Plants gone potty!: FTI #193: Creativity, Collisions, and the Canyon

"Something is right only when it feels right."

- Brian Wilson

Every creation is the result of a collision between different ideas, people, and experiences.

I was reminded of this when watching the fantastic documentary Echo In The Canyon this week.

It tells the story of the Southern California sound of the 1960s and is packed with inspiring stories about the creation of some of the most iconic music of all time.

I highly recommend it and to get you in the mood added a few songs from the film to my For The Interested playlist this week.

Now, on to this week's ideas...

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1. 13 Ways To Turn The Next Thing You Write Into The Best Thing You've Written

"A headline isn't a description of what you wrote — it's a promise of the benefit someone gets from consuming it."

The next time you write something, read this before you publish it and I guarantee it will make it a LOT better.

In this post I share 13 ways to turn the next thing you write into the best thing you've written including to remove 10% of the words, amplify your three boldest statements, and incorporate at least two surprises.

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2. How To Take A One-Week Sabbatical

"Obligation completely negates the purpose of rest. You cannot truly rest on sabbatical if you have obligations or commitments."

Get ready to fall in love with this concept.

Sean McCabe breaks down how to take a one-week sabbatical and shares what he's learned from taking one every seventh week.

He explains why the key to a true sabbatical isn't necessarily to remove all work, but rather to remove all obligations and free yourself up to say yes to whatever you want in any given moment.

Btw, I found this link from Minnow Park.

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3. Five Lessons From The First Year Of Monetizing An Audience

"Give people the opportunity to pay a premium for your work — otherwise they never will."

There's so much gold in this post for anyone trying to monetize creative work through subscriptions, memberships, or donations.

Cherie Hu shares five lessons from her first year of running a Patreon page, but the core learnings are applicable whether you use Patreon or not.

They include to figure out if your value proposition is altruistic or utilitarian, be clear about your competition, and never underestimate how much people are willing to pay for your work.

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4. How To Generate Leads On LinkedIn

"The best LinkedIn post changes readers' business once they finish reading it."

If you're having a hard time unlocking opportunities on LinkedIn, it isn't because the platform doesn't work - it's more likely because you're not using it in a strategic way.

Ilya Azovtsev breaks down how to generate leads on LinkedIn including how to create valuable content, make it go viral, and share links on the platform without the algorithm preventing them from getting seen.

Btw, I found this link from Paul Metcalfe.

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5. Creative Positioning Mad Libs Template

"Fill-in-the-blank exercises for focusing your ideas, from strategic conception to sale."

Now, here's a useful resource.

Article Group put together a Creative Positioning Mad Libs template which gives you a fill-in-the-blank document you can use to identify, clarify, and/or communicate the brand and positioning of your product, service, or creation.

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Three Quick Things Before You Go...

Want help accomplishing your goals? Check out my Creator Accelerator.

Last week's most popular link was four ways to build better calls to action.

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