Can Anyone Really Be Original These Days? Hi Everyone, We received this question from a subscriber recently. We thought it would be helpful if it was re-published here along with our answer since some of you may have had the same question. -------- "Hi TC4W Team, I am regular reader of your newsletter and a member of your wonderful Site. It's really educative and an eye opener. I am also trying to learn how to swim in the ocean of Internet Marketing. I agree that being different is the requisite and creativity is the absolute requirement. But please, can everyone really be different and creative? Well! The answer may be "NO". So how to be creative and different? I am taking the liberty of asking you this question because I have experienced that you are the type of people who do what they say. There are very few of this kind in this world I suppose. That's great really, Kind regards, - J" -------- Our response: -------- Hi J, The way to be creative and different is by being 'yourself', really be yourself, talk like you would talk to a friend in your emails and let 'you' come through in everything you do. Most people are afraid to be 'themselves' because they might be rejected. you have to get over that.. not everyone will like you. Not everyone will be your friend either. That's life! But, there will be enough people who will like you and those are the ones that will stay with you over the years and be good customers, we are lucky in that respect. We also get emails once in a while saying we 'suck' or worse, but we also get emails from people who like what we say and what we do. Now, let me ask you: Should we ever be disappointed that some people don't like us? No. That's literally their problem, not ours. And, should we be feeding our ego every time someone says they like what we do and congratulate us on a great newsletter or info-product or whatever - again the answer is 'no'. The bottom line is: You have to do what you feel is the most benefit, the most help to your customers and subscribers and listen to honest feedback, but ignore everything else. That's the blunt truth. You have to be strong. You can't let a little praise go to your head and you can't let a little blame or dislike of what you're doing discourage you in anyway. You have to be yourself and whenever negative or positive forces try altering your path, you must ignore them and keep building value and usefulness into everything you're doing. Learn how to create VALUE. we are talking about tangible, functionable products and services that are REALLY USEFUL to your prospects and customers. You create "value" by being yourself and building a little piece of "YOU" into everything you do, and everything you create. How to "create value" is a lesson in itself, and will have to be saved for another day. For more informative articles visit The Corner 4 Women Official Forum http://thecorner4women.com/Forum That's all the news for now, John Elliott aka Oaky Wood & Luella May

Hi Luella and John, Thanks for the invite to your valuable forum. "Aim for success- not perfection! Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life." David M. Burns The above occupies a key position in my life and web site. I think it says it all. Many people get confused because they feel under attack in todays modern society from the media hype in every direction. We must continue to find ways of promoting our individuality together with an openness that makes us acceptable to others. Do this and you will feel a winner. My current program is a level playing field because that is what everyone needs to feel the game is about before making their judgement and starting out on the journey to success. To your continued success. Have a Great Day. Peter

Hi John and Luella May, Thank you for the invitation to you forum and a great topic for discussion and thought. I agree: We do need to be ourselves and be true to oneself and not clones of someone else - we live in our skin and see our face in the mirror each day. However, I hope I can explain enough to point out a couple of ideas to ponder about. When negative comes against me from another, I am inclined to think about it, rather than just brush it off as unimportant, and say it is their problem.. The reason I say this is, they maybe right and I have to take action to change myself and learn from this lesson. I may have to go back to that person to apologise or make the negative into positive because, I did or said or allowed something to influence me that I acted that way. I have to be flexible enough and willing to allow change in me. What I thought yesterday I may have to change my mind today because I have learned something new to act and grow on. When I have thought through and believe that I did not do anything that I need to apologise for, then I let it go and think it is that person's problem. I hope I did not divert from the discussion, and maybe I read more into what you were saying, yet this does give you another angle that I may not be the only one reading this way. Kind regards Amanda Martin-Shaver

My response to this question is yes, a most wonderful yes. It isn't about doing what others think you should do or who you should be, it's about being yourself. Not what you wear or buy. Being comfortable in saying HERE I AM WORLD, what you see is who I am. Being bold in who you are, but letting others be themselves. Don't be a carbon copy of anyone, be an original you. Remember "I am wonderfully and fearfully made", each and everyone of us can honestly say that.

Speaking as someone who has to be "creative" for a living, I'd say it is quite possible to be creative and original. But there are two strains of thought going on here: 1. Can an individual truly be creative? and 2. Can an individual truly be unique? To answer the first one, you can be truly creative and original, but no person exists in a vacuum. Everything original is a derivation of an idea that came before it, and is filtered through the unique experiences of each person. To answer the second, each individual is the result of their experiences and environment, and so is, in my opinion, only a unique recombination of existing elements. People fear the strange and unusual. That's psychology, and there's really no way around it...and to be too "different," even in trying to "be yourself," is to engender mistrust -- suicide for business people. You can completely be yourself, but you must be prepared to accept what the rest of the community will think of you. Nothing is more arrogant (or annoying) than an iconoclast who resents society for not accepting them when they strive with every fiber of their being to reject the normal modes of that society. Truly effective personalities -- "great" people from history, for example -- are those that work so well within the framework of their society that they stand out as exceptions, yet are skilled at adopting and adapting new ideas in a way that can effect real change. Thus, being oneself doesn't mean throwing off the shackles of "normal" society. It means understanding one's place in that society, and appreciating one's own unique development as a product of that society. Who you are + Where you are = What you are