Hiya,
Well, I interviewed a Hall of Famer for my latest Creative Director Talk.
This is someone who flew a WWII training jet as a kid and had to sit on 3 Yellow Page phone books to see out the cockpit. This person put themselves through college by driving gravel trucks and tractor-trailers.
And in Diane’s words, “It was good training for the all-guy creative departments in my future.”
Oh, and her copywriting partner for years was some guy named Luke Sullivan.
Link to the interview below. And right here.
But first, today’s theme, play with the everyday.
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something crafty
I went to a stag last weekend. On a yacht. It was a tiny yacht. But it still counts.
And who says no to a yacht-stag party?
Well, people like me.
But I’m glad I didn’t because there are creative lessons in the most unexpected places, from the most unexpected people. Like a soon-to-be-married social worker whose brother made him dress up like a dog for the occasion.
A couple hours in, and a few drinks down, I decided to give my liver a break.
I saw the dog’s paw reach into the cooler.
As the wise old pack leader, this was my chance to teach the young pup a lesson in self-control and discipline.
He handed me a beer.
“Danimal?” (a nickname story for another day)
I stared stoically into the sunset.
“I’m good, thanks.”
Now, at this point, had he said something expected like, “C’mon, just one more!” it would have been an easy no. This was not my first stag-yacht party. Well it was but you know what I mean.
Instead, the talking dog said matter-of-factly, “It’s mostly water.”
My brain glitched.
Cut to Danimal an hour later scratching the groom-to-be behind the ears of his costume cooing, “Who’s a good boy? Lukey’s a good boy. Does Lukey want another beer? Yes, yes he does. Yes, he does. So does Daddy.”
The next time you want to persuade someone to do something, think of the most obvious and expected thing to say in that scenario. Know that their brain is expecting it too. And then say almost anything else.
Play with the everyday.
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something self-helpy
Before one of my very first ever podcast appearances, my inner critic asked me a pretty expected question, “Why do they want to talk to you? You’re not an expert in anything. Maybe they've suffered a recent brain injury?”
I looked at the list of previous guests hoping to find a string of ding-dongs so I'd feel more at home.
It was ding-dong free.
One of the previous guests was Mark Bowden, an author on body language and human behaviour. I decided to watch his viral TED Talk. I couldn't resist the title, “The power of being inauthentic.”
In a world that preaches authenticity, telling people to be more inauthentic caused another glitch.
What I took away from this talk was that if we can only ever be authentic to exactly who we are and where we are in life, we can never be anything more than who we are.
To keep moving forward we have to get out of our depths. We have to put ourselves in situations or act in ways that feel a little inauthentic.
It's like expanding your wardrobe. Maybe it's a different style or brighter colour. The first time you wear it you feel like an impostor, like you're wearing someone else’s skin. "This just isn't me."
But then very quickly, your comfort level rises to the occasion.
Mark's talk helped me not only with that early podcast appearance but so much more.
And had it been called, "The importance of faking it til ya make it," I never would have watched it.
Play with the everyday.
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something anything
And now, here’s a link to Diane Cook-Tench’s interview.
If you don’t have time to read it right now, please take 5 seconds to click on it and 👍 it to help this get in front of the one person who needs it most.
Thank you!
Have a confident and creative week.
❤️
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PS. I've made some stuff to help people (myself included) with their creative confidence. These are them—
1. My first course, Writing Under Pressure, helps you write headlines quickly and without the crippling anxiety.
2. To check out the book, A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters, go here.
3. To 🪓 me anything, reply to this email.
To share today's newsletter, use this—
https://mailchi.mp/nelkencreative/playwiththeeveryday
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