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Wishful Thinking

inspiring creative professionals

Sign up for My FREE Course in How to Succeed as a Creative ProfessionalAugust 24

If you’d like to inject some inspiration and momentum into your creative career, feel free to enrol on my new course: The Creative Pathfinder.

It’s a 25-week programme designed to equip you with the creative and professional skills you need to succeed in your chosen career path – whether you’re an employee, freelancer or creative entrepreneur.

Things you’ll learn include:

• why following your heart makes sound business sense
• the four most powerful types of creative thinking
• how to handle a creative block – when you’re supposed to be the creative pro
• why opportunities just land in some people’s lap (and how you can be one of them)
• the most effective ways to make a living from your creativity
• why having a resume could handicap your career
• how to turn your website into a magnet for new business and career opportunities
• the weird and profitable properties of intellectual property
• how to sell without selling out
• what to do with all the money you earn
• why other people seem so weird – and what to do about it
• how to succeed in the face of overwhelming odds

Every week, you’ll receive a new

The Future of Wishful ThinkingAugust 11

Photo by PhillipC

If you’ve seen the latest news from Lateral Action, then you’ll know I’ve just taken over the running of that site from my partners Brian Clark, Tony D. Clark and Sonia Simone. It’s been great working with them over the last two years, and I’m now excited at the prospect of running Lateral Action as a one-man show.

It does however leave me with a very nice problem. I now have two popular websites for creative people, so I’ve been thinking about how to make the best use of both of them, so that they don’t overlap too much and get in each other’s way.

So here’s what I’ve decided. Both sites will continue to focus on creativity and creative business, but with a slightly different emphasis.

Wishful Thinking

This site has a predominantly UK audience, so anything to do with the UK creative industries will appear over here. This will also be the place I write about issues relevant to medium- to large-sized creative businesses. And this will be my ‘home base’ for my consulting services for agencies and larger businesses, and my public seminars in the UK.

So here’s the topic menu for the Wishful Thinking blog go

Artists and Internet Marketing: a Conversation with Mark McGuinness and John T. UngerAugust 4

Drawing by Hugh MacLeod

My recent article Why Artists and Creatives Have an Unfair Advantage at Internet Marketing turned out to be one of the most popular things I’ve ever written at Wishful Thinking. So if it touched a chord with you then you might like to download the hour-long podcast interview I recorded with John T. Unger, in which I expanded on the opportunities and pitfalls of internet marketing for creative people.

I’ve never met John in person, but due to the wonders of modern communications I’m pleased to count him among my friends. Read my interview with John T. Unger over at Lateral Action to learn about the amazing business he’s built himself as an artist, sculptor and ‘impossibility mediation specialist’ leveraging the power of the Internet. His podcast blog Art Heroes Radio is essential listening for 21st century artis

Why Artists and Creatives Have an Unfair Advantage at Internet MarketingJune 7

Drawing by Hugh MacLeod

If you’re an artist or creative person of any kind then ‘creating’ is a lot higher on your list of priorities than ’selling’.

One of the great joys of pursuing your creative passion is the sheer pleasure of writing, painting, making music, acting, taking pictures or whatever you do — without any ulterior motive, and without needing to show any kind of ‘return on investment’. You do it because you love to do it. Amen to that.

On the other hand, even if you don’t want to be a millionaire, I bet you wouldn’t mind a little fame. Not vulgar Hello! Magazine celebrity, but maybe the respect of your fellow artists, and some critical recognition. A few adoring fans probably wouldn’t hurt either.

You don’t have to be rich as well as famous, but all of us have bills to pay, so I’m guessing you wouldn’t mind earning a decent living from your creative work. Getting paid to do what you love has to be one of the greatest gigs on earth.

We are now living at a time of unprecedented opportunity for artists and creative professi

The War of Art – Conversations with Steven PressfieldJune 4

If you only read one book about creativity, I tell my clients, make it The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

It contains the distilled wisdom of a bestselling novelist and Hollywood screenwriter, who has both the scars and trophies of a life spent wrestling with creative challenges.

This book has been an inspiration to me for years, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak to Steven and record an interview with him for Lateral Action. In the course of an hour, we covered a range of topics relating to creativity, work, entrepreneurship and life in general, including:

• Why is it so hard to pursue our dreams, and get started on the creative challenges that mean so much to us?
• How can we overcome our inner Resistance to doing the things that matter?
• What rewards can we expect from persevering in the face of difficulties?
• What are the creative opportunities — and pitfalls — of social media and digital publishing?

As you’d expect from an accomplished novelist, Steve is a great raconteur; I was spellbound in his compa