Creativity professor Juan Munoz published his newsletter for 162 weeks in a row. This is how his research paid off. |

What happens if schools learn wrong? This is how professor of university creativity Juan Munoz is making more impact as a creator by beginning by becoming a better learner.

On the first day of class, creativity and innovation professor Juan Munoz said to his students that they could turn in their assignments in any manner they chose.

"It is possible to write it down, it can be written by hand or typed by a computer. It may be a video or you can make it a podcast, can choose what you would like to do. If you'd prefer to mail a messenger dove with your homework, that's fine. You don't have to be confined to a sheet of paper and Google Doc," he instructed.

But even with this freedom His students from his university submitted identical PDFs using the same formatting every single time.

"I felt so upset," Juan remembers. "I believed this was one of the easiest tasks in the world. What are they doing to develop their creativity if they cannot even get this done?"

While the sequence continued, Juan wondered if there an issue of greater importance in play.

"Students are taught to be a certain way of thinking through ten or fifteen years in the school. We've taught them that whether you're great or not excellent, you'll receive lower marks if you deviate from whatever guidelines your teacher has given you. There's an intrinsic fear of deviating from the standard path."

Juan realized that the internalized program had a negative impact on creativity and he wanted to change things.

Juan loved teaching, but was frustrated by the university rules. While at home and reading TechCrunch as well as other publications for entrepreneurs and was given the idea to start the business.

At the time, there was not a vibrant entrepreneurial environment in Juan's home country of Costa Rica, so Juan was determined to assist in getting things moving.

"I hold a civil engineering degree, and I knew some people might ask, "What do I know about business?' So the first action I took was that I recorded all of my ideas into a blog post and disseminated them. I launched my creator career by sharing my ideas online as well as sharing my ideas about what I can do."

In the present, Juan teaches creativity, setting goals, entrepreneurship, and business through his online learning platform called Epico Academia . The platform offers online classes as well as a collection of no-cost classes, as well as a weekly newsletter via email to help individuals live more imaginative and exciting lives.

This is how trying new things, exploring new paths and constantly studying helped Juan build a thriving online business and unlock an approach to business which is enjoyable and fulfilling.

How to provide content in a way that doesn't make it feel like a school

Based on his previous experience in creating courses in his position as an university professor producing content wasn't an issue for Juan. It was just a matter of figuring out the most impactful approach to delivering that content.

"The biggest friction is getting people to consume our content," Juan shares.

"People purchase a course however only a small percentage are able to complete the course. It feels like being in school. Even if nobody's making me take part and I'm interested, my brain goes to the school environment. There's a teacher, there are courses, classes are offered."

Then Juan started experimenting with other ways he could get his message to the right audience.

"What if I try an online course that lets you get a great weekly email for the duration of a year ? Perhaps TikTok-type content with thirty-second videos. Can I create course using a ton of videos that are 30 seconds long? Maybe. Let me try it out and see if this works."

"I am awestruck by the ability to create content that is basically what I want in whatever arrangement I'd like. I could create courses that are just 100, 30-second videos that let students go through the course."

One experiment that paid off was a pro-Monday email newsletter

In the spirit of experimentation, when Juan tried something different which was different from the norm, he ended up creating one of his top resources: The Monday newsletter .

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

"Every Sunday night, and on the Monday before, folks will share memes on how they dread Mondays." Juan says. "I was thinking, there's every day going to be one Monday. You can't escape it. The question is, why do you remain in a bind about this?"

"I realized that they are people who call me to say"I'm not happy with my life, I don't like my job and want to improve,' and there was an underlying trend. I'm a fan of marketing and branding, and I thought this would be an interesting concept for a brand because it's not hard to get bored on Mondays. There's already a club specifically for this, and it's an enormous club. How do you accomplish something different?"

Juan began a monthly newsletter about the way he enjoyed Mondays. He would offer a suggestion, idea or idea that would assist his readers in getting the most out of their days.

"It attracted lots of people because people were dissatisfied with a situation within their lives, and I had been discussing strategies to make their lives better. This made them think, 'Why do I hate Monday?'"

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

To be a better creator be sure to get as much knowledge as you can about subjects you're interested in.

Every idea doesn't come together as easily as the Monday newsletter or the Monday newsletter. Juan discovered that the most effective way to clarify product and content ideas was to be a student and then a student.

"I'm continually amazed at the fact that we get to live in a world where we can learn from everyone and that anyone could benefit from our lessons. It's amazing. If I'm interested in marbles I could locate someone who is so much interested in marbles and help me learn new things. They can be in Singapore or even in Singapore. I may not know their name and yet I'll benefit from their writings."

To become a successful creator today, learn as much as you can about the topics you love.

"I urge people to consume whatever they're curious about," Juan recommends. "Often there's even the content for free on social media. And when you consume content, you realize, it's not all that complicated. The guy is discussing marbles. There is no requirement to be a Ph.D. in a subject."

"There were experts," Juan explains. "There were experts who could know everything about one subject because there was only a tiny amount of information. There wasn't infinite information like we have today, and that information was sequestered in a place. It was clear that there was one person who had all the information and was experts. However, that's not any longer the case."

"There are a lot of individuals who know lots but there's lots of people who are a bit knowledgeable however there's always somebody that knows less than you. Therefore, you could create content for them and still have a big impact."

The greater the opportunities you have to go out and learn, the more information you'll be able to give to those around you. If you're struggling with the best way to impart knowledge, try switching roles and being a student once more to reignite your inspiration.

Imagine if you had created something just for the sake of making them?

One of the biggest lessons Juan has learned from his business journey is that there are many different ways people can express their passions.

Creating also shouldn't be all about reaching a particular outcome, financial milestone, or number of followers. Instead, you should find a compromise between Telic and Atelic goals.

"Telic goals are ones that have a very fixed outcome that you can measure. They are good goals to pursue for the purpose of accomplishing these. I think people should create with both kinds of objectives in mind." Juan shares.

"If you're actually helping people out, then you're doing something worthwhile, regardless of whether there's just one or one million."

Plus, there's value in the fact that your work exists within the global community.

"If you share tweets, an Instagram posting  or video but no one sees the message, it's not gone. Somebody will find it. Additionally, getting people to like your post or helping others through your post are two very distinct aspects. I am a fan of many things that I don't double-tap. Just because nobody did double tap your tweet or liked your tweet can't be a reason to dismiss it as not beneficial."

"Creating is a very visceral experience. It's emotion, it's vulnerable, it's very honest," Juan relates. "It's an image of you and what you think, and putting that out there and having no one engage with it is a travesty."

"But even if no one buys it, it's still worth it. You still learned a lot. It can be used in consulting or your next position or any. No one can ever take it from you. It's the soul's bond."

To stay 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 to date.

"I advise that creatives keep journals, and reflect on what you're doing now by looking at yourself five years ago, ten years ago and 20 years ago. Think about what you'd think about your work now. Since in the past you'd likely consider it to be great."

Finally, Juan reminds creators that the most important thing is to get your work to the world. The goal is not to make the highest number of sales, followers, or clients.

"I consider it arrogant believe that nobody will want your service. You're making an assumption for another. Allow them to make the choice. If they're interested then they'll purchase it. If they don't want it, they'll never. It's just a matter of making the information available to them. Get more blown away by the world, learn all you can and then make decisions that others will take their own decisions."

"Create your own thing, and then put it on the market, Juan says. "You never know what will happen next."