If you create for a living, you hit the proverbial lottery. I say that fully aware it can be a grind, internally, politically, client-side, but still: congratulations. This is a commerce-based art form, and yes, I have to remind myself of that sometimes. The keyword, though, is ART. Visuals, copy, whatever weapon you reach for to break through and actually connect with an audience.
It will challenge you. Regularly. Do it anyway, and for the love of everything, have fun. The final product may or may not collect hardware, but the real win lives in work that leaves a mark on the zeitgeist. Oh, and the metrics. Can't forget the metrics.
And when you sell in the concept you were convinced would never see the light of day, don't celebrate. Don't do a thing. Stand up, close your laptop, push in your chair, and walk calmly out of the room. Let the silence do the talking. Clean. Deliberate. Earned. Of course, once you're out of sight, do whatever primal scream or dance you do because you f***ing did it, you legend.
*Tip of the hat to Mark Moll for that exit move. "The creative's mic drop" never gets old.
