I've never been at a loss for words in my life. Even in ninth grade, I remember my French teacher, M. Depigny, chastising me for talking too much and sending me to the corner....


Yes, the corner of the class in ninth grade! OK, so he was a jerk.
And on my high school English final (worth 100% of my grade) I misunderstood the ambiguously-worded option between writing a 1000-word essay OR writing a poem, and I wrote a 1000-word poem, for which I received 38 out of 40. God knows how I kept the theme going for each stanza. I was a bit naive.
Those who know me kid me about my verbosity at times, but also convey their admiration for my ability to articluate, both verbally and in writing. As someone who came to professional marketing during a second career path, I've tapped into this ability easily, and have found that writing is my passion.
Sure, I do other things professionally like marketing strategy, brand management, yada, yada, but what do I truly enjoy? Writing.
Whether you're a professional marketer, or someone who practices marketing without the title or background, finding your artistic marketing passion can bring you great joy and a sense of accomplishment. If you write, do it - often and without guaranteed compensation or reward. If you're an artist, paint, draw or create. It's through these freeform experiences that we can tap into our greatest talents, finding our rhythm and inner strengths.
Although the focus in marketing today is on measurement, as the trend moves away from the "creative for creative sake," to the ROI and accountability realm, we must never forget that marketing = persuasion, whether targeted or otherwise. And the ability to persuade or influence behavior comes from art. The words and the visual. The measurement comes after, as we test and tweak the artistic elements.
Indulging our artistic marketing passion will, in turn, make us better at our marketing jobs.