Ignore Everybody and 39 other keys to creativity
by Julian Gratton
Sometimes the best ideas are done down the pub scribbled on the back of a fag packet. Or at least that’s what I was told when I started in this business. Who would have thought that someone would take that idea and turn it into a lucrative business… well that’s just what Hugh MacLeod did back in 1997.
When he first arrived in Manhattan to undertake a 2 week freelance Copywriting gig he had no friends and spending an evening back at the YMCA where he was staying did not appeal. So he basically sat in bars doodling on the backs of business cards just to give himself something to do.
Fast forward to now and Hugh Macleod is the creator of Gapingvoid, a website where he shares his scribbles on the backs of business cards. But these aren’t just any ordinary scribbles… they are “cynical, smart, optimistic and muse provoking” to quote one reviewer.
A great introduction to Hugh MacLeod and his Gapingvoid works comes in the fabulous book ‘Ignore Everybody and 39 other keys to creativity‘. Here Hugh imparts lessons he has learned throughout his life that have allowed him to be incredibly creative, lessons like:
Ignore Everybody.
“The more original your idea is, the less good advice other people will be able to give you. When I first started with the cartoon-on-the-back-of-bizcard format, people thought I was nuts. Why wasn’t I trying to do something that was easier for markets to digest, like cutie-pie greeting cards or whatever?
You don’t know if your idea is any good the moment it is created. Neither does anyone else. The most you can hope for is a strong gut feeling that it is. And trusting your feelings is not as easy as the optimists say it is”.
For those lucky people at Red C
‘Ignore Everybody and 39 other keys to creativity’ will this week be gracing our reception area… for anyone else I recommend this book a great deal… and if you don’t want to splash out on the book, why not sign-up to Hugh MacLeod’s daily newsletter and have a business card in your inbox everyday… I guarantee it will enhance your day just that little bit more.
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