Creativity professor Juan Munoz published his newsletter for 162 weeks in a row. Here's how his experiments paid off. |

How could school be able to teach wrong? This is how professor of university creativity Juan Munoz is making more impression as a creative by beginning by becoming a better learner.

In the beginning of classes, creative and innovation professor Juan Munoz said to his students that they were free to submit their assignments in any manner they wanted.

"It can be written on paper, written by hand, it can be typed using a computer, it can be a video, you can make it a podcast, can choose what you would like to accomplish. If you'd like to mail a messenger to do your work it's okay. You don't have to be constrained by a piece of newspaper or Google Doc," he directed.

Even with that freedom the students at his college submitted identical PDFs using exactly the same format every time.

"I felt so upset," Juan remembers. "I thought this was the simplest task to complete. What are they doing to develop their creativity if they cannot complete this task?"

The pattern continued to develop, Juan wondered if there was a bigger issue in play.

"Students have been programmed through ten or 15 years of schools for ten, fifteen years. The school has taught them that whether you're great or not excellent, you'll receive an unfavorable grade if you deviate from whatever model your teacher taught you. It's a fear that's inherent in deviating from the standard path."

Juan realized the fact that internalized programming was hurting creativity, and he was determined to alter the way things were done.

Juan loved teaching, but was frustrated by the university rules. When he had free time reading, he would read TechCrunch as well as other publications for entrepreneurs, which gave him an idea for an enterprise.

At the time, there was no thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country where Juan grew up, Costa Rica, so Juan determined to get things moving.

"I hold a civil engineering degree, and I knew the people who would ask me, "What do I know about business?' So the first thing I did was I put all my thoughts into a blog post and disseminated them. I launched my creator career by sharing my ideas online and sharing the things I could accomplish."

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

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

How do you provide information in a way that doesn't look as if you're in a classroom

Through his years of experience as a course creator for university professors, creating content was not a problem for Juan. It was just a matter of figuring out the most efficient way to deliver that content.

"The most difficult thing is getting people to watch the material we create," Juan shares.

"People are likely to purchase a class however only a small percentage are able to complete the course. It's like going to school. Even if nobody's making me take part and I'm attracted, my mind goes back to school mode. There's a teacher. are modules, classes are offered."

So Juan started experimenting with other ways to present his content to his audience.

"What if I try the email-based course where you receive a cool emails every week throughout the year ? Perhaps TikTok-type content with 30 second videos. Could I make course using a ton of 30-second videos? I don't know, maybe. I'll test it and see if it works."

"I love how allows me to make basically any content I'd like, in the order I want. I could create a course that's just 100 30-second videos, that let students go through them."

One experiment that paid off was an email newsletter that promoted Mondays

In the spirit of experimentation, when Juan experimented with something that went against the norm and found himself creating one of his favorite asset: The Monday newsletter .

At the beginning of his business online, Juan noticed a trend.

"Every Sunday night and Monday morning, people would make memes of how they hate Mondays," Juan says. "I realized that there is always going to be the Monday. You can't escape it. So why are you still hung up on this?"

"I started realizing these are people who call me to say"I'm unhappy with my lifestyle, I don't enjoy my job and I'd like to improve, I noticed an underlying pattern. I am a huge fan of branding and marketing I also thought that this would be an interesting concept for a brand because it's not hard to be a grumpy Monday. There's already a club for that, and it's a huge club. How do you accomplish reverse that?"

Juan began a monthly newsletter about how much he loved Mondays, and he would share a idea, tip, or thought that can help his readers make the most out of their week.

"It attracted lots of people due to people being unsatisfied about something in their life and I had been discussing ways to make their life better. This made them think, 'Why I do I get so annoyed on Mondays?'"

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

In order to become a better writer, learn as much information 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 found that the best way to get clarity on product and content ideas was to become a student again.

"I'm continually amazed at how fortunate we are to live in a world that we are able to learn from everyone and that anyone is able to benefit from our lessons. It's amazing. If I'm into marbles I'll be able to find someone that's so much interested in marbles and help me learn new things. It could be that they're in Singapore or even in Singapore. I may have no idea who they are however I could learn from their content."

To become a successful creator in the near future, take as many classes as you can on subjects you are interested in.

"I recommend that people consume everything they're interested about," Juan recommends. "Often you can even find the content for free on social media. When you are consuming content, you realize, this is not that deep. This guy is talking about marbles. You don't have to have a Ph.D. in a subject."

"There was a time when there were specialists," Juan explains. "There were experts who could know everything about one subject because there was only a limited amount of information. There wasn't infinite information like that we are able to access today. And that information was sequestered in a place. It was clear that there was one person who knew everything about it They were experts. But that's not an issue anymore."

"There are plenty of people who are knowledgeable as well as many who know a little, but there's always someone who knows less than you. So you can make the content they need and still have a big impact."

Simply put, the more you get out there and discover, the greater information you'll be able to give to those who are around you. If you're feeling stuck on what to do or how Try switching your roles and taking on the role of a student to revive your enthusiasm.

What if you created things to enjoy creating them?

One of the most profound learnings Juan discovered during his entrepreneurial adventure was that there are numerous routes people can take to express their passions.

It shouldn't just be about reaching a particular outcome such as financial goals, milestones, or followers count. Instead, you should find a compromise between Telic and Atelic goals.

"Telic goals are ones that have a very fixed end-product that is easily measured. These goals are great to do for the sake of accomplishing they. The way to think about creating with both types of goals in their minds," Juan shares.

"If you're helping other people out, then it doesn't matter whether there's just one or a million."

Furthermore, you can gain value from the fact that your work exists within the global community.

"If you share a tweet, Instagram posting  or video but no one sees it, it's there. Somebody will find it. Additionally, getting people to like your post or helping others with your blog post are two different aspects. I like a variety of things I do not double tap. Even if no one duplicate-tapped or liked your tweet does not mean that it isn't valuable."

"Creating is a visceral thing. It's a feeling, it's vulnerable, it's very sincere," Juan relates. "It's the image of who you are and how you feel of yourself. Putting that information on the internet and not having one engage with it is just awful."

"But regardless of whether nobody purchases the book, it's still interesting. You still learned a lot. It can be used to help you with your next position or any. Nobody can take that away from you. That's soul bound."

To stay in touch with the things that matter most, Juan explains how important it is to remember the place you've come from and to celebrate all you've accomplished to date.

"I advise that creatives keep a journal and consider your current work by looking at yourself five years ago. Or the past ten years or even 20 years ago. Think about what you'd be thinking about the work you're doing today. In the past, you'd probably consider it to be great."

And lastly, Juan reminds creators that the most important thing is getting the work there. This is not about achieving record-breaking sales, likes or even clients.

"I think it's arrogant to assume people won't want your product. This is because you're making a the decision on behalf of someone else. You let them decide. If they're interested then they'll purchase it. If they don't, they won't. You just have to make it available to them. Get more blown away by the world, learn as much as you can, and make decisions that others will take their own choices."

"Create your thing and put your work out there," Juan says. "You do not know what is going to happen in the future."