Get Excited and Make Things

Hinweis der Redaktion

1. I'm a nerd. I'm a designer - and I'm super lucky to be able to spend all day geeking out. From tweeting to HTML5-ing - pretty much everything I do heavily utilises technology. I get excited that I can use my iPhone to tell my PVR to record a TV show while I'm at the Malthouse sucking back an Epic lager. The internet has enabled us to do things and learn things we never thought possible.
2. An example - 10 years ago, creating your own bacon-infused vodka was unheard of. And how the hell would one even know how to do it! There weren't - and aren’t - any books in your local library about how to infuse vodka with flavours.
3. What about sharing hundreds of photos of your cats in Halloween costumes? People would have thought you where a mentalist if you whipped out a photo album of your cats dressed up like bumblebees. The internet has enabled us to to get inspired and excited. We're able to connect with people and share our endeavours. You're no longer alone! Millions of other people also force their cats into embarrassing costumes!
4. I get excited everyday - and that's cos I get to play on the internet all day! There are certain things I do in my job that are easy as, but still feel like magic and make me feel like a total hero.
5. jQuery! - am I right?! Every time I use jQuery I feel like I've just solved all the world’s problems. I feel special and talented when I use jQuery. I pat myself on the back and look around the office with that smug know-it-all look on my face. And I really think that's an important part to being able to continue to make stuff. Big up yourself. Keep reminding yourself that you're doing awesome things. And they don't need to be massive things! You don't need to solve world issues straight away. Start small and get excited by that! Work at it: practice creating things.
6. Steal your children's Lego and have a good go at making something. Buy a pasta machine and make your own ravioli. And if you don’t know how - Google it! It doesn't really matter what you make. What matters is that you keep doing it. The more you work at being creative the better you'll get at it.
7. Einstein said: A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. You just need to look at any entrepreneur - they are successful now but most of them have made huge mistakes along the way. You are going to cock things up. That's part of being human - deal with it, learn from it and move on. There might be times when you're feeling like you don't have a creative bone in your body. You get bogged down. Work gets too much. The kids get too much - but that's OK. Just take a little personal time. Go for a jog, put on some headphones. Zone out for a few minutes. Let your mind wonder. It's amazing how many ideas are seeded during those seemingly vacant mind moments. Sometimes all you need is to look at something from a different point of view. Try doing something surprising and unexpected.
8. If you're a writer try grabbing some crayons and drawing a picture - it's doesn't matter that it might look like a 5 year old did it. It's just about giving your brain a swift kick in the nuts!
9. Another important thing to remember is to catalogue what you're doing. Writers keep journals, artists have sketch books. And as internerds you need to publish your shit online. There is no excuse for things getting lost or forgotten. Start a blog. Create a Flickr account. Whatever it is - just get it online. And don't do it for other people - do it for yourself. Do it so you'll be able to look back at what you've done. Do it so you can be reminded how far you've come and what you've achieved. And chances are other people will stumble across what you've done - and this might just help you.
10. You'll get to a point when things you're wanting to create are too big for you alone to solve. The internet is the perfect place to find collaborators! Just look around this room - there are thousands of ideas floating around and I'm sure you can find someone here to help you realise them.
11. Every year during Webstock something amazing happens - the hundreds of attendees get really fucking excited. This graph illustrates that. But then the mundanity of everyday life takes over and that excitement wanes.
12. I want that graph to look more like this. It's easy to achieve that - you can all do it. Just remember the following five things:
13. BIG UP YOURSELF
14. DON’T LET FAILURES STOP YOU
15. CATALOG YOUR CREATIONS
16. COLLABORATE
17. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: GET EXCITED AND MAKE THINGS!