Whenever I turn on the radio, if it ain’t bad news, it’s news about some syndrome we all have.
Mine is the same as many folks in the creative industry – A.D.D.
It’s not just creative types who have it. After working with a friend on his business goals and talking about all of his balls in the air, it became immediately clear that it’s not A.D.D. alone that drives many of us. What drives us is survival. So we find ways to be relevant in about 20 different things as our multiple back up plans to success.
Some of my balls are for stress relief or enjoyment. I would one day hope to consolidate my life even though it currently feels too compartmentalized.
For my friend, Mark, we talked about starting with immediate needs – making $$$. Once we get that out of the way, we can better focus on how to get the other stuff to do what he wants to do. Here’s a survival kit just for you, Mark – and for many of us who need a drink.
1. Laser focus on the task at hand, collecting on past due invoices. Get paid for what you’ve done. This seems like a high priority.
2. Network – always start with who you know. Use tools like conferences in your industry to look at sponsors or, if you can, attendees whom you don’t know and find out how many degrees of separation you are (via LinkedIn).
3. Send a note to past clients to get testimonials and referrals.
4. Grab ice, put it in a glass, put a shot of gin and top off with tonic. Add a twist of lime and sip slowly whilst creating a call list. Make warm-ish calls (not cold calls) to target contacts, companies and institutions you feel can help you with that new shiny gig.
Good luck!
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