Anthony Burrill - Work Hard Be Nice to People

WORK HARD & BE NICE TO PEOPLE

START WITH YES

This book began life as a paperback version of my previous book, MAKE IT NOW! and developed into a completely refreshed edition. Applying lessons from my first book, and editing and condensing existing content, my Publisher and I crafted this exciting new distillation. So this isnt exactly the same book as before but shares some ideas and approaches alongside new insights and developments.

This is the introduction. Its here to start our conversation. I am saying hello to you. Thank you for picking up this book and getting this far. I can tell youre already interested in what Ive got to say. Or maybe you were given this book by somebody else and youve only just got round to actually reading it. Im sorry, but this is going to be quite a one-sided conversation. Ive already decided what Im going to say, its written down in this book. Youll just have to read it and make your own mind up. Why are you here? What do you want? What are you hoping to learn from this book? I havent got all the answers to your questions. Im suspicious of people who seem to have all the answers.

Taking advice from somebody who has never met you feels like taking a leap into the unknown. You dont need to read this book you already know whats best for you. Maybe you just need to know that what you suspect is correct, an affirmation that your hunch is valid. I would like you to read this book; there might be some ideas that connect with you. Then my job will have been done succesfully.

NEW IDEAS ARE NEW

The familiar is a comfortable place to be. There are no surprises, we know whats going to happen next, there is nothing thats going to challenge us or question our choices.

The un-familiar can be an uncomfortable place to be. Its full of surprises and we dont know whats going to happen next. New ideas will challenge us and question our choices.

LEARN TO LOOK LEARN TO SEE

Is everything really what it appears to be?

How can we be sure that what we are experiencing is what we think it is?

Never take anything at face value, look behind the surface. What is really going on?

Its good not to know things sometimes. You dont start with all the answers. If you know what the outcome is going to be before you start, then why are you doing it? Isnt it more fun to explore new ideas and ways of working rather than treading the same old path? Trust your first response to something new. If you like it, then you like it. If you dont like it, then you dont like it.

I LIKE IT. WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS IT? I LIKE IT.

QUESTION ACCEPTED WISDOM

This is how new ideas happen.

By questioning what went before we can make something new.

Everything changes every day.

What was valid yesterday is useless today.

Creativity grows and adapts as a response to what is happening around it.

EXPERIMENT

Dont be afraid to experiment and try something new. Your first attempt will be a disaster (unless you are very lucky). Dont be put off. Try it again, keep trying and put your learning into practice. Dont compare yourself to other people who might be more experienced than you. Of course, you need to look up to work you admire, but dont be put off trying new things just because you think you wont be any good.

Ignore the doubting voice in your head and dive in with energy and enthusiasm.

DONT BE AFRAID TO MAKE MISTAKES

Getting things wrong is key to the creative process. If youre afraid of getting things wrong youll hold yourself back. Test your ideas to destruction. Dont be afraid of pulling everything apart and taking a U-turn. Allow yourself to think creatively. Dont put barriers up between what you think you can do and what you can actually do. Youll be surprised what you are capable of.

WHERE ARE WE?

Find the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Being in a new environment forces you to question yourself about everything.

Changing your daily routine makes you look at the world through fresh eyes.

You can discover more in the first day somewhere new than in a week at home.

Document everything, take photographs, collect things and keep mementoes.

Seeing the world helps you to put you and your work in context.

AEIOUE?

Originality comes out of combining influences and experiences in a new and interesting way.

WHO MADE THE RULES

Why do we obey rules that dont apply to us?

Why are we constrained by rules that other people invented? Im not talking about rules like, dont walk on railway lines. Im thinking about boring rules that prevent you from trying new ideas and developing new ways of working.

You cant do that / You can do this Please, dont tell me what I can and cant do, what I can and cant think.

Conformity is the opposite of creativity as soon as you start doing as you are told and follow the rules, you stop being truly creative.

Dont accept that things are always done in a certain way. Find out why things are done the way they are, then find out if there are better ways of doing them.

Theres a lot of pressure to conform, I like it when people dont. I like oddballs (I may even be one myself). I admire individuals who do their own thing and have a unique view of the world. The interesting stuff is always on the fringes of society, never the mainstream. Unconventional people are ingenious and inventive; its inspiring to see the world through their eyes.

It takes mavericks to show there is another way for everybody else; they are the pathfinders for new ways of living.

DONT BE NORMAL DONT BE ORDINARY