quickly. By the next day, or week, you’d be worrying about your income for the month ahead.

In other words, the successes you felt when you made the extra $1,000 might have brought you transitory happiness, but didn’t transform you into a happier person.

This is just as true with bigger successes. You might be deliriously happy about bringing in a huge new client. But a week later that state of happiness will likely be replaced with worries about getting all that work done, and how you are going to fit it into your schedule.

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The video below is an edited version of a longer talk on creativity, given by John Cleese in Belgium. (Remember John Cleese from Monty Python and Faulty Towers?)

Pretty much everything he talks about applies to freelancers like us. Yes, what we do is creative!

I absolutely agree with him about “sleeping on” a problem. I have had the same experience many times. I’m struggling with something in the evening, sleep on it, and then find the answer to the problem is easy to see when I get up the next morning.

But most of all, I like what he said about carving out some space and time…a place where you can be creative. It’s hard or even impossible to be creative when you are being interrupted or distracted.

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