The Creative Signature

Wednesday, May 27 — Positioning

Good morning Creative Signature community. 

Happy Wednesday. And if you are in London right now — you already know.

33 degrees. Two days in a row. Which sounds perfectly manageable if you are reading this from Dubai or Miami or New York in August. But here in London, where buildings were designed for cross ventilation and the architecture was built long before air conditioning was invented — 33 degrees is a whole different conversation. We have been sleeping with fans on, which is essentially sitting outside in a hot windstorm. Weird and wonderful and very, very British.

Every day is a good day to have a gratitude practice

And here is the thing — it turns out this is not just a quirk. If the entire city of London switched on AC simultaneously it would actually strain the electrical grid and risk brownouts across the city. So the beautiful old buildings and the lack of AC are connected. The architecture and the energy grid are connected. Everything here has a reason, even when it is deeply uncomfortable at 2am with a fan blowing hot air at your face.

On the other side of the Atlantic, a wet Memorial Day kept everyone indoors. And I want to say — days like that are some of the best creative days of the year. Watch something brilliant. Read a book you have been putting off. Draw something. Sit with an idea. Let your mind wander without a device in your hand. Creativity loves a rainy day.

Which brings me to next week. SXSW London opens Monday June 1st in Shoreditch — six days bringing together founders, artists, creators, policymakers and leading voices across technology, film, music, business and culture. I will be there — and I cannot wait. CampaignLive

The programme this year is built around convergence — bringing together unexpected voices in ways that rarely happen elsewhere. Speakers include NEON founder Tom Quinn, Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen, Bluesky COO Rose Wang, footballer Jill Scott MBE, and creator GK Barry. The music programme spans K-Pop, Afrobeats, grime, spoken word and indie — across twenty venues through Shoreditch. Creative BoomCrack Magazine

And here is the best part — you do not need to be in London to participate. Follow #SXSWLondon all week. Watch the clips. Read the threads. Sign up for the newsletter at sxswlondon.com for insider updates and programming highlights. The ideas don't stay in the building. They travel. Cannes Lions

In the meantime — if London has hit 33 degrees and you are looking for somewhere cool and air conditioned and genuinely inspiring to spend an afternoon this week — the city's art spaces are exactly that. The V&A. Tate Britain. The Wallace Collection. All free. All extraordinary. All beautifully, gloriously cool.

That is what Personal Branding for Creative Entrepreneurs is built on too — the idea that your best creative thinking happens when you give yourself permission to be inspired. Not at your desk. Not on your phone. In a room full of beautiful things, with a notebook and a quiet hour.

Go find yours today.

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Today's Prompt 

Where do you do your best thinking — and when did you last actually go there?

Not your desk. Not your phone. The place where ideas come to find you.

Go there this week. Even for an hour. Especially in the heat.

You've got this.