Now that I’ve had my summer holiday and come back feeling refreshed, I’m reflecting on my values – the things that are important to me in life and business.
There are 3 that stand out from a business perspective, and I thought it would be worth sharing them with an explanation of each one. There is a lot more I could write about these, and I have actually made some videos about some of them, which I will share at some point.
They are curiosity, creativity and connection.
Which possibly won’t come as a surprise to you if you’ve been reading my blog posts and social media posts for a while!
Curiosity
This lies behind so many things in my life.
My need for variety in my work (hence freelancing, and that I enjoyed working for an agency on multiple clients and projects).
My love of details in the natural and urban world, feeding my sense of wonder about life and our surroundings.
My fascination with finding the everyday joy in life and work.
I love exploring new places, wandering around taking photos and jotting down observations.
I am always experimenting with new services, new ideas – I like trying things out and seeing where they lead. Going with the flow, following the whispers of my curiosity.
I’m a life long learner – always doing courses.
I’m a thinker – give me an idea or a problem and my brain will happily mull over ways to make it happen or to solve it.
I’m really interested in personality profiles, in the differences between people and how we can use our complementary skills to work together – in using our strengths.
And I’ve recently started thinking about the role of storytelling in business. I have quite a few thoughts on that emerging that aren’t fully formed, so I’m not sure where my mind is going with those yet.
Creativity
For so many years I lost my creative spirit. And once I’d found it again, realised I needed to create, I couldn’t let go of it.
I have to find room in my life for writing (of various types), for taking photos, for drawing my weird penguin doodles, and just generally for exploring other creative thoughts. If I don’t do that I get grumpy!
I love talking about ideas, and am fascinated by the ways that different people approach idea development and creative thinking.
I don’t paint, sculpt or draw myself, but I totally understand those people who need to find time in their weeks to do that and to have their own form of creative practice.
I’ve been attending an online networking event called Create Connect for a while now, where I get to chat to other people who think creatively and/or enjoy creative pursuits.
I believe that everyone is creative in their own way – which may be what we see as traditionally ‘creative’ like art, drawing or sewing, or may be things like gardening, cooking or problem solving.
And I also believe that creativity is us expressing our unique selves in a way that only we can do. That’s why it’s so important – but also why it can be so hard to embrace, because it can feel a bit selfish to need it and make time for it.
Connecting
And finally, connecting with others. I would not be where I am today as a self employed person who finds time for their own creativity if I had not had the support of other people.
Communities, courses, coaches, collaborators, networks – anything where there are groups of people who help each other learn, grow and face challenges. Sharing information and tips, asking questions, cheering each other on.
I also love communicating and teaching – sharing what I know, passing on insights form my own knowledge and experience – so that fits well with being part of communities, as well as in my work.
And I’m continually tweaking the way I communicate and connect with the people I want to work with, finding out what they need, finding out how best to communicate my unique set of skills and the outcomes of working with me.
I’m always connecting people to each other and finding new people to chat to myself. It’s one of the lovely parts of being self-employed – all the different people you can talk to and learn from.
So what? How does all this help? What does it mean?
Well that’s a good question. Ultimately what it means is that these three things are what drive me and are things I need to have in my working life to feel fulfilled.
I need them to help me feel alive and excited by what I’m doing. I need them to allow me freedom – choices to work how I want, where I want, when I want and with whom I want.
And I like to work with people who feel the same about their working life.
Who are also curious and interested and have a sense of playfulness and wonder about their work. People who embrace their creativity in whatever form it takes, and who want to make space for it. And people who enjoy connecting with others and collaborating or sharing tips.
Whether those people are clients, collaborators or just freelance friends – it’s lovely to work with like-minded people who have the same sort of aims in their working life.
If you’re curious about how we could work together, you can find out more about that here.
I’d also like to explore how I could work with organisations that share my business values and/or want the people that work for them to feel like this about their work.
But that thought is at an earlier stage of development – if this sparks an idea for your organisation, please do get in touch.