Professor of Creativity Juan Munoz published his newsletter for 162 consecutive weeks. These are the ways his experiment paid off. |
What happens if schools learn from a different direction? This is the way professor of university creativity Juan Munoz is making more an impact in his work as a creator by making himself more effective as a pupil.
On the first day of classes, creative and innovation professor Juan Munoz instructed his students that they were free to submit their assignments in any method they preferred.
"It is possible to write it down, it can be written with your own handwriting, it is also possible to type it on a computer. The video can be made and you could make it a podcast, are permitted to make whatever it is you like to accomplish. If you prefer sending an email with your homework it's okay. You don't have to be confined to a paper or Google Doc," he recommended.
Yet, despite this freedom, his students at his college made identical PDFs, with the same formatting each time.
"I felt so annoyed," Juan remembers. "I believed this was one of the most simple tasks on earth. What are they doing to discover their creative side if they don't accomplish this?"
While the sequence continued, Juan wondered if there some more important issues to be considered.
"Students were taught programming through ten or 15 years of education for ten or fifteen years. The school has taught them that regardless of whether you're good or not good it's possible to get an unfavourable grade when you don't follow the instructions your teacher has instructed them to follow. It's a natural fear to be deviating from the standard path."
Juan realized the fact that internalized programming had a negative impact on creativity. He decided to change the way things were conducted.
Juan enjoyed teaching but was frustrated by the regulations at the school. When he had free time and read TechCrunch as well as other magazines for entrepreneurs, he got an idea of an enterprise.
In the beginning, there wasn't a flourishing business environment in the nation where Juan grew up, Costa Rica, so Juan determinedly worked in establishing the business.
"I have a civil engineering degree and knew that some persons might inquire, "What is this person's knowledge of business?' One of the first steps I made was to write all of my thoughts down in an online blog and share them with the world. My creator journey began by sharing my ideas on the internet and sharing the things I've been able to accomplish."
Presently, Juan teaches creativity, goals-setting, entrepreneurship, as and business on his educational platform online named Epico Academia . It offers online courses along with a variety of free workshops and the monthly newsletter which helps its users lead more artistic and epic lives.
This is how trying new things, exploring unexpected ways, and always studying is helping Juan create a successful online company and develop an entrepreneurial approach which is comprehensive, satisfying and fun.
What can you do to provide the facts without making it feel as if it's a class
Based on his previous knowledge of creating courses, his job as a university professor, creating content was not an issue for Juan. It was merely a matter of finding out how to best approach providing the content.
"The biggest friction is getting the public to engage with our work," Juan shares.
"People take a course but only a few will get through the course. It feels like being in school. If there's no pressure to join in and I'm enticed to something, my brain goes into school mode. There's a teacher. Are classes, and there are classes."
Then Juan began to explore various ways to get his content to his audience.
"What are the chances of me trying the electronic course in which you will receive an excellent weekly email for the duration of a year ? or TikTok-style content, only 30 second videos. Do I have the ability to create a course by using hundreds of 30 second videos? Perhaps. I'll test it to see whether it's efficient."
"I am amazed by being able to produce almost any type of content I want and in the format I'd prefer. I can create a course that's just 100 30-second videos, and then have students go through the entire course."
One experiment that paid off was an email newsletter that focused on Mondays.
When it comes to trying new things, Juan decided to try something new and different and ended up creating the most valuable asset he has: The Monday newsletter .
In the early days of starting his online business, Juan noticed a trend.
"Every Sunday night at midnight, and also on the Monday prior to the Monday, people would discuss memes on how they dislike Mondays." Juan declares. "I was aware that every day going to be the Monday. You can't escape it. So why are you still in a bind about this?"
"I realized that they are the people who contact me and say I don't enjoy my job, and I don't like my job and I'd like to get better.' There was some underlying theme. I love marketing and branding and thought that it could be a fascinating concept for a brand because it's so easy to feel grumpy on a Monday. There's already a community to help you with that and it's a massive group. How do you accomplish the opposite?"
Juan created a blog about his love for Mondays. Each week, he'd give a hint, a concept, or idea that would aid his readers to get the most out of their days.
"It was a popular topic due to the fact that people were dissatisfied with things in their lives and I was talking about strategies to make their lives more pleasant. The conversation made people think"Why do you think you hate Monday?"
Today, this experiment-turned-newsletter continues to grow through word-of-mouth referrals, and Juan still loves writing it every week.
To become a better artist take the time to learn all as you can about topics you're interested in.
It is not every thought comes together in the same way as the weekly Monday newsletter or the newsletter on Monday. Juan discovered that the most effective way to understand the concept or idea behind the product was to be a student again.
"I'm continually amazed by having the honor of being in a society where we learn from anyone and anyone can take lessons from us. It's amazing. If I'm into marbles I might find someone who's so much interested in marbles and teach me the latest techniques. They can be in Singapore and I might not know their name however I could take advantage of their knowledge."
To be a professional writer, learn as much as you can on the subjects that you are passionate about.
"I urge people to consume anything they're interested in," Juan recommends. "Often you'll find low-cost content available on social networks. When you are consuming material, you realise that it's not all that complicated. He's talking about marbles. There is no requirement for a Ph.D. for a topic."
"There was a time that there were experts," Juan explains. "There were experts who knew everything about a subject because there was only an extremely limited amount of data accessible. There wasn't infinite information like that we have today. The information was stored in a place. It was clear that there was a single person who was knowledgeable about everything, and they were the experts. However, that's not the case anymore."
"There are a lot of people who have a great deal of knowledge, but there are plenty of people who are skilled, however there's always someone who is less knowledgeable than you. It is possible to create the content they need yet still create a huge impact."
It's a simple fact that the more you travel and learn, the more knowledge you'll have to impart to others in your everyday life. If you're feeling stuck on what is the most effective way to pass on information, take a break. try becoming a student again to rekindle your passion.
Imagine what you could have created if you made some thing just to have the pleasure of making them?
One of the key knowledges Juan discovered during his entrepreneurial journey was the fact that there is many ways that individuals can feel passionate about what they do.
It should not be centered at achieving an outcome, financial milestone, or follower count. Discover a way of striking an equilibrium between Telic as well as Atelic objectives.
"Telic goals" are goals that come with a fixed goal that is easy to measure. They are a good goal to aim for in the interest of doing things. It is my opinion that one should be thinking about creating with both types of goals within their mind," Juan shares.
"If you're aiding others, it's not a matter of that you aid one person or one million."
Plus, there's value in knowing that your contribution has a place in the world community.
"If you post a tweet, or Instagram post or video and nobody can see the message, it's not lost. It'll be discovered by someone eventually. In addition, getting people to appreciate an article or helping other people by sharing your article are two very different items. I am a fan of many items that I don't double tap. Even if no one else is double tapping your article or liked your tweet does not mean that the content isn't worth it."
"Creating is a very intense sensation. It's a feeling, it's extremely vulnerable and sincere," Juan relates. "It's an expression of who you are and what you believe, but placing it on the public to see and not letting anyone be in touch with it is just a shambles."
"But even if nobody buys it, it's still valuable. The lessons you learned are still useful. Use the knowledge to assist you in your next project or wherever. You can't let anyone take away your knowledge. It's soul-bound."
To keep in touch to what is important, Juan explains how important to be able to recall where you came from and to celebrate all you've achieved in the past.
"I would recommend creators keep journals and reflect on the work you're currently working on by examining yourself in five years' time, recent ten years or 20 years back. Imagine what you'd be thinking about your work now. If you were in the past, you'd probably believe that it was fantastic."
Finally, Juan reminds creators that what is most important is putting their work into the marketplace. It's not about getting the highest number of followers, sales, or customers.
"I find it arrogant to think that nobody will like your product. It's a presumption for an alternative. They can decide for themselves. If they like it, they'll buy it. If they don't want it, they'll not. Just make it accessible to the people that need it. Get more enthralled by all the things you see Study as deep as you can, and make choices that other people will make their own choices."
"Create your idea and get it to market," Juan advises. "You don't know what might take place the next time."
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