AI will not make you unique.

 "Everyone wants to be unique. Original. Different."

What do you think about this statement?

If you agree with it, then please tell me, why are so many rushing to use AI to come up with images and designs, and words that sound like stories and songs?

Is it because they've got zero-shame about scraping the work of creative people? Or do they feel they lack talent? If they lack the talent, why don't they pay a creative person to give them work that stands out from the crowd? 

Do they use AI because they have secret longings to produce art too, and are they jealous of creative people?

How does using AI make them be creative if they are basically copying someone else's work? How do they feel, knowing that the "thing" spat out by a computer is not theirs? Honestly? Many won't care. Eventually, though, boredom will settle in as all the images, all the songs, stories look and sound the same.

Now, here's where you can earn without the use of AI. There will be a market for original work. There will be a need for teachers, for those who can show others how to be different, original, unique.

HAVE FUN WITH THIS BLANK SPACE: 

WRITE A COOL, UNUSUAL MESSAGE ALL OF YOUR OWN, WITHOUT THE USE OF AI.

Cloud Travel And Other Small Pleasures.

Do you remember the first time you stretched out on the grass, or on a plank of wood, on a hilltop, on the beach, by the riverside, and stared at clouds?

Remember the wonder, the magic, the sensation of drifting, as if you were moving with the world, at one with its rhythm?

When was the last time you did this? Don't remember? Why have you stopped? 

I remember the last time I watched the clouds. I stretched out on the cool faux-marble floor of my apartment and gazed through the wide windows. That was a few years ago. I so badly need to do this again even though the house where I stay in now doesn't have a ready view of the sky. I will have to go outdoors, into the backyard.

What made me think of doing this again? Yesterday, I was writing about the people who gaze at clouds, and those who call them mad. Have a look here: Excerpt from the thoughts of a woman they call mad.

Now, you must be asking what this has to do with earning and running your own small business. 

Think about this. Running a business can bring stress at times. Cloud-gazing will help you to unstress as you deal with your daily struggles. It can help to bring you back to the center of yourself, to that place where no one but can enter; it's that place where you learn to love yourself the most. 

Now, think of this: the business of mind, body, spirit, where you help not only yourself, but others heal. There are endless ways to do this. Teaching clients to return to the simple pleasures, to appreciate the small things by practising yukori.

Excited now? 

Yes, the possibilities are endless.

I will update the Money Tab soon to give you a few ideas.

These shoes were made for...?

Today, I saw something that made me smile with joy...the work of a young artist in Kenya who customises shoes. His name is Eddie, and he paints colourful patterns and illustrations on trainers - track boots, as we call them in my country. You can find him on Instagram @bujamikeed.

The shoes he customises are so attractive, I wouldn't want to trek through dusty or rain-drenched streets in them. I'd want to wear them only to pretty places. Either that, or I would find a way to coat the illustrations so that the artwork is never damaged.

Know what makes me happy about this too? The fact that someone can take his skill and turn it into a business of his own. 

Painting on shoes is a wonderful way to upcycle old sneakers. First, I'd take them to a shoe repair person to glue, stitch, pad the insoles, repair the outsoles, then I'd do some illustrations on them. Except I'm not an illustrator or an artist. 

I wish I could pay Eddie to paint my favourite pair of sneakers. They are old now, the black has faded to grey, and the white rubber is a bit stained. Unfortunately, Eddie is too far away. Maybe I could buy small, decorative patches and sew them on. Or I can make my own patches and stitch or glue them on. 

The possibilities are endless, the work we can create with shoes. Think about it! (Check my Money tab later for ideas.)

Imagine this!

You’re struggling with a problem. You settle yourself down, day dream about the things you could do to solve the problem. Your mind plays with all kinds of solutions. You run through each in your head until, finally, you sort out the issue.

This happens when you have an imagination that’s alive and well. You see the possibilities of things.

Truly, there are people who live this way. For them, practically nothing is impossible.  Look at the Jamaican Bobsled team. Who on this wild earth would have thought that a group of men from a hot, tropical island could take part in a winter sport and capture the world’s affection?

Look also at Tyler Perry. He was homeless, struggling to get his play on domestic abuse out there. He switched things around, wrote comedy and…bam…he took off. Now, with his fame, he can get millions to hear his message about domestic violence.

Now, let’s get closer to home. Think of the people in your life who, despite the obstacles they face, seem to come up with solutions. Why? They use their imagination.

When an imagination is stifled, you could be given a million solutions yet you will come up with every explanation as to why none of the solutions will work. When an imagination is locked away, we end up having to steal other people’s ideas. We end up feeling dissatisfied with ourselves. We suspect, deep down, that we could be so much more.

What could be the reason for this sad state of affairs? Why have you stifled your imagination? One reason could be fear. The other could be that you were never encouraged to develop your creative skills, you were never encouraged to play. 

Take heart though if you grew up in an environment where you weren’t encouraged to dream, to think outside the ordinary. You can develop a lively mind. And, when you do, you could use it to build your own business.

One way to develop a vivid imagination is to read. Read everything, read lots of books. Play with ideas. Don’t shoot them down as being silly. In fact, be silly. 

Here, have fun with this:

Over the broccoli trees we go, into creeks the colour of tea…

Later on, I will share some ideas on how you could build a small business of your own selling imagination…check the money tab…