I’ll take creativity for a dollar

According to wikipedia –
Creativity is the ability to generate innovative ideas and manifest them from thought into reality.
The process of creation was left to God (and other deities in other religions).  Alot of talk recently has led me to the belief that the overall word “creativity” has been become to vague;  however, I’ll leave that thought for another post.

Some consider the Renaissance the modern birth of creativity.
Men had a sense of their own independence and freedom.  They felt moved to give a voice to their creativity in the form of art and music.  This was the exact opposite of  the ancient Greek sense of creativity, where the concept of art was subject to rules, and not an act of freedom.  When I think about freedom of creativity, I think about men like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello. (Sidetrack thought: if there was no renaissance, would there be no Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?)

Did you know that the Medici family
funded a large portion of creative men during the Renaissance, which may be why the Renaissance began in Florence, and not somewhere else in Italy.  The Medici family was a banking family, got involved in royal clothing (proving my theory that bankers are in the business of selling suits), and later a royal family.  Leonardo, Botticelli, and Michelangelo all had commissioned works from the countrymen of Lorenzo de’ Medici alone.

Great creativity comes from a lifetime of creating.
Unless you are part of the creative class, you only have the capacity to be creative during off hours of your job.  Yeah, that’s right, Super Creative is 12% of U.S. jobs and Creative Professionals are 18%.  These are the people that are being paid to create all the time.  In a way, the corporations and clients of this creative class of people, are funding creativity very much like the Medici family funded creativity in the Renaissance.

So what is your role in creativity?  Are you actively funding it, being paid to create, or are you trying to create in your spare time?

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4 ways Social Media can help schools right now

We all love doing things that make us feel good.
In the past few months, I’ve seen and met people in the Social Media community that are doing great things for great causes.  Whether anyone realizes it, there is a ton of social currency being banked and spent, just in Milwaukee and it’s surrounding areas.

So how can us Social Media folks help out schools right now?
For more background on this, you can check on an article by Jeff Sherman on onMilwaukee. Basically, Kohl’s is giving away 10 million bucks;  $500,000 per school for schools that have the most people voting for them on a facebook app.  You have to “like” Kohls before you get to vote, the voting is a bit clumsy, but I”m sure all of you reading this would be capable of voting.   I’m specifically asking you to help me help St. Marcus Lutheran School (link direct to Facebook App here.)

St. Marcus School is a Christian, Milwaukee Choice School specializing in college prep. studies.
They do amazing things there.  I’ve seen many of them.  They take kids without structure and provide a structured, rigorous, no-nonsense, no excuses, college preparatory school.  St. Marcus is 1.5 million dollars short of breaking ground on an addition to their school, which will allow more kids this opportunity.  They are currently full-to-the-gills with 420 students.

I love St. Marcus because in short, the school believes there is no excuse for failure.
If you need to hear more than just me, take a look at this Fox6 video, this About Us page, or watch this incredible video on YouTube.  Time is running out, as this Kohl’s event is over soon.  The time to act is now.  Social Media lovers, time to round each other up!   Please help in the following ways:

1.  Just Vote.
Even if you just vote with this link: http://bit.ly/9nJKmG, you’ll be helping.

2. Tell Others.
Retweet, email, facebook, text.  Whatever your communication preference, please spread the word about helping St. Marcus Lutheran School touch more inner city youth.

3. Give up one blog post.
For anyone who has a blog:  Please consider blogging over the next few days to help spread this message.  Use your influence to make a difference.

4. Use your influence, and find others of influence.
I believe that we can make a difference.  Help influence others to step up, use your email lists, get behind this, and share in my passion.

Make a difference for a school that believes that failure is never an option.  These kids need St. Marcus, and more kids need the opportunity to attend St. Marcus.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR ST. MARCUS LUTHERAN

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Bankers are in the business of selling suits

Seriously; Think about it:

All bankers wear suits.
I heard they even make little suit pajamas that they sleep in. And the crazy thing is that we feel compelled to dress up when we interact with bankers. They must have a close partnership with suit makers, growing rich from the royalties of the Suit & Hat Makers United Coalition.

Whether they are on the buying side or the selling side,
they influence everyone around them to dress up. Somehow, they have the power to control your dress code (at least until late December of 2012, right?)

For those of you who know me all too well, I’m not a big fan of dressing up for business. Don’t get me wrong however; I enjoy clothes other than t-shirts, shorts, or jeans: when the colder Wisconsin weather is upon us. For years now I’ve been over analyzing why I feel so compelled to wear a t-shirt when a suit coat is in order, or white socks with my dress shoes.  In some situations, it’s my subtle way to stick out.

It’s a self-imposed handicap?
When I’m doing my thing, I want the attention to be on the wisdom that is flowing from my brain, out of my mouth, and into your ears. I’m confident in what I do.   I don’t want you to be impressed with my suit.  I don’t want you checking to see if my socks match my shoes to compliment my pants.

If you dress to impress, I have no disrespect.
But the next time you’re getting cleaned up for a big business transaction ask yourself this question:
“am I good enough to do this in jeans and a t-shirt?”
If the answer is no,

become the best at what you’re doing, or quit and do something else.

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