We’ve all seen it, all had it, all wondered if it’s worth it. I’m talking about plagiarism.
I used to get really frustrated when people took my hard researched, experienced material and the crafted frameworks that I had spent years building, then changed a few words and passed it off as their own. It still happens now but I’m used to it.
I guess that is just the price of giving. You don’t have to get frustrated because if you have been in the game for a while, there’ll always be more wisdom to draw from. People only plagiarise your stuff because it has depth.
I remember being in art class at school and there was an unwritten rule that tracing was cheating. It was the skill of being able to draw freehand that made something authentic. It only came from the heart if it was original and drawn by you, rather than a traced copy.
I guess for me it’s the difference between making a cake from a packet versus making one from a recipe and working the process. The cake tastes better. Or a microwave meal versus a homemade meal or fast food versus prepared food.
Is there a difference? Copying someone else’s framework, without the depth of knowledge and experience that helped to create it, lacks depth. You can get away with it, for sure, but you are probably focussing less on providing the best service to your audience as possible as to what you can get out of them.
Brand is about building with authenticity and having the depth to know and deliver what is best for your clients.
Leadership guru, John Maxwell, said that true leadership is building in such a way that someone else will think it was their idea and never give the originator credit, with you (the originator) being happy with that outcome.
I would say this, credit other people for their ideas, don’t try to take credit for everything because then, when you are out of depth, you can still bring the right people in.
In our coaching business (HUM4Ns) we work with many frameworks, some of which are ours and others we didn’t create, but are available for us to use. We give credit where credit’s due.
In my podcasts, I cite examples of people and situations that add depth to the stories, and credibility. John Maxwell, for example, just might say it better than I could!
Much of what I have been able to craft into our businesses started with studying Design and Communication, then leadership. I became an art director and learnt the power of communication, visually and motivationally. Then, I made it my life’s work to transfer those skills into as many people as I know.
Some will give you credit and thank you, and some will take what they learned from your leadership, change a few words and claim your IP as their own.
I’m ok with this now as I realise that for both these types of people I have inspired them to make purposeful progress in life. For every Elon Musk or Henry Ford, there were unsung heroes who helped to inspire their dreams.
When I was younger, I wanted to be on the centre stage but today I am more comfortable backstage. I’d rather raise leaders than be THE leader. I want to live a life of service, dedicated to building others up.
Time tells and age gives you insights, wisdom and the ability to perceive through the glasses of experience. When I was younger I didn’t value it, today I absolutely do. It really does pay to have older heads in your life (if they share your values).
Family counts, but it really counts when you give those in your family the gift of purpose. Not just existing together but building together. It isn’t about more holidays (although they’re good and yes, I’d sign up to more), it’s about shaping your children as arrows for a future destination. Now if what I give them gets them more holidays, so be it!
It’s great to see Gen Z pushing back on social norms because they are seeing the damage they have caused. They see drinking, drugs, sex, partying and living in the moment have cost way too high a price in many a life. There is a push back as people want more and they are activating change. They want to find purpose.
Purpose is doing what you know you should with your life and it gives you direction. In a world looking for direction, it enables you to stop tracing and gives you permission to find your own journey by thinking longer, harder and more deeply.
Find your cause and let it run so deep that its very conviction shines from your eyes. It makes the difference between a good work and a great work. Great works might not be appreciated until long after you’re gone and they take time! Crafted in resilience, born out of a deep sense of wanting to change things and influence the world positively.
Real brands lead, they are committed and convicted way before a colour is picked. True brand is message. Too many people are selling design and calling it brand.
Cre8ion work with companies to help bring their message to the fore. We inspire the leaders and teams through the playbook and ultimately realign their organisation through storytelling for history making.
Those two pillars make all the difference.
Are you ready to write your own story, create your own history to leave a mark in a generation looking for hope?
Politics, education, sport, nutrition or tech, all need a message that brings hope. So dream big, do your thing rather than tracing over someone else’s, choose great over good, and hand over a baton to the next generation.
That is our responsibility.
Take it. Believe it. Do it.
Watch the latest episode of the Purpose People Podcast today via the image link below!
