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Published on April 30th, 2012 | by thetoolsman

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All is Unfair in this Madness called Business! Ep.3 – Creativity, Tools & Skill

Everyone should know that the Hustle never Changes, its the People that do. Business has always been about the same thing, exchange of Value – Products, Services, Currency e.t.c by agreeing parties. The Success or Failure rate of these Business transactions are therefore pegged on Human decisions and behavior. To be more precise its the mix of Passion ( Creativity ), Competence ( Tools ) & Discipline ( Skills ) that make all the difference. You need all 3 to keep the journey to Success steady; like a tripod to keep you balanced.

Initially introduced to the concept of Passion, Competence and Discipline in one of my Entrepreneurship training at the Fate IVD program in 2011, it was soon clear to me that I had always know it as Creativity, Tools and Skill when I first started my graphic design career and business in 2007. Both could be reinterpreted in other forms which I believe I have written about < Read the Post  > and now can shed more light on how each can give the unfair advantage you need to get to your goals.

The Three Musketeers (French: Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d’Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard. D’Artagnanis not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, inseparable friends who live by the motto “all for one, one for all” (“tous pour un, un pour tous”). – Wikipedia

If the entrepreneur and/or business owner was D’Artagnan then these guys Creativity, Tools and Skill would be the 3 Musketeers. Let’s work with this hypothesis and even associate the characters appropriately :)

Creativity / Passion - Porthos, honest and slightly gullible, is the extrovert of the group, enjoying wine, women and song. Though he is often seen as the comic relief, he is also extremely dedicated and loyal toward his friends and fellow Musketeers. His eating abilities even impress King Louis XIV during a banquet at Versailles. As the story advances, he looks more and more of a giant, and his death is that of a titan.

Every business owner must be Passionate and/or Creative about what they do. Ideas make the world go round & Passion and Creativity fuel the engines of motion.

Seriously I don’t care if its selling pure water or cleaning gutters, Creative thinking stems from Passion and every Tom, Dick and Harry can be creative. How? Because we are Men, and that’s what men do, we Create on this Earth. Honestly, do you think if the land was run by Dinosaurs, we’d have the Cities and Economies available now? Man was created in God’s image; the original creator, so why do people especially in this part of Nigeria sit down and do nothing but consume? Laziness, Greed, Stupidity or all of the Above – JAMB QUESTION of the Decade. If you haven’t had a Passion to Create something; you have not lived – Period.

Tools / Competence - Aramis loves and intrigues women, which fits well with the opinions of the time regarding Jesuits and abbots. He is portrayed as constantly ambitious and unsatisfied: as a musketeer, he yearns to become an abbé; but when an abbé he wishes for the life of the soldier.

Man created Tools as an extension of himself. The Computer is an extension of our Brains, the Chair is an extension of our Butt. Tools seek Purpose or else are useless

Using tools increases our competence to do more than we would have. As long as you understand the tools, you have competence to use them! Get to know your tools of the trade, because after having all those creative thoughts and ideas we become passionate about, nothing can be achieved without Tools & your Competence to deliver. This is actually what differentiates what we’re doing here in Nigeria  and a lot of the developing Countries aka the BRIC ( Brazil, Russia, India and China ). They have understanding of their tools and are using their numbers to speed up delivery with mass Competence. My rant, get to the core of your talent and look for a way to physically manifest it.

Skill / Discipline - The oldest by some years, Athos is a father figure to the other musketeers. He is described as noble and handsome but also very secretive, drowning his secret sorrows in drink. He is very protective of d’Artagnan, the youngest, whom he regards as a son.

A famous saying goes “if you spend 10,000 Hours on a particular Skill, you will master it” – It takes Discipline to master Skill. Once mastered, it guides the rest

Skill is the result of using your Tools / Competence. Mostly overlooked, this is actually the one that many people fail to grasp simply because they do not understand that patience is a virtue when mastering Skill ( or being Disciplined ) & many of us really lack patience. We always look for the shortcut and never really maximize or potential simply because of the step jumping. In the business of providing service, the consultants would tell you this is what differentiates the Ferrari boys from the Bicycle riders. No matter the qualifications & education ( although they help you know what to master ) you can never truly be a great business mind without Discipline and the Skill mastered from it.

Find the balance of these 3 in whatever venture you take up. None is more important than the other & all work together for the greater good to achieve your goals & expectations.

Cheers.

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About the Author

thetoolsman Unrepentant media addict.

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