Creators Foundation

Category: Academy

  • Be Your Own Brand – The Art of Creative Marketing

    Be Your Own Brand – The Art of Creative Marketing

    I often hear artists say:

    “I am an artist, not a marketing person.”

    “I would rather pay someone to do marketing for me.”

    “I don’t like putting myself out there.”

    I get it.

    As an artist, it can feel more natural to focus on the creative side and hand over the managing and marketing and business related roles to someone else. After all, the dream is often about freedom – creating without constraints, exploring ideas, and letting the work speak for itself.

    If you are one of the few who might be offered a contract by a label or agent, it’s worth pausing for a moment. Make sure you understand, what you are signing.

    From what I’ve seen, artists with managers or agents don’t necessarily become happier or automatically more jobs. Yes, they might get a bigger team to help navigate the emotional rollercoaster of being an artist, but this team wants to earn money with you. For some artists this meant to become the racehorse, constantly pushed to perform.

    But what if you could build a creative life on your own terms? What if you could find your audience, share your vision, and create meaningful connections without becoming someone else’s product?

    The key is to become your own manager.

    One of my reasons for becoming an artist was the thought of freedom. The dream of building my own creative machine:

    a workplace where I could grow, explore, and feel supported.

    For me, being an artist means more than just creating beautiful work. Art is a personal business. It means taking responsibility for the whole process, from the first spark of inspiration to the financial reality of making it sustainable.

    It also means coming down from the clouds of ideas to face the bottlenecks and numbers from time to time – to understand them, to make them work for you. This isn’t about killing your creative vibe. It’s about supporting it with a solid foundation. Freedom won’t find you if you keep looking for a savior outside of yourself.

    Yes, there are art collectors out there who value creative masterpieces, but relying solely on them can be risky.

    What if you could build your own safety net, where your art is not just a passion, but a sustainable practice? What if your creativity could become the engine of your freedom, instead of a source of constant worry?

    If you run from the fears, they only become scarier. If you face them, they become part of the creative process, not a barrier to it.

    Discipline is the backbone of this. Yes, it’s tempting to follow the flow, to sleep late, to dig for inspiration. But freedom needs a foundation. Discipline means doing what needs to be done, even when you don’t feel like it. Because every successful business – and every successful artist – is built on consistent effort.

    But what does discipline look like for you? What small steps could you take to build that foundation, without losing your creative spark?

    Marketing is part of that effort. It’s the art of being seen, the art of finding your audience. It’s not rocket science, but it does require clarity and intention. And you have one big advantage – you have a name, a face, a reputation, a story. You are your own brand.

    What if you could share your journey in a way that feels authentic to you? What if marketing could become an extension of your art, instead of a chore?

    So, instead of making yourself dependent on someone else, reconsider taking this part into your own hands. Tell your own story, because people connect through stories. Be your own newspaper, share your journey authentically. That’s where real connection starts.

    And remember, the first rule of good marketing is to listen. Listen to your audience, to your market, to the world and people around you. That’s where real magic begins – solving real problems while staying true to yourself.

    In my perspective, being an artist also includes being a marketer, a strategist, and a business owner. Because being an artist means taking responsibility for my own success, life and values.

    What is your story?

    If this resonates with you, I’d love to hear your story. What do you struggle with as an artist? What would you like to learn? And how can I support you on this journey?

  • Why Photographers Should Apply New Licensing Options to Their Work

    Why Photographers Should Apply New Licensing Options to Their Work

    In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, photographers must adapt their licensing practices to protect their work and ensure fair compensation. The rise of AI-generated content and image manipulation presents new challenges that many in the photography industry are only beginning to confront.

    Data, Not the Model, Drives Value

    Recently, I had a firsthand experience that shed light on these issues. A client used my professionally shot headshots to generate new profile photos for their team. While the “images” they produced may have seemed harmless, the situation left me questioning my rights as a photographer. After consulting with a lawyer specialized in German copyright law, I learned something crucial: the client had no legal right to modify, enhance, or repurpose my images beyond the agreed-upon usage rights. Yet, they did so without a second thought.

    This incident prompted me to take action. I am now considering sending the client a post-licensing offer that accounts for the copyright infringement. This case highlights an essential lesson for all photographers—understanding copyright and licensing options is no longer optional; it is necessary.

    Why Licensing Matters More Than Ever

    With the integration of AI in creative industries, photography is facing a transformative moment. Clients may now use AI tools to alter images, create derivatives, or even train AI models using a photographer’s work – all without proper authorization. If photographers do not explicitly define the terms of AI use in their licensing agreements, they risk losing control over their work and potential revenue streams.

    By implementing updated licensing options that address AI-generated modifications, training datasets, and unauthorized enhancements, photographers can better protect their intellectual property. This ensures they are not only credited for their work but also compensated fairly for its extended use.

    Key Takeaways for Photographers

    1. Educate Yourself on Copyright Laws – Understanding the extent of your rights is crucial in protecting your work from unauthorized alterations and misuse.
    2. Define AI Usage in Licensing Agreements – Clearly outline whether and how clients can use your images in AI-related applications.
    3. Implement Post-Licensing Offers – If clients infringe on your rights, consider offering a retroactive licensing agreement that compensates you for unauthorized use.
    4. Stay Proactive, Not Reactive – The industry is evolving quickly. By setting clear terms now, you can avoid disputes and financial losses later.

    The future of photography is being shaped by technology, and it is up to photographers to stay ahead of the curve. By updating licensing agreements to include AI-related terms, professionals can safeguard their work and create sustainable revenue models in the age of digital transformation.

  • The Art of Creative Leadership

    The Art of Creative Leadership

    by Alexander Klebe, first written 2011, re-edited 2021

    This article looks at the way we lead teams and empower creativity. It examines methods of using an easy adaptable model in which the combined skills and tools are used to create a common vision for the people working with them.

    1. FOREWORD

    As a part of the workshops on creativity, a guide on „the Art of Creative Leadership“ evolved. This roadmap is intended to help leaders to stimulate creative behaviour and design an engaging environment in which creative solutions can be further developed and engaged in dynamic situations involving a group of people.

    „You make a real and meaningful difference in the world when you live your life according to your highest values and make the most of who you are as a person. When you do what you love and love what you do, you become the change you would love to see in the world.“
    – Dr. John Demartini

    2. INTRODUCTION

    In the past decades the evolution of our environment has gained in speed as in number of inventions and events that shape our social development. This gain in overall speed and interconnectedness has rendered our world smaller, and more complex at the same time.

    Leaders on a global level aim to find answers and ways to deal with these complex challenges: the health, financial and economical crisis, the change of democratic led governments and climate catastrophes. Although the results of now can be heavily discussed, we like to focus on the way we lead and how we educate the leaders of tomorrow, who will be held responsible for the impact of their decisions.

    The question of the writer is: How can we re-evaluate our concept of leadership?

    Especially in the areas of politics, business and education in order to create the change that we want to see in the world: Value-based societies and organizations that serve the people & planet and not just the desire for profits – by creating services, products and projects that encourage equal relationships, mutual respect and generate value rather than profits.

    The idea of openness and dialogue has become a key factor in shaping possible solutions and opportunities towards the desired: democracy, peace and sustainability. Still we are facing the greatest manmade catastrophes, where the shortcomings and short sights of the past are a major challenge for future generations.

    In this context we are calling upon the development of a new leadership model, to meet the challenges for the leaders of tomorrow with creativity. How can we invite what we have most – our almost endless supply of ideas into the process of leadership and responsible decision-making?

    Creating change is not a one-man show. We engage and discuss in groups whether of same interest, workplace or background, which solutions might be worth the further development on almost any kind of matter: family-based or organisational.

    Since the past innovations in the sectors of communication have led to the opportunity of collective and global dialogue. Empowering the people to establish a culture of listening, of learning and of taking on greater responsibility in their own role as leaders in their communities.

    We realize an awakening in the minds, giving room for new ideas and concepts, that can change the life not only of the few hundred millions in Europe, but of the many billions in the developing world. Change, which is necessary for the rising number of people on this planet. In these transformational contexts, we see a great potential to advance the way of thinking and organising our “Eco Business System”, which refers to Economical, Ecological and Ethical balance of our Society on a whole. In this role creativity and leadership are the tool to be taught to future leaders, in order to establish common grounds for creating core values, clear visions, empowering relationships and innovative actions.

    “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
    (John F. Kennedy)

    3. LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

    Economic schools of thought have brought a great many theories on leadership and management to the fore. How to actually lead many great organizations. Per definition “Leadership” is about setting a new direction, about involving and motivating a group to a vision and drive towards a certain goal. Management in comparison is about controlling the resources and to maintain the status quo according to established principles and units of measurement.

    We act as leaders, when we set a new goal, and the way to reach this goal (especially when other people are involved) is through the process we call Management. The aim of economic actions by management or an individual, as seen in the classical economic theory is essentially to generate benefits mostly in terms of profit. Which, in the macroeconomic point of view we learn to measure as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a whole nation. In these fine models, we tend to forget that: in every decision made, every goal set, every process created we might want to include not only the profit but also the people and the Eco-System into our calculations of benefit.

    Since the Gross National Happiness and Social Impact are also taken into account on macroeconomic levels as well as the GDP by the political and economical leaders in the Western hemisphere and even longer our understanding of Entrepreneurship has expanded the benefit thought towards the inclusion of people, planet & profit.

    With Christopher Columbus a big change was going to happen, when suddenly a whole society was shifting their interest of development from the inside towards the outside. The great discoverer not only found the new play grounds for the european crowns and moneylenders behind, financing their endeavours. The success of Columbus created a new gold-rush, a search of outer fulfilment and sadly the believe, that stronger nations can take what they redeem. (compare: Galeano: Open Veins of Latin America). Today the setup has changed significantly and new solutions, new paradigms of thought are needed to sustain the growth and wealth we consider to be important for our social stability.

    “We live in a time of tremendous change, the world is getting smaller. It is clear we cannot stay within our own boundaries anymore.” (Dr. Arega Yirdaw)

    4. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

    The most commonly used definition of sustainability is the one of the Brundtland Report: „Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.“

    In despite of major economical systems are based on growth. Some economists and business leaders are driven by the thought, that without economic growth our whole system will fail or become unstable. The need for growth can also be regarded as the last drug of capitalism.

    An environmental speaker from China made the following point: The economic boom can be compared with a car that is driving at high-speed and nobody dares to brake, although they know it is heading towards a cliff. In fact the huge need of energy is matched by a high number of dam-projects, which will reshape the landscape for many remote villages, displace a few million people and even more creatures.

    A good example for what might happen to cultures driven by the goal of endless growth is the history of the Easter Islands. It was a perfect micro cosmos that could at large resemble our planet. The tribe-leaders, who were constructing giant heads of their glory, were ultimately forced to fight over the last available resources to secure their mere survival and led to the eradication of their culture. When western sailors discovered the islands the giant monoliths were the only testimonies of the former existence of any civilisation that by then had itself already extinguished.

    The concepts of sustainable development aim to learn from nature:

    • Nature does not produce any waste, everything is re-used/ recycled
    • Nature lives from solar, geothermal & electromagnetic energy and transforms it
    • Nature respects and profits from bio-diversity
    • Everything in nature is connected: one species relies on the other
    • Nature is transformational, seasonal change is part of life-cycles

    5. SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

    In recent years there was a shift at the microeconomic levels of leadership and management. Socially and Ecologically friendly products have found their way onto the shelves and into the minds and interest of the consumers and reshaped certain paradigms, especially the one of credits. Character based lending evident in various forms of Micro credits, lead by the approach of Muhammad Yunus were soon translated into profitable business models, and subsequently adapted by competitors.

    Also examples of micro insurances, or collective farming and home installed renewable energy production, global education and local empowerment, revolutions backboned via social media and crowd funding offer a shift of power towards the people themselves.

    An emergence of social entrepreneurs who create change through rethinking and rejoining the established solutions and offer new ideas for old problems: for example how to have light to read and study. Social Entrepreneurship means to rather teach how to install solar panels or fluorescent light bulbs out of bottles than to create dependencies through service contracts.

    Many of them receive support in their effort to give something back to society and to save the endangered Eco-System by foundations, NGOs and crowd-funding tools. Finding the means like money and time to realise their proof of concept and face everyday and global challenges.

    We, the creative leaders, believe in the power of social empowerment. As to the way we think of our economy, of our view of established models of growth, value and wealth creation, and of how we approach people, cultures and global politics. We’ve borne witness to the power of the people to overthrow “sole emperors”, seen for our selves how modern media helps to organize and disseminate information to and among the masses. We have observed that our dependence on oil and other non-renewable resources cause more trouble in the long-term. We share the dream of those people who want change, and who are looking for a small (r)evolution in our own thinking and understanding of common leadership.

    We realize that there are ways in which we can discover the most valuable means to serve one each other. Maybe it is just a matter of divergent thinking – of creative thinking.

    How can we ‘up-cycle’ our understanding of leadership in the areas of politics, business and education in order to create the change that we would want to see in the world: The creation of value that serves the people – products and projects that encourage equal relationships and mutual respect and invite what we have most? – Our almost endless supply of ideas.

    “Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration.”
    – Thomas A. Edison

    6. CREATIVITY & INNOVATION

    Creativity is mostly associated with Marketing & Design – the creation of new products. In the past years creativity has also contributed and been used for “pragmatic problem solving” in the poorest regions of our world. In Indonesia a man called Solar Demi improves the lives of the people in his neighborhood by building lamps from plastic bottles, water and bleach. Creating products that create value is no magic, it is a recombination of preexisting concepts, which can best be described by: “Copy, Transform and Combine.”

    Creativity is to posing the right questions then eliciting a possible set of answers. Teaching creativity to business and politic students at university also means putting forward the question: “How can we educate responsible open-minded Leaders?” To answer this question would mean to allow for re-thinking, listening and to create room for dialogue with the students themselves.

    Creativity could be best described as an attitude of a creative to be open to life, to appreciate its beauty and translate it into the bravery to go new ways and create with what you can do best.

    New ideas can be compared to little seeds, that you plant and take care of. You supply them with water, soil in a pot and wait for them to spread out the first roots. Still in early stages very fragile, soon with enough care and patience you will be able to sit in its shadow.

    Now the question is, how can seeding small ideas lead to the big trees, that have fruits and give shelter. A question of leadership, and to be more definitive: creative leadership.

    7. CREATIVE LEADERSHIP

    In these days Creative Leadership became an opportunity for shaping a shared sense of purpose – e.g. a sustainable future – and could be used as the approach to discover the most valuable ways to serve each other.

    Creative Leadership, as we see it, is a style of looking at a dynamic system of small scale events in the long-term view, and foreseeing the possible evolutions instead of a keeping a static view on life, economy and people. People are by no means static beings like machines. People are of the most transformable species on earth, as learned from our personal and global history. Why not channel this gift of adaptability to the benefit of the world in which we live? They have everything at hand to learn new ways of thinking. In order to think about the way we lead, we suggest following model.

    THE 5 STEPS FOR CREATIVE LEADERS

    I. Appreciate and Encourage IDEAS 

    – Give room to share and exchange the expectations and ideas of your coworkers and the people around you. Create and cultivate a regular base for dialogue and open discussions in your group, encourage them to raise the right questions. Remain open for new approaches and embrace the possibility of failure, and even what you can learn from them.

    In this early stage of idea creating it is crucial to remain positive and constructive. Too fast potential ideas are critiqued and people having them feel personally devastated. An ideal way to create ideas is by allowing only positive feedback in the first stage. In the story around Walt Disney, he had to ask over 100 banks in the beginning and nobody was wanting to give him a loan to finance his vision. Now we could not imagine a world without Walt Disney. He incorporated a rule, that when having a brainstorming he would use 3 rooms. The first one was for all the personal ideas of the people, just pinned on the walls. The second one was where those ideas were combined into a story by a group. The third one was about critics, only here it was allowed to criticise ideas – which by then have already become group ideas and no one felt critiqued personally.

    Share your ideas to get initial feedback from friends and co-workers. Even the opinion of your boss might get you valuable information on how your idea is perceived. Even though many great ideas have been regarded as mad or just unrealistic, they have become reality. Some of them sooner and others 400 years later like airplanes that Leonardo da Vinci scribbled long before its realisation.

    II. Create a shared VISION

    Create a “WE” from the “ME” – The exchange of Ideas and the connection of the minds creating them will lead into a group thinking, which can be called the ‘Mastermind’ (Napoleon Hill, 1927). Creating a common vision on how a given challenge can be solved means to involve the many. Don’t expect all the answers to be perfect at first, sometimes the most vague ones offer the greatest value if further developed. Sharing ideas needs a base of confidence and openness, so ideas are shared without immediate judgement.

    III. Acknowledge and improve the SKILLS of your Team 

    Everyone who is involved in the process has certain strengths, skills and power of observation. The Creative Leader helps to identify and strengthen the skills of his associates. In the process of leading development people themselves are the ones who are best equipped to best resolve real solutions. Animate for exchange of knowledge, skills and abilities on a broad range in order to develop more skills and empower the people to find new commonly generated solutions and combinations of personal skills to face the set challenges. Take ownership of your craft and allow others to do so.

    There are different types of people, who have varied skills and can profit immensely from collaboration. The partnership of a Dreamer and a Doer is an important example in the process of creation. While the Dreamer thinks of new possibilities the Doer splits them into make able action steps.

    IV. Use and incorporate TOOLS

    In China the kitchen board offers the most necessary: one knife. Therefore the Chinese say: “If you are skillful enough, the tools don’t matter.”

    In many areas this is the same, you can achieve a lot without much but by the power of thinking on which tools to employ. For any greater project the most common tools will always be Time (your time), Money (if your father is no millionaire mostly from investors, funders or buyers) and physical resources.

    Creative Leadership does not only mean to achieve a set goal with minimum of non-renewable resources but to challenge future resource shortages and waste creation already in the moment of the product design. At one point in time almost every tool becomes obsolete. Recently this momentum was rather designed to happen earlier than later, which by definition is good for corporations who need to sell more tools, but contra productive in the sense of responsible usage of the given resources.

    Especially in the fields of communication one of the most powerful tools are social networks: tools like facebook, blogs and forums have helped to establish a dialogue of inspiration even on a global basis, beyond political and cultural boundaries. People can share their ideas and call to action. Invite others to join or contribute on a common base and spread news & media on a global level and gain support for the created projects. The use of blogs makes it easier to have a presentational platform for your ideas and projects for others read your story and spread it through their circles.

    V. Create VALUE in services, products and projects

    Find solutions that create value for the entire societal culture. That is sustainable and can be sustained by those who are in charge of it. Eligible products and projects serve the many: and add to the happiness of the people, the sustained health of the planet and the profit of the organisation conveying the solutions – so they can continue to do, what they do. Even when you have finished a product or project you can always ask your clients, partners or co-workers if there is anything, they would have done differently. The circle of creation is in completion.

    Once an environmental lawyer told me, before one project is about to finish, make sure you have a next one right at the start. This way you can keep up the energy level. But as I learned in Dragon Dreaming, every project has 4 crucial phases: the dreaming, the planning, the realisation and the celebration. The Celebration should be the end of every project, where you cherish what you have build, may it be a party, a theatre play or just a large feedback round for all the co-creators and participants.

  • The artist – a student of life

    The artist – a student of life

    Being an artist is almost like being any other “self-employed-entrepreneur”. It is a fulfilling life choice with many rewards in terms of personal freedom to choose what you do, where you do it and when you do it.

    But it also requires vision, discipline and planning, as the road is littered with challenges, large and small, of almost every kind. The biggest is probably changing the way you perceive your life and believing in yourself and your dreams.

    In this article we present ten easy to follow steps to realize this change, get closer to your true passion and turn it into your profession.

    The simple question is: “What can you do now to start living a life guided by your dreams and your heart?

    1. The Dream

    As children we are born dreamers, we create a dream world for ourselves and play in it. But slowly, as we become “educated”, we begin to forget how to dream and how to believe in those dreams. We focus more on getting a title, a job and buying instant gratification. We are tempted to believe more in marketing and consumable happiness than in our own dreams and intuition.

    The problem is, money can’t buy lasting happiness. Fulfilling your dreams can. You are in charge of your life and your happiness. No one else.

    It is time to start dreaming, or to remember what you dreamed of when you were a child. Maybe someone told you “you can’t do it”, but that’s not true. Only those who have realised their own dreams can really know that something is possible. And most dreamers were considered crazy at first. You are responsible for making it happen. Be specific! Make a statement about it, visualise it in a collage or mind map. This will help you to be reminded of your dream every day. Believe in your dream and in yourself. If you do, others will too. Say “YES” to life and the opportunities it offers. In every chance there is a little bit of magic that happens to teach you, to bring you closer to your true self. Listen to your mind, debate it, but follow your heart.

    “We are privileged to be alive, and we should make the most of our time in this world.” – Richard Dawkins

    2. Create

    Start creating. Realise the little ideas and dreams you have as soon as you can. Learn from problems and develop new ideas and approaches. Design a work environment that invites your creativity and stimulates your workflow. Establish a routine, set daily, weekly, monthly goals. Drink coffee. Dedicate yourself to achieving your dreams, keep doing it & get better.

    “Your only job is to shrink the time between idea and reality.” – Aaron Levie

    3. Brand

    Create a little brand for yourself. Decide on a name, design a logo, print some business cards and a website will do for a start. Show a selection of your work online. Many tools to help you create your digital exhibition space are free in a basic version. To get started, try wordpress, tumblr or blogger. Share your projects on facebook, google+, twitter, behance or youtube and invite your friends to comment, like and share your work.

    Make it a habit to update your page and social networks with your latest work. Little by little, your portfolio will grow and say more about your way of expressing yourself, your passion or your profession.

    4. Market

    Create some initial products and services from what you have. Keep it simple. People love to buy things with heart from people with heart. Make it easy for potential customers to buy from you. Create products & services in a wide range of prices, becoming more exclusive and valuable. You can start with something small for $1, $5 or $10. Later you can create something more valuable for $25, $50 or $100 and also establish very exclusive products or services for $1000 or more. Look at the Pareto Principle: 20% of your sales will come from 80% of your customers and 80% of your sales will come from probably 20% of your customers. But you need both groups. Serve each and every one of them. Keep your customers happy, but more importantly, keep yourself happy with the services and products you provide. Set your standards at a level where you have to grow every time you reach for them. Make it an experience for others to buy from you.

    “Making a living is not the same as making a life.” – Maya Angelou

    5. Reflect

    Have you ever tried meditation? It is nice to look at things from the unattached level of an observer. Also for your own life. Look at it as if you were interviewing yourself: “Who are you and why do you do what you do? What motivates you? What are you proud of? Where do you want to go?” or “Where do you see yourself in 3 or 5 years? These questions are important for your own record and often it helps to record them in some way. I keep a diary, both for dreams, ideas and tasks. I had to learn to set milestones for every other week, month and year, even if that milestone was playing frisbee in the park. So that every day when I wake up, I have a task to do that is a small part of my big dream. It has also helped me to record what I have done and to keep a diary of the important steps. When you read those tasks later and see how you did them and what you had to “invest” to get them, you will see your own success in a different light and learn from each of them.

    “Live as if you will die tomorrow. Learn as if you would live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi

    6. Collaborate

    A fundamental key to personal growth and great performance is collaboration. Accept that each of us has some kind of superpower. Imagine how cool superheroes are when they find their true power, and now imagine what great things they can do when they work with others. In creative or artistic teams it is almost the same for me. Different people have different kinds of special abilities, and the more they use them, the better they get. For example, if there are enough crazy musicians jamming together in a jazz band, new sounds begin to emerge as they find the flow and rhythm of their collaboration and create beautiful music out of intuition for each other and their own instruments. Working with other creatives should always be like that. Surround yourself with creative people.
    Find others who are equally crazy, get involved and create new projects together, think of common areas where your arts combined create great results. Each portrait is a short collaboration between the photographer and the subject. Especially in the field of visual productions I love to work with other artists, like yoga masters who know how to speak with their bodies or musicians who say a thousand words with a deep look into their soul.

    7. Network

    The simple rule of karma: “Give the best to get the best” also applies to your work and, of course, to your network. A book publisher once described his job to me as “I move what others have written”. If you do not have a manager or an agency representing you, or even if you do, you can always count on the success of networking. It is not about who you know, but who knows you, and more importantly, who recommends your work to others. Karma says that if you do good deeds, the universe will return the favour even stronger. The same goes for networking. It may not be the exact person, but if you do good work for other people, they will naturally be interested in having a good relationship with you. Often these relationships grow in value with each year or project you do together. It’s love theory in action: Build up your ‘love bank’ and your relationships will grow in value over time (and good relationships lead to referrals and more clients).

    8. Be Humble

    Make it a habit to listen to your customers first and then ask yourself, “How can I solve their problem, or even your customer’s problem? What is your experience in this area? What potential do you bring to the table? Of course you are good at it. But accept that there is probably someone who is better – but they are not around to do the job at the moment. Acknowledge your own shortcomings, but count your blessings. Often a small favour or project, like the flutter of a butterfly, can turn into an (innovative) tsunami.

    9. Plant Seeds

    Every interaction, every project, every little piece of heart-led work you do leaves a seed in your footsteps. Let these seeds grow, cherish them as little gifts from your past that will one day bear fruit. It is the same with creativity, one day you will find a blossoming garden on your doorstep if you nurture each flower in it. Chinese bamboo, for example, takes 3 years to take root, but once it is rooted, it grows like wildfire.

    10. Share

    Teach what you have learned. Share your knowledge and experience. Sharing knowledge is a great way to never stop learning. It also means constantly improving yourself. The moment you stop getting better, you have stopped being good. Ask yourself how you can help those around you.