We were lucky to catch up with Sam Redmond recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sam , thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
Creativity is a <i>momentum</i>. It is a state of being, a way of seeing, and most importantly, a means of intentional action. To be on the same momentum as the creative mindset is to dance with the universe ~ to see it’s openings as opportunities, full of curiosity, challenges and change. If you are lucky, you get to ride this wave rather than chase it; and in order to do that, creativity must be tended to.
I provide a lil’ TLC to my Creativity through focusing on the 3 C’s that help to ignite it’s fire: Curiosity, Challenge and Change. They say Curiosity killed the cat, and while I can see it–how we can develop curiosities that lead us down darker paths… There is also something wildly illuminating about following Curiosity down a dark path that leads to a lightbulb. An idea, after searching for so long, comes alive, sparks another neuron, and another lightbulb turns on. Curiosity is one of the primary ingredients towards achieving innovation. To create a better future, we must first <i>wonder</i> what that could look like; and, we have to hope that some of those solutions might be <i>good </i>ones. If Curiosity didn’t kill the cat, it sure has hell made her feel more alive than ever before. To keep my curiosity alive, I try to see something new every single day, and then let myself wonder about how it all came to be.
The second spice in Creativity’s secret sauce is Challenge. I think society often sees challenges as not even something to be afraid of, but rather, something to be avoided. I have learned however that this is not how you move through things–rather, it puts a halts to Curiosity and Creativity’s masterplans. Challenge is bold, beautiful, and sometimes a bit of a bitch, but you must learn to embrace her. Do whatever you have to do to prepare for her too: turn the competitive dial up, crank some music, grab some big paper, drink four cups of coffee, potentially procrastinate and then during this time, recognize that you are doing this lil’ self-care routine to pump yourself up. To even think about overcoming Challenge, you must <i>be</i> that scene in Rocky where he is running around, training, and looking in the mirror jump-roping to positive affirmations. We must learn to greet Challenge with not just a friendly face, but to become excited at their mandatory appearance, and this becomes easier when you learn to love the process of problem-solving. You have to learn to love the fight, which means you have to learn to love your life… because that’s what you’re fighting for.
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Creativity stands in the mirror and sees Change as it’s reflection. </i>These two soul sisters are connected, inherently, but still not quite the same. Something that surprised me amongst my journey with Creativity was that I struggled simultaneously with Change. What a fun paradox to live in, right? The knowledge that Change can be good, recognizing that I’ve gone through it before and am entirely a-okay, still, has not made the approach of new change digestible. It’s kind of like when you really love nachos, and there’s so much excited and nervous anticipation, but then you remember they really don’t love you… and you have this overshadowing feeling that it’s just going to end in diarrhea. Despite <i>loving</i> Creativity, embracing Change has not been the easy meld I was hoping for.
Despite the potential diarrhea, somehow, I push through… Simply because I know my fears can be overcome by not only practicing and playing with Creativity, but by recognizing that Change is the goal. We create to change the way we live, the way we see things, and to shift within our selves ~ <i>that is growth.</i> Becoming friends with Change is a type of freedom and practicing play, trying and learning new things, and using the creative process to bring <i>something </i>into <i>becoming </i>is how I keep Creativity’s momentum alive. <i>
“Necessity is the mother of invention, it is true, but its father is creativity, and knowledge is the midwife.” — Jonathan Schattke, scientist</i>
To create something from nothing has always been one of life’s greatest challenges and human’s greatest achievements… and this is what I strive for — to create something beautiful, and not because we have to, but because that is what being alive is all about.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
The idea for my small business, little did I know, had been percolating for years prior to its actual inception. The combination of my young adult experiences primarily included 3 large events: graduating University with a degree in Sociology, immigrating alone to another country, and volunteering in a men’s federal prison. The intersection of these experiences made me not only see the world differently, but inspired me to want to capture and share what I was seeing as well.
During my time in University, I was in the process of immigrating to the country I was studying in, and also began volunteering at a federal prison. I existed the same but how I exchanged was very different between each world… and what I saw was incredible.
The economy has always been an overarching theme of my life. Finances impact almost everything we touch, can strain or ease our sense of security, and is constantly shifting… whether that be what the actual dollar is worth or the the value placed on a good or service desperately needed, many of us have only ever known<b> <i>existing through exchanging</i>. </b>
Exchange, naturally, creates ecosystems. Within these interactions, there is a give and take that clearly doesn’t exist alone. Despite the main variables shifting between the worlds and economies I was in, like what currency looked like for instance, patterns began to stick out. In order to exchange, there needed to be necessity. Necessity required creativity. You needed creativity to survive. And, as it turns out, creativity is a skill ~ one that can be harnessed, practiced and perfected.
When the idea for a business started to come into fruition based off these patterns I was watching emerge, the goal was never about creating an economy, because that <i>will</i> happen… it was to <i>humanize</i> the economy.
Step 1: Find ways to bring the relationship between what we value and the people who create it <i>closer</i>.
To me, that meant taking out the middle man: money. Rather than placing value in an object, like currency, I instead started to think about the inherent connection that comes from valuing not just the thing we are receiving, but the life that built it, the skill it took to create it, and the story that is associated with it. Things don’t exist independent of each other, even if it appears that way.
After giving it much thought, I was inspired to try to humanize the marketplace through creating a trade economy. I focused my marketing strategies on not just the offering itself, but how that offering elevated my lifestyle, why it was created in the first place, and the story behind it that holds so much intention and impact. Through storytelling and through our creative solutions that allowed for the exchange of value to happen without the need for money, a marketing agency was born, a resource was shared, and an ecosystem was created. At it’s core, we simply wanted to showcase to our community What’s Good!
By day, I may be an entrepreneur, and as much as I help other businesses create content and share their story, by night, I am a local consumer. Perhaps selfishly, I hoped my business impact my personal experience with the economy, but would also result in humanizing the economy for all locals and visitors alike. Being connected to where you spend your hard earned money, aligning your exchanges with your values, and genuinely thinking about how you engage with the economy can make big changes to the overall health and well-being of a community. We hope to continue to be a resource and a space for this to exist and thrive.
As of November 2024, we have been in business for four years, and have worked with over 550 businesses in 40 diverse industries. We primarily help businesses market themselves by consulting on storytelling strategies, capturing content that showcases their unique brand story, and by creating media via our own platform to not influence, but educate people on the various businesses and brands that exist and that can elevate their local lifestyle, no matter where that may be!
We are excited to announce a rebrand coming in 2025, along with the launch of our Podcast and Business Directory!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
<i>Stay Positive.</i>
You never know what is around the next corner, but hoping it is good, never hurt nobody. If you believe in your skills and in yourself, even if it is not what you are expecting, maintaining that positive mindset will help you to overcome.
<i>Self-Determination.</i>
Imposter Syndrome is real but so are you. Believing not only in yourself, but what you have created and it’s vitality is how a seed grows into a rose. It takes time, but before you know it, you are strong, transformed, and authentically you. (Remember, it’s a spectrum, so don’t be too hard on yourself ~ day by day is the only way).
<i>Keep Curious. </i>
I believe I was always curious, but Sociology really helped me to focus that curiosity not just on the world around me, but on my inner world too. The more curious I am, the more it leads me to learn, to try new things, to expand myself, and grows the connectedness I feel to the world around me.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Our business is built for and thrives on collaboration! The perfect collaboration for us is a business that is either innovating new offerings or new ways of doing things, brings a unique offering to their community, or who has created a meaningful product in a meaningful way. Be it a small business or a large operation, we thrive on showcasing meaningful stories that help people understand and connect with not just your offerings, but the <i>why </i>behind it all. We love working with businesses that provide everyday necessities, like Promise Valley Organic Farms in Duncan, British Columbia that is the first organic dairy farm on Vancouver Island, all the way to exploring luxury in the mountains of Whistler in Lake Placid Lodge’s stunning Air BnB. We deep dive into your story and the experience you offer in order to help you communicate the experience you offer.
If you are interested in being showcased, need some content created, have a story to tell, or are in need of some creative marketing strategies, please don’t hesitate to reach out! We’d love to explore what you offer, we love building beautiful ideas, and seeing how we can collaborate.
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: (@)whatsgoodyyj
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.whatsgoodyyj.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatsgoodyyj/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-redmond-1a431a306/
Image Credits
All images are shot by What’s Good YYJ.
