I think everyone was born with potential to do great things.

To become a genius.

But unfortunately only a few select people retain their genius and fulfill their potential. They never loose sight of their inherent and otherworldly wisdom. In spite of everything, they remain legit.

More often, people forget their brilliance. They become discouraged and are talked out of their genius. They second guess their natural intuition and eventually give up.

Have you given up?

You used to be a genius.

What happened?

Life happend. Slowly. The opinions, egos and conflicting desires of others eventually cause you to, one compromise at a time, lose track of your vision. You cave to the pressures and expectations of the world. You become *gasp* just like everyone else.

This is an easy way to live because you simply follow the current. You float happily along and hold no responsible for where you wash up.

Honestly, this is understandable. Living with genius in a world without it is difficult because it requires you to take a stand. It requires that you live with responsibility for your actions and influence. It requires you to stand out and become a target for haters who are subconsciously uncomfortable with your independence.

Whatevs. Accept the challenge. Let the haters hate.

All babies are geniuses. They don’t give a fuck about your negative theories or accumulated self-doubt.

Are you really going to forget your genius and be outdone by a baby?

Well are you?

If you run your own business (or even have a stable career) chances are you’ve had a few defining moments of success that put you in your current position. Maybe you had one great business idea that got you promoted. Maybe you knocked a project out of the park and it ended up winning you a ton of new business.

Those were undoubtedly awesome moments. But it’s after those success stories that the real challenge begins. It’s easy to do well at first, when there are little or no expectations. But what are you doing now to maintain your edge and continue your momentum?

I feel like so many people get a small taste of success (or happiness or money or love) and settle into that niche as if they’ve seen it all. They settle. I never want success to make me less hungry or less hopeful. There is always more to learn and more dimension to add to your life, relationships, business and career.

Everyday you have a choice to settle for what you have or challenge yourself to grow and expand your limits.

Suckers settle. Winners grow.

Are you truly satisfied with your role in your company?
Is your business living up to your original vision?
Do you surround yourself with people who challenge you to be better?
Are you legit? If not, why?

“Stupid clients.

FML.”

Dear creatives: I understand.

You’re awesome. You don’t want to be told what to do. You want people to understand and appreciate your work and the value you provide. You want recognition. You (secretly) want praise. You want everyone to realize that you’re a genius. You may not admit it, but you really want a hug.

The business world is not always an easy fit for creatives.

We probably had dreams of being great novelists or playwrights. We wanted to paint or act, or have photo exhibitions in art galleries where we planned to sip (pound) red wine alongside badass bohemians with interesting facial hair. But now we now face an office job where, while we’re still doing interesting and creative work, we face the constraints and politics of a business environment. Sure, we get to wear jeans, take long lunches and drink company beer at five (four) o’clock. But the part of us that wanted total personal and artistic freedom, that rebellious voice that wants to shape the world in some meaningful way, never really goes away.

So we get an attitude.

That chip on our shoulder becomes a whole platter of nachos.

I admit it. I have a big head sometimes. I can be incredibly selfish.

I set myself apart from my environment, my co-workers and clients. Even my friends. I act as if my “vision” gives me entitlement. Everyone else is lame, I think, and get lost in my own fenced-off world where I am king. When my creatives decrees are challenged, I take offense, and often retreat.

What can I say? Creatives are a sensitive bunch.

We value beauty and see the world in idealistic terms. We want our lives, interactions, relationships and careers to be pure. Honest. Free from the abrasive influence of douchebags.

We want things our way.

But then I remember. It’s not about me. And it’s not about you.

It’s all too easy to sink into the false comfort of being a misunderstood creative in an ignorant world.

But you’re selling yourself short.

Embrace the challenge of using your talents to impact the world on a larger scale. This can’t happen when you’re stuck in a shell. Creatives need to think outside the business positions we have been assigned and face head-on the global issues we all share.

Think bigger.

Don’t think of yourself as living only within the context of your small creative niche. It’s not you against them. It’s us, period. We live in one world and the importance of everyone around you cannot be understated. The same problems your CEO faces effect you too. All the crap giving your account manager headaches is happening in the same world where great art is created.

The noncreative world is vicious and full of assholes. But don’t forget, the asshole is a natural part of the human body. And while creatives are lucky to have a better metaphorical position (the mind, heart, imagination, etc.) the body is most healthy when all its parts work in unison.

You’re awesome, I know.

But don’t hoard your awesomeness. Be awesome to everyone. Be awesome even when it’s difficult. When necessary, fake it.

Trust me. The results will be awesome.

We all have our moments of success. We score the big goal. Win the business. Get the raise. Everything comes together at once and we’re left standing in the endzone, victorious.

Game over. You win!

When you work hard at reaching a goal, and finally do, there’s nothing better. Every decision in your life seems validated. But it’s how you react to your moment of glory that reveals a lot about your confidence level and character.

Are you the flashy player, who celebrates with a touchdown dance and cocky gestures toward the crowd?

I appreciate this excitement, and this level of enthusiasm can be contagious. But to me, when I see football players a little too excited to score a touchdown, it tells me they didn’t expect it to happen, that they are surprised by their success, that they have never been there before.

Or are you the guy who makes the 3-point shot (I know I’m mixing sports metaphors. Sorry.) then quickly gets back downcourt to help on defense?

I’ve always been more impressed by this approach. It shows a sense of big picture awareness that understands that one play isn’t everything. You’ve got to finish the game. This guy has the confidence that he’s made big plays in the past and will continue to make big plays in the future, and is therefore not phased by one moment of passing glory.

Keep your head up.

Be proud.

Then move on to the next play.

Act like you’ve been there before.

It’s that time of year, kids.

SCHOOL’S OUT!

High school and college grads everywhere are taking deep breathes of freedom as they walk away from a major life milestone. It’s time for a summer of friends, parties, goodbyes and hellos.

Enjoy the victory lap, kids. You deserve it.

Just be ready.

Be ready for those deep breathes of freedom to turn into quick gasps of panic.

OMG! Now what??

The decisions you make now will have a major on the next few years of your life. Which means this is not the time to play by the rules. Now is time to make the decision whether you’re going to follow your dreams and become the person you want to be, or go with the flow and end up like everyone else.

Stakes is high. And your future happiness is on the line.

I have a hard time doing anything that I’m not in love with.

Before I knew what I was in love with, this was a problem.

My first college major was Political Science. I hated it, skipped most of my classes, and after a grand total of one semester, dropped out. I had to. If I’d kept going down the path I set for myself, I would have ended up hating myself and my eventual career.

My first phase of college came to its climax one day when I was suddenly presented with an essay test for which I was totally unprepared. I had been skipping class like woah, and had no idea there was a major test that day. The test was on Shakespeare. I didn’t know a single answer.

Instead of trying to fake my way through it, I came clean. I used the opportunity to address the larger life questions in front of me. I made a choice right then and there to only be true to my dreams. I answered the essay with two sentences. “Shakespeare never went to college. Sorry for wasting your time.”

I walked out of class and that was it.

I was a drop out.

I didn’t have a plan. I bummed around. I did a lot of writing and painting. I kept a journal. I let my hair grow out (a luxury I can no longer afford). I moved to New York. I never thought about college or considered going back. I didn’t know what I was going to do but I knew what I wasn’t going to do. I wasn’t going to do anything that I didn’t believe in 100%.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was finding my career spirit animal.

This is the long (and sometimes painful) process of pulling yourself out of the game, evaluating your values, ideals and dreams, and analyzing their relationship to the expectations set up by yourself and those around you. No, it doesn’t involve smoking peyote and voyaging into the forest on a spiritual job search. But it does involve a healthy balance of passive reflection and smart decision-making.

In this journey you don’t wait for a mystical vision to come to you. You dedicate yourself to making your own vision come true.

During the process of finding my career spirit animal, I took no prisoners. If something wasn’t working, I changed it. If something didn’t give me legit satisfaction, I ditched it. It may take years to design a life you’re happy with. But I’d rather have a few years of purposeful struggle than a lifetime of compromise.

Are you living it?

I think it’s important to not deny the primal voice inside your head (let’s call it intuition). In fact I think this is the voice we should listen to first. Sure, you can be successful while denying your career spirit animal. But you can’t be happy.

Are your innermost animalistic instincts and urges satisfied with the path you’re on? Or are you covering up the need for something else?

The best part of finding your career spirit animal? The pressure’s off. You just do whatever comes naturally to you and build your life and career off your intrinsic strengths. That’s way easier than trying to fill someone else’s job description.

So enjoy the summer.

Drink too much.

Smoke a cigar.

Skinny dip.

Do what feels right and keep doing what feels right. And when you find something that really feels right, grab ahold of it and work like hell to build upon it and make it work within the community at large. When that happens, you’ll never work another day in your life.

It’s wild out there, kids.

You have no choice but to let your animal out.

I work hard. Everyday.

Who doesn’t?

The demands we kids face as we grow professionally are huge. And it seems like the better we do, the harder it gets. Life is constantly presenting new challenges. It’s a balancing act just to keep our shit together, let alone thrive and sieze everything we want from our career.

As soon as I overcome each daunting professional obstacle, a new and unexpected challenge is waiting, more bloodthirsty than the last.

(Shrug) No bigs. I say bring it on.

The alternative is a life of retreat and atrophy.

This is why I work hard. Everyday.

But sometimes I lose focus.

I work too hard.

I stress.

I start to feel behind.

I feel I’m lacking something.

I feel I need to do more.

This feeling sucks.

So I stop.

I take it all in.

I remember how connected we are.

I remember the glory of it all.

I remember that I’m sitting on a properly ergonomic chair, hand-selected by the owner for this cafe. I remember that a team of hard-working men build this cafe brick by brick in zone mapped out to compliment this Minneapolis street.

And this street is more than cement and tar and traffic-jams. It is part of a well-designed city network, both functional and beautiful, that supports the living and working habits of hundreds of thousands of people daily.

And these people go to work each day with the intention of supporting themselves, but also indirectly support everyone else by providing products, services and ideas that we all share. Each job is a thread in the complex web of productivity that gives life to our community.

I’m busy ya’ll.

Who isn’t?

But I will remain chill.

I won’t let stress drive me insane.

I like beauty. And details are ugly.

Trust me, the big picture looks way sexier.

Life is a bitch.

So they say. They are partially right.

Life can be a bitch.

But if the women in my life have taught me anything, it’s that so-called “bitchy” behavior usually results from someone not understanding how they want to be treated. Treat a girl with honesty and respect, and, unless she’s actually insane (I know a few), she’ll be sugar and spice, and all that good stuff.

Life is the same.

She’s only a bitch if you don’t know how to treat her.

Ask for a fight and you’ll get one.

Give up the struggle and things get easier.

The problem with engaging in struggle is that it doesn’t end. It is a mentality that feeds itself; it always looks to engage in new setbacks.

I’d rather float.

Don’t get me wrong; hard work is mandatory. But struggle isn’t.

• Set clear goals about where you want to be
• Live like you’re already there

Stop listening to everyone around you. People always try to make their issues become your issues. You don’t have time for that.

Get in the elevator.

Select the floor you want to reach.

Let the mechanics of the good Earth do the rest.

As I sit inside Starbucks catching up on email while chilling out with a mid-afternoon caffeine buzz, I’m finding it hard to concentrate.

Downtown during business hours is a tense scene.

Everyone is in a hurry.

Businesspeople with self-important postures rush past me. Most likely they are in between meetings. Meetings that will produce nothing of value. Rather they will merely determine how the last meeting went, and decide when they should schedule the next meeting.

It’s a cycle of busy unproductivity, getting nothing accomplished at breakneck speed.

And I’m putting my foot down. Slowly.

These people don’t seem happy. Their smiles don’t seem sincere. And I am going to set into motion a strategic goal to live and work at a steady and thoughtful pace that is directed by my personal intent, not the office whirlwind around me.

I’m going to go against the logic of business and capitalism.

I’m going to slow down.

As I see it,

When you work too hard and too fast, you:
• Give yourself unneeded stress and anxiety
• Overlook the important subtleties of your actions
• Miss the emotional queues of those around you
• Rush into bad decisions

But when you work with clear head and steady pace, you:
• Take time to foresee the consequences of your actions
• Put care into details
• See the big picture
• Are at peace with yourself and those around you

The world around me can rush to their grave meeting. I’m going to stay right here and let my mind wander. It may not look like I’m being productive. But I’m putting my mind in the right place. And when I go back to the office I will have a clear head and renewed perspective, making my work stronger and more creative.

I’m the tortoise. All you slick suits are the hare.

See you at the finish line.

What I love most about iPhone and iPad apps is how they operate in the easiest and most intuitive way possible. In contrast to websites, which are usually overly complex and loaded with trivial information three or four navigation levels deep, apps offer clarity.

Businesses should behave more like apps.

These days, companies that want to thrive need to adapt to the principles of the new economy. The smart move is stripping down to the essentials. And apps provide a great template.

Apps are:

• Simple: Everything in an app is essential. You get what you need and nothing more. It’s a natural tendency to cram your business with “more”, but if that extra stuff isn’t directly helping your company, it’s probably harming it by making your message less clear. The intelligent restrictions of apps help you focus on what matters.

• Transparent: Too often, websites are weighed down by complex site maps and hidden information. Even with the best design and navigation, it’s a mess of excessive information. In contrast, everything in an app is upfront and honest; there are no secrets. Your clients and customers will trust you when they feel they can see and understand everything you do. This means more than casual Fridays. It means being naked all week.

• Intuitive: Apps don’t challenge you to figure them out; they are easy to understand. They adapt to the natural way the user processes information. Your business practices should be just as clear. Your actions should make sense (not just rigorous market-research sense, but common sense).

• Free: We expect a lot for free, and most apps cost little or nothing. How can your company give something away that will ultimately create more revenue? Maybe you can start a company blog and provide relevant content to your readers. Or start an employer garden and share the harvest with your customers. Or host an event and provide your guests with an evening of entertainment, drinks and networking opportunities. Giving something away establishes trust and will generate interest in the profitable side of your business.

If technology can be so made so easy and fun to use, think of the business potential of applying these principles to your day-to-day client and customer interactions. Suddenly it’s not so hard to connect with people.

It’s refreshing to realize that success doesn’t come from making your business complicated.

It comes from making it easy.

A little about me:

I live in Minneapolis. I drew a lot of dinosaurs as a kid. I also played a lot of basketball. When I was 13 years old I wrote an epic novel about the civil war. It was predictably terrible, and was never published.

In college I started designing stuff. And last summer, just for fun, I launched a small fashion line.

I am a creative professional.

I work for an awesome media and marketing agency. My firm is very cause-driven. Our primary focus is on the business markets of health, community building, organic food and sustainability.

My agency is loaded with forward-thinkers. We do more than typical marketing, web design and online branding. For us, delivering a high market share is not enough. We help clients who want to change the world.

We get it.

We understand that the world is changing.

We understand that if you want your career or business to survive in the changing economic landscape, you have to change along with it.

And you have to start now.

This blog is about helping you make that change.

If you want to make yourself indispensable (and who doesn’t) you need to keep up with the game. Want a great career? It takes more than a college degree and a good resume. Want to grow an awesome business? It takes more than an office and some clients.

It takes more, but it also takes less.

The keys to good business are invisible.

Start investing in the intangibles that impact who you are and not just the bottom line.

The jig is up. You can’t fake it anymore.

It’s time to start thinking big instead of just acting big.

May I suggest the following:

• Be authentic. Make sure you actions are aligned with your values. Bullshit might have worked at one point, but it’s getting easier to detect. Be legit. Come real or don’t come at all.

• Simplify. Nearly everything in life is too complex. The best way to sort through the maze is to jump over it with a simple solution. Simple beats complicated every time.

• Let go. Don’t hold onto mistakes or failures. Freedom to do whatever you want comes from choosing to let go of negativity. Never start today with yesterday’s baggage.

• See possibilities. Limitations are in your head. Question what other people expect from you. Be better than restrictions. Be smarter than rules. Solutions are wherever you look for them.

Stick around a little longer because what I’m about to say is very important. And no, it has nothing to do with Lady GaGa’s latest outfit.

But it has everything to do with positioning yourself ahead of the competition in a changing world.

What I’m suggesting is two simple steps. But they aren’t easy. And neither is recommended if you have a queasy stomach.

If you’re not brave, stop reading this and get back to work.

Step 1) Break away from the status quo.

The world is always changing. But today it’s changing faster. Social structures, long ingrained into the way we live and think, are crumbling all around us. If we don’t take initiative to jump ship from the status quo, we will become wreckage of the old world.

What is changing? Everything. But a few things in particular…

• The rules of business
• What we own
• What we eat
• What is socially acceptable
• How we connect
• How we commute
• Our sense of home and living space
• Our dependance on tradition

The changing of outdated rules makes our lives simpler, more efficient and more independent.

A 40 hour workweek is no longer necessary. Neither is an office. Or a boss. Blindly following protocol has become dangerous. The new economy needs everyone to take charge and become an innovator. The demand for creative thinking is at an all-time high.

The demand for your ideas is at an all-time high.

Breaking away from the status quo and becoming an independent thinker has never been easier. In fact, it’s become essential. With the world in fast transition, those who don’t break away and start living by their own terms will be left in the dust by everyone brave enough to move forward.

• It makes business sense to stop following the rules
• It makes career sense to not accept a traditional role in your company
• It makes brand sense to do “crazy” things that haven’t been done before
• It makes sense to stop making sense. It also makes cents. And dollars.

Breaking away from the status quo is not a risky decision.

It is the smart thing to do.

Step 2) Design your life.

So we’ve stopped following other people’s rules.

Great! Now what?

Now we start making our own.

Without traditional rules to guide our decisions, it is essential that we start living with full intent and purpose.

It’s time to actually design how we live.

Think of something you’re good at. What makes you good at it?

Whatever skills, talents, strengths and attitude that produce your finest moments can be adapted and put to use in designing the basic foundations and patterns of your lifestyle, career and business. You can strategically design your career, life or business to be exactly how you want it to be.

Make it a priority to evaluate your thoughts and actions, even the small ones, and determine if they are in support of your ideals. If your small actions are not consistent with your big goals, make adjustments. It’s okay to start small. The important thing is to pay attention and become critical of unproductive thoughts and actions. Everything you do should support your vision of ideal happiness.

Simple.

The way we are living is not sustainable. On a global level the lifestyles created by the way we think has led to a dwindling ecosystem, loads of debt, civil unrest, widespread unemployment and millions of abusive relationships.

These problems are connected, and have one common source.

We aren’t thinking clearly.

Huge global problems can’t be solved until we fix the individual mental problems we have gotten accustomed to living with.

As I see it, this is good news.

Think about it. Making small adjustments to your attitude and the way you think is way easier than figuring out how to fix the global economy or solve hunger issues.

But that’s all you need to do.

Better thinking leads to better living, which leads to better interactions, which leads to better growth, which leads to better governing. Every aspect of society is interconnected and it all begins with us as individuals and the principles we apply to our lives.

Stay connected. Stop by Facebook to say hello, or send me some love on Twitter. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed. Let’s stick together. Welcome to No Brand Like Home.