The professor of creativity Juan Munoz published his newsletter for 162 weeks in a row. These are the results of his experimentation. off. |

What happens if schools learn in the wrong direction? Find out how University Creativity Professor Juan Munoz is making more impact as a creator by beginning by becoming a better learner.

In the beginning of school, the creativity and innovation professor Juan Munoz instructed his students that they were free to submit their homework any way they liked.

"It could be written on paper, in your own handwriting, it can be typed on the computer, it could be video, it could be a podcast. You can do whatever you want to do. If you'd like to mail a messenger to do your work it's okay. You don't have to be confined to a sheet of sheet of paper, and Google Doc," he instructed.

However, even with this liberty, his university students still submitted identical PDFs using the same formatting every single time.

"I was so frustrated," Juan remembers. "I thought this was one of the easiest tasks in the world. How can they learn creativity if they can't accomplish this?"

The pattern continued to develop, Juan wondered if there was a bigger issue at play.

"Students have been programmed over a period of ten to fifteen years in the school. They've been taught that, regardless of whether or not you're excellent, you'll receive an unfavorable grade when you don't follow the model your teacher taught you. The fear is inherent to breaking away from the norm."

Juan could see that the internalized program was hurting creativity, and he wanted to improve the way things were done.

Juan enjoyed teaching but was frustrated by the university rules. While at home, he read TechCrunch as well as other publications for entrepreneurs, which gave him an idea for a business.

There wasn't an active entrepreneurship ecosystem in Juan's home country of Costa Rica, so Juan decided to help get things moving.

"I hold a civil engineering degree, and I knew some people might ask, "What is this person's knowledge of business?' The first action I took was that I recorded all of my ideas down in a blog and shared them with. I began my career as a creator by sharing my ideas online as well as sharing my ideas about what I'm able to do."

In the present, Juan teaches creativity, setting goals, entrepreneurship, and business via his online education platform called Epico Academia . The platform offers online classes, a library of free workshops, as well as a monthly email newsletter that helps users live more artistic and epic lives.

Learn how experimentation, taking unexpected paths, and continually learning helped Juan create a successful online business, and also unlock an entrepreneurial approach that is holistic that is rewarding and enjoyable.

How do you provide information without making it look like school

With his experience creating courses for university professors, producing content wasn't an issue for Juan. The only thing was to figure out the most impactful way to deliver that content.

"The biggest friction is getting people to consume the material we create," Juan shares.

"People purchase a course however only a small percentage are able to complete the course. It feels like being in school. Although nobody's forcing me to take part and I'm curious, my brain switches to the school environment. There's a teacher. are modules, there are classes."

And Juan started experimenting with other ways he could get his content to his audience.

"What do I do if I take the online course that lets you receive a cool weekly email for the duration of a year ? Perhaps TikTok-type content with 30-second videos. Could I make a course with tons of videos that are 30 seconds long? I don't know, maybe. I'll test it and see if it works."

"I am awestruck by the ability to make basically any content I want in whatever arrangement I'd like. I can make courses that are just 100, 30-second videos and have people go through them."

One test that was successful was a Monday-focused email newsletter

In the spirit of experimentation, when Juan tried something different that went against the norm, he ended up creating one of his most-loved asset: The Monday newsletter .

In the early days of the online company, Juan noticed a trend.

"Every Sunday night, and on Monday morning, people would post memes about how much they dread Mondays." Juan says. "I thought, there's always going to be one Monday. You can't escape it. Why are you in a bind about this?"

"I began to realize that these are exactly the people who call me to say"I'm unhappy with my life, I don't like my job and I'd like to be better' and there was a trend. I'm a fan of marketing and branding I also thought that it would be a great branding idea since it's so easy to hate Monday. There's already a group to help you with that and it's an enormous club. How do you accomplish something different?"

Juan created a weekly newsletter about the way he enjoyed Mondays where he shared one idea, tip, or thought that can aid his readers to get the most out of their days.

"It attracted lots of people due to people being unsatisfied about something that was going on in their lives and I had been discussing methods to make their lives more enjoyable. It made people question"Why do I get so annoyed on Mondays?'"

Today, this experiment-turned-newsletter continues to grow through word-of-mouth referrals, and Juan still loves writing it every week.

To become a better creator be sure to get as much knowledge that you can on your subjects of interest

Every idea doesn't come together as easily as the Monday newsletter or the Monday newsletter. Juan found that the best way to clarify product and content ideas was to become a student once more.

"I'm constantly amazed by the privilege to be a part of a community where we can learn from everyone and that anyone is able to learn from us. It's amazing. If I'm a marble enthusiast, I can locate someone who is so much in love with marbles, they'll help me learn new things. It could be that they're in Singapore and I may not even know their name, but I can take advantage of their knowledge."

For you to become a thriving creator now, you must learn as much as you can about your subjects of interest.

"I recommend that people consume whatever they're curious about," Juan recommends. "Often you'll find no-cost content on social networks. If you do consume the content, you realize, it's not all that complicated. He's speaking about marbles. There is no requirement to be an Ph.D. in a subject."

"There used to be specialists," Juan explains. "There were experts who could know every aspect of a particular subject, but there was a small amount of information available. The information available was not as vast as we have today, and that information was sequestered in a place. There was a person who was knowledgeable about everything, and they were experts. This isn't the case anymore."

"There are many individuals who know lots, and there are lots of people who have a few ideas and there's always someone that knows less than you. You can create content for them and still make a huge impact."

In essence, the more you go out and discover, the greater knowledge you'll have to give to those who are around you. If you're struggling with the best way to impart knowledge Try switching your roles and being a student once more to reignite your inspiration.

Imagine if you had created something solely for the purpose of making them?

One of the most important lessons Juan has learned from his business journey is that there are numerous routes people can take to be passionate about their work.

It shouldn't just be focused on achieving a specific outcome such as financial goals, milestones, or follower count. Find a way to strike a balance between Telic and Atelic objectives.

"Telic goals are ones that have a very fixed outcome that you can measure. These goals are great to achieve for the sole purpose of accomplishing these. I think people should create with both kinds of goals in mind," Juan shares.

"If you're actually helping other people, then you're doing something worthwhile, regardless of whether it's one person or millions."

Plus, there's value in working on the planet.

"If you share tweets, an Instagram posting  or video but nobody is able to see the message, it's not gone. It will be discovered by someone eventually. Also, getting likes on an article and helping other people through your post are two completely distinct things. I am a fan of many items that I never double-tap. Just because nobody duplicate-tapped or liked your tweet does not mean that it isn't valuable."

"Creating is an emotional thing. It's emotional, extremely vulnerable and honest," Juan relates. "It's the image of your personality and what you think about yourself, and then putting it up for public display and letting no one engage with it is a travesty."

"But regardless of whether nobody purchases it, it's still worth it. You still learned a lot. The knowledge you gained can be applied for your next consulting position or any. No one can ever take it from you. That's soul bound."

To keep in touch with what really matters, Juan explains how important it is to be able to recall where you came from and to celebrate all you've accomplished in the past.

"I suggest that artists keep journals, and reflect on the work you're currently doing in the perspective of five years ago. Or the past ten years and 20 years in the past. Consider what you'd be thinking about the work you're doing today. Because past you would probably consider it to be great."

In the end, Juan reminds creators that most important is to get your work in the marketplace. The goal is not to make record-breaking sales, likes, or clients.

"I think it's arrogant to assume people won't want your product. It's arrogant because you're making a decision for someone else. You let them decide. If they like it and want it, they'll get it. If not, they won't. It's just a matter of making the information available to the people who need it. Take a deeper look at the world, and learn all you can and create decisions that others will take their own decisions."

"Create your idea and get it out there, Juan tells us. "You never know what will happen next."