Tag: joy journey

Try Before You Buy:

The Power in Prototypes

by Bethany Joy

 

 

As Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, once said, prototypes allow designers to think in a tangible way and fail quickly and cheaply, saving us time and resources. Let’s explore four essential guidelines for effective prototyping and learn how we can apply them to turn our dreams into reality. This is a part of the series I have been podcasting on design thinking! We started with empathy, defined problems, ideated solutions, and now it’s time to prototype! This isn’t just for designers we all can learn how to use this method to get our ideas from our brains to the real world.

 

Like Nike Says: Just Do It

Are you someone who tends to get caught up in planning and hesitates to take action? Trust me, I’ve been there too. Many of us spend hours fantasizing about our ideas without actually testing them. However, an idea is just a fantasy until it has been tested. So, take that leap of faith and create a prototype of what you want to achieve.

For example, if you’re considering moving to a new city, don’t just daydream about it. Visit the city, live there for a couple of weeks, and experience the daily life. Explore the neighborhoods where you would potentially live. This hands-on approach will give you a more realistic understanding of whether the idea aligns with your expectations.

 

 

Just Keep Swimming

Be like Dori in Finding Nemo and just keep swimming!  Prototyping is all about speed and avoiding emotional attachment to ideas that might not work. We often fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy, feeling that all the time, energy, and resources we’ve invested will go to waste if we abandon an idea. However, continuing down an unfruitful path will only waste more of your precious time and resources.

Let go of ideas that don’t resonate and embrace failure as an opportunity for learning. I’ve had my fair share of hobbies and ventures that didn’t work out. From collecting random exercise equipment to fantasizing about becoming a marathon runner, I realized that my true passion lay elsewhere and I am ok with enjoying walks lol. It’s okay to let go and focus on what genuinely works for you instead of forcing a process to fit your goal. Processes can change keep the goal the same.

 

Keep the Main Thing The Main Thing

When creating prototypes, it’s essential to have a central testing issue in mind. While you remain focused on your ultimate goal, don’t lose sight of other valuable lessons that might emerge along the way.

For instance, when trying out a new exercise routine for the umpteenth time, it’s easy to get caught up in finding the perfect shoes, leggings, or gym membership. However, remember your primary goal and the problem you’re solving. Stay focused on the essential aspects and avoid distractions that might take you off course.

 

 

Prototyping is a powerful tool that allows us to turn our ideas into reality. By following these guidelines, you can harness the potential of prototyping to iterate and refine your concepts. Remember that failure is not the end but an opportunity for growth and learning. Embrace the journey, and don’t be afraid to test, refine, and test again. Your dreams are within reach!

Thank you for reading. To stay connected, visit bethanyjphotography.com or email bethany@bethanyjphotography.com. Join Seen & Celebrated, our weekly newsletter, to support local creative women and businesses in Maryland and access the newsletter archive. If you need portraits, design work, or business support, I’m here for you. Reach out to me, Bethany Joy, for your unique needs.

 

 

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Resources: – Chu, Melissa. “Announcing Your Goals Makes You Less Likely to Achieve Them.” Inc.com. [Link](https://www.inc.com/melissa-chu/announcing-your-goals-makes-you-less-likely-to-ach.html)
– “Sunk Cost Fallacy.” Scribbr.com. [Link](https://www.scribbr.com/fallacies/sunk-cost-fallacy/)

 

The Medici Effect: Embracing Collaboration

by Bethany Joy

 

 

Hey there! In a world that values fresh ideas and innovative solutions, collaboration and diversity of thought have become essential ingredients for success. Have you ever heard of “The Medici Effect”? It’s a fascinating concept introduced by Johannes Frans Johansson in his book, and it highlights the power of collaboration among diverse individuals or fields to spark creativity and drive innovation. Since we are talking about how to create ideas in our series on Design Thinking, let’s dive into Johansson’s six rules of innovation and explore how we can apply them in our everyday lives, from our homes to our workplaces. We have empathized, defined our problems, and now we are in the ideation stage!

 

 

The Value in Diversity

 

The Medici Effect, beautifully described by Johannes Frans Johansson in his book, highlights the remarkable results that arise when people from different backgrounds and disciplines come together. Take, for example, the collaboration that led to the creation of solar panels inspired by the incredible efficiency of leaves in nature. It’s a perfect illustration of how diverse perspectives can spark game-changing innovations. So, let’s see how we can apply the six rules of innovation to foster collaboration and unleash our collective creative genius. These six rules were initially from this article on worldofwork.io.

 

 

All New Ideas Are Combinations of Existing Ideas

 

We’ve all experienced conflicts and disagreements, especially when living with someone who has a different approach to tasks like cleaning. But here’s an opportunity for growth! By combining our ideas and values, we can find unique solutions that bridge the gap between our perspectives. Try engaging in a value quiz or an open conversation to understand each other’s preferences. Perhaps you can compromise, finding a way to keep the kitchen clean while still allowing for a spontaneous approach. Remember, collaboration is all about exploring new ways to solve problems and creating a harmonious living environment.

 

 

Not All Idea Combinations Are Created Equal

 

Differences shouldn’t be viewed as obstacles; they should be embraced as opportunities. The real magic happens when we mix loosely linked ideas, like observing how children solve problems without being bound by conventional rules. By welcoming diverse perspectives and learning from people of different ages and backgrounds, we open ourselves up to fresh insights and unconventional solutions. Let’s break free from the confines of our comfort zones and discover innovative approaches inspired by the unexpected.

 

 

More Ideas Lead to Better Ideas

 

Innovation thrives in an environment where ideas flow freely. As leaders or individuals, we can create spaces that encourage idea generation and circulation. One effective way to do this is through informal interviews. Take the time to sit down with others, ask thought-provoking questions, and genuinely listen to their experiences and thought processes. By fostering collaboration, we create a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, where every idea has the potential to contribute to something extraordinary.

 

 

Plan for Mistakes and Failures

 

Failure is not the end; it’s an essential part of the innovation journey. Just as children stumble and fall while learning to eat, we need to embrace the lessons that come with making mistakes. By acknowledging and learning from failures, we cultivate resilience, understanding, and the ability to adapt. So, let’s create spaces where mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth and where innovative ideas can thrive. Let’s extend patience when our friends, family, and children experiment and it doesn’t go as planned. We all make mistakes- it’s part of the process.

 

 

Stick to Your Passions

 

It’s the Best Chance for Success: Passion fuels innovation. It’s what drives us to explore new ways of combining our interests and finding solutions to complex problems. Whether it’s photography, fine art, mental health, or technology, our passions bring excitement and dedication to our endeavors. By staying true to our passions, we maintain the motivation to persevere through failures and embrace collaboration with others who share our enthusiasm. Together, we can accomplish remarkable things.

 

By embracing the Medici Effect and applying Johansson’s six rules for innovation, we can unlock our collective potential for collaboration and ideation- This isn’t just for professional settings it’s for our most important relationships, our toughest conversations and bridging the gap to growth when we are struggling to see things from others perspective.

 

References used:

 

Beat the Mid-Year Blues

by Bethany Joy

 

 

How are those new year’s resolutions going for you?

It’s June and let’s be honest with ourselves. We set BIG new year’s goals back in January and before we knew it we were halfway through the year. It can be frustrating to set out to have the “Best Year EVER!” and then look at the unused gym membership, unchecked list of to-dos, and unexpected craziness life has thrown our way and get discouraged. Here are some ways to rethink the 2nd half of your year to inspire you to keep going! Life is tough but so are you.

 

Redefine What Success Looks Like

Setting ambitious goals is great. Pushing yourself to be the best is not a bad thing. However, in the design world, you have to do more than set a goal. You need to test it and evaluate if it’s working. This is a great time to re-evaluate your goals. If you want the vision in your head to become reality you need to be realistic about your ability to achieve it. For example, if you plan on traveling more this year but so far you have only traveled to the store take a step back and ask why? Are you spending your time on what you believe is important? Are you in a temporarily tough situation? Do you need to adjust the timeline? Spend some time reviewing what you have actually accomplished versus what you want. It may be time to re-prioritize your energy to what matters.

 

 

Own Your Environment

We all have responsibilities to take care of. It could be our families, jobs, or our home. Bills have to be paid and we don’t always get to choose what that looks like. What we can choose is to set our environment up for success. In a busy season, it’s normal to have things out of place including routines, our homes, and our schedules. Halfway through the year is a great time to stop and reset your environment to emphasize your values! Values in this case simply mean how you approach life. If you value adventure approach your day looking for it. Can you make cooking breakfast an adventure? Can you explore new ways to get your work done? If you value rest, how can you approach your day in a restful manner? Can you build in extra breaks even if they are only mental? Can you prioritize a 5-minute walk? The way you present yourself and craft your environment is up to you. Shout out to my therapist for this advice!

 

 

Cut Your Losses

Ego will cost you more than you ever wanted. Sometimes our goals are grounded in ego, grounded in proving others wrong, proving we don’t need help, or proving we are perfect. Take note: Are your goals for this year rooted in pleasing others, proving others or pride to avoid shame? When we spend energy on ideas or goals that don’t work because we can’t let go of our plans or admit that we got it wrong we lose more time. Sometimes the most effective thing you can do is realize what you are doing is not working and pivot. Sometimes I tell myself “plot twist” or ” The plot thickens” because it can be hard to let go of effort, time, or energy invested into a plan that has failed. Failure isn’t the end, it’s the beginning of learning.

 

Small Steps Equal Big Changes

Okay. This may seem cliche, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. If you have fallen off of your new year’s resolutions now is the time to check and see if you have fallen prey to chasing “States of Being” I talk about this in my podcast from the book The Personal M.B.A. A state of being is when a goal is to “Be Happy” “Be Successful” or “Be at Peace” which will not help you actually reach your goal. Instead, define what each means and put them into actionable steps. If “Be Happy” means working less and having the income to go on vacation, spend your energy examining what it would take to make that a reality. Get it on paper and get it with dates. Get that desire into action and start creating a path toward it. Imagine there are no barriers and dream up how you can achieve your goals. It may not be exactly what you imagine but don’t underestimate the encouraging power of small steps.

 

Encouragement is Like Dynamite

Encouragement comes in small packages. When everything seems to be falling apart, it can feel like you need a miracle for circumstances to turn around. In my life when I make one small positive change, I feel incredibly better. It may not take as much as you think to be able to see things are getting better. Give yourself encouragement by recognizing what is going well. When you have a bad morning believe that your day can turn around tomorrow. If you went off the line on your New Year’s Resolutions there are still 6 months to make it happen. Don’t throw away the baby with the bath water. One thing going wrong doesn’t ensure EVERYTHING is ruined! (This is for me to be honest).

 

 

I hope this gives you some ideas on how to gather the strength to keep moving this year. Remember that when you feel like everything is going wrong you can still choose to be kind. You can choose to be hopeful and fight for the better. Happy Mid-year! Let’s continue doing what we dream of. If you want some cute encouragement to check out the affirmations below!

 

 

 

Get Your Download

 

 

 

Want more? Check out my latest podcast!

 

 

 

Intentionally Getting

to Know One Another

by Bethany Joy

 

 

As I grow older, I want to be known. This wasn’t going to happen without my openness and the space to let myself be known good, bad, and ugly. In Episode 4 of The Creativity Cure, I talk about how I am going to live in a way that fosters real relationships that are strong. Here are some practical ways I am going to do that! Let me know what you think. What would you add?

 

 

Let’s Be Honest 

It was the first BIG step I had to take. Every day, I work on not going along to get along. As soon as I realized I wasn’t being understood, I worked harder to make sure I could be understood. Suppose I asked for guacamole at Chipotle and they said Queso I would speak up if the person heard something different about the food. On days when I’m having a tough day, I try to be honest with people about how I’m doing. It was only when I spoke honestly outwardly about how I felt that I was able to move through my emotions because I heard what my body was saying and I took action to move forward. While this doesn’t mean I’m right about everything, it does mean I deal with reality and let people know who I am and what my plans are. As I constantly engage in these little confrontations, I build my confidence for real big moments when I have to speak up.

 

Pay Attention 

The more I expressed what I felt inside, the more I noticed my needs and this really changed my life. If you know someone who gets hangry, you know what it feels like to argue and fight and then they eat and it’s all good. They probably felt hungry long before they got irritable. In the same way, when I listened to my needs, I noticed lots of additional needs I’d usually overlook until I got sick from lack of sleep or felt terrible from not taking care of myself. I mean I actually noticed when I was thirsty or hungry before I felt extremely irritable. Rather than being irritable towards my family when I get home from work, I could communicate decision fatigue. I did decide to go to therapy and it really helped me work through being out of tune. I began to feel more like the driver in my life and less like the rider of my emotions or lack thereof. 

 

Make Time to Get to Know People

Are there people you pass by every day and say hi to? Have you gotten to know your family well? How well do your friends know each other? Asking yourself these questions will help you find meaningful relationships and improve them. What you water grows. You have to be patient if you want to build a community. There’s a good chance you’ll be the one who calls and asks awkward questions. When your relationship with a sibling is always surface level, it’s hard. I actually find a lot of marriage podcasts so helpful because the key to all thriving relationships is communication. The Young Black Married Christian Podcast uses an acronym to remind you to go deep. They call it the BLESS framework. You ask questions about someone’s Body, Labor, Emotions, Social Life, and Spiritual Life. 

Body: How is your shoulder doing after you got hurt the other day?

Labor: What was work like for you today did you enjoy it?

Emotions: I know you were disappointed that you didn’t get a raise how are you feeling?

Social Life: How are your friends?

Spiritual Life: Are you hoping for anything? What are your dreams?

It might help you get to know your loved ones better by asking better questions. Try it out! The questions get deeper as you go along and you can actually repeat it to spark a good conversation.

 

Finally, Listen

Learning to listen is a skill. Learn how to listen if you want to succeed in community. It means asking follow-up questions! This means not adding to what someone said or twisting it to fit your needs. It means asking for clarity and repeating what they said. It means respecting people’s choices and preferences; sometimes we ignore them by not listening. Take the time to consider how your actions affect the people around you, without justifying them. I’m not going to pretend I’ve figured this out because this is hard. But if you learn to listen, you’d be surprised what people share about wanting to be connected.

I want to leave you with this last thought if you have trouble controlling peace by allowing your boundaries to be consistently crossed. 

One day, you may have to speak up for serious reasons like safety and protection. In an assailant safety class at work, there is a section that talks about how one of your defenses is your voice. Often, criminals will exploit people’s natural tendency toward friendliness. Some would look for those who were more concerned about being polite than speaking up. This reminded me that what you practice will become your reality. Practice talking to others, being honest in your emotions and thoughts, and verbalizing them even in disagreements, and you’ll be able to do it when it matters. The good thing about this is that you will attract people who see this as a good thing rather than people who like to dominate others. Your ability to listen to yourself will influence your ability to listen to others. It could be your children or your partner who benefit from the growth that happens when you choose to care for yourself the way you do for others. It starts with you. Practice with you. Be honest and build relationships that reflect you good bad and ugly. Check out this clip by Hailey Page Magee this one is for you people pleasers!

 

 

Thank you for checking out my blog! You can listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Watch me on YouTube as well by searching for The Creativity Cure. Let’s continue the conversation by joining Seen & Celebrated my weekly Newsletter where I share stories of women doing great things in Maryland. Subscribe for free below and access all of the stories.

 

I hope these tips are helpful, but I am only one person, so let me know what has worked for you! I can be reached here or via email at bethany@bethanyjphotography.com. Interested in collaborating on something creative? Commission a portrait! The booking period for 2023 is now open.

 

 

 

Creating Through Collaboration

When a Model, Stylist,

and Photographer Get Together

 

I am excited to share an exciting project I worked on with model and entrepreneur Anita Ofori and Yvonne of divinehair.com. We got together to collaborate on a series of portraits that show all of our creative experience.

 

 

 

Working with a team is the best way to create hands down. On this day we got together we pulled different dresses, makeup looks, and hair. We worked outdoors and indoors to create different looks. I enjoyed having access to the professionalism of both of these women and was happy to listen to their input as we worked.  Honestly, this was one of the most fun experiences I have had creating portraits.

 

Racing The Sun

We raced against the sunset to take advantage of a quarry lake. We played with lighting from a flash and from the sun which was perfectly golden. I learned invaluable information about modeling with Anita and her movements as well as from Yvonne with her experience in the industry as well. Check out some of my favorite shots from the sessions outdoors!

 

We then moved indoors and did studio looks. This was particularly fun for me because I got a chance to create with my portrait style in mind. I wanted to create strong light, vibrant colors, and highlight Anita’s personality as a model. Take a look below at some of my favorite images from the session! 

Thanks again to Anita and Yvonne I look forward to working with both of you again! To learn more about both of these ladies follow Anita on Instagram here: @anitaofori Follow Yvonne on Instagram here: @vonslayz.

 

 

What is your creative process? DM me on social media or email bethany@bethanyjphotography and let me know! 

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4 Ways to Re-engage Your Creative Thinking

Celebrating Your Originality

 

 

Last Friday I launched the 1st episode of my podcast the creativity cure. We talked about how to celebrate your originality. I focused on how we should embrace our unique perspective in life and cultivate it to bring joy, creative problem-solving, and a sense of freedom. You can listen to my podcast here to get the full recap. Below I expand on the practical ways I re-engaged creativity in my life.

 

 

Ask people what they notice about you.

Ask people what they notice about you. If you haven’t done this exercise it’s a great way to get perspective. When I asked a trusted friend to give me feedback on what they noticed about me it was surprisingly refreshing because they mentioned things I wouldn’t have noticed. Feedback is the tool that businesses, apps, websites, designers, and artists use to ensure they are communicating clearly with the intended party. In our personal lives, we can use feedback to understand what we communicate to the outside world. You may not realize that you give great advice or have an eye for detail. Hearing someone mention this will help you recognize ways you are unique and talented.

 

Journal Your Joy

When you find something that sparks life in you write it down. I started doing this when I had so many ideas my brain was scattered. By tracking my thoughts I was able to narrow down some consistent patterns in what excites me. Creativity involves being unconventional and that means our creative expression can be unconventional. Even if it seems mundane to you if you enjoy it write it down and think about why. The more you clarify what it is you enjoy creating the better you become at finding ways to express this at home or at work.

 

 

Remember Your Childhood

Adulting is hard. It’s work and life can be tough. When we are kids we may have been freer to think about how big and exciting life could be. Revisiting what you enjoyed is a great exercise to access that part of yourself. I know there were activities I simply forgot I loved. Finding ways to bring back my love for lighting in photography and music and dance became a way to bring joy back to my current life even with all the busyness.

 

 

Finding Time to Play

Finally to reengage your creativity find a way to facilitate uninhibited exploration. That’s how I define play. I don’t want to make it narrow but our brains thrive when we give space to challenge ourselves to think outside of the box. Play comes in all shapes and sizes but I do think it’s important that it’s not a stressful thing. Play for me is making up websites just to see what I can do. It can be writing or cooking it could even be how you create your workout. Play is a necessity and when life is tough a moment of creativity can inspire hope that things can be better. Play is important because we engage with pushing what’s possible. When we can freely think through our problems looking for solutions instead of focusing on limitations we open the door to new solutions and possibilities. Our ability to play is connected to this.

 

Hopefully, these are helpful tips but I am only one person so I would love to hear what has worked for you! Email me here or at bethany@bethanyjphotography.com. Also, commission a portrait with me to collaborate on a creative art piece! Booking is open for 2023.