1. I could care less. You can write it for $500 if you want to.

This from convenience-store clerk when I was checking to see if limit for writing a personal check was still $50.

2. That's okay, most of people who shop here are really stupid.

This when I was shopping in a plant nursery and said I couldn’t figure out how to stake a tomato on contraption I'd bought from them.

3. I wouldn’t get that if I were you. It’s way over-priced. Get it online at www.buy_it_from_anyone_but_us.com.

With help like that, you don't need competition.

4. Don't buy it. They've fixed it so it can't be pirated.

Deborah R. Brown, MBA, MSW

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"If you're a truly creative person, you know that feeling insecure and lonely is par for course. You can't have it both ways: You can't be creative, and conform too. You have to recognize that what makes you different also makes you creative."

- Arno Penzias in Fast Company.

In my work with attorneys, MBA's, entrepreneurs and other creative professionals, I often watch people struggle with need to conform to other people's expectations. This frequently means having a narrowly defined career and some perceived level of security. It also means fitting in with a particular company culture.

But creative types in particular often require variety in job tasks and freedom to experiment. They tend to be entrepreneurial in spirit, and don't want to be micro-managed. Sometimes this may mean having two or three part-time jobs simultaneously. Or having several different careers in one lifetime. If we look at some of more popular and successful people in entertainment industry, for instance, we see that they not only act, but also may direct and produce. Writers may be reporters, novelists and commentators. Singers may write children's books. Some may choose several distinctly different careers, perhaps as a way to use up all of their talents in one lifetime. I started out as a clinical social worker, then became a stock broker for several years and I have had my career consulting firm since 1993. At all times I have viewed my work as my "craft", and I consider myself to be a creative, resourceful person. Having my own firm has allowed me to concentrate on things I do best, and flexibility to change and grow at my own pace.

A bird does not sing because it has an answer; it sings because it has a song. - Chinese proverb

Innovative high tech firms hire people who often don't fit traditional mold. The interactive departments of established companies are housed in different locations or at different sections of corporate headquarters. Their culture is less restrictive and dress is casual. One very conservative Fortune 500 company has pool tables in building that houses web design and strategy departments. Rules that apply to rest of company do not apply to this group. In this respect, company has adapted to these creative types in order to recruit and retain these highly talented people. This revolution in internet technology has affected firms who interact with these companies as well. The trend in attire then becomes business casual to adapt to environment of tech firm.

In this example we see how world has changed to accommodate these creative people. Those individuals who are comfortable with what makes them different and stay true to those qualities, expect world to adjust for them. In my years working with creative types, it holds true that those who embrace who they are, rather than deny and suppress their true selves, are more fulfilled individuals. If we are aware of unique combination of qualities and strengths which we alone have, we can then focus on ways to use these in our lives.

Sometimes I work with people who, although miserable, are resistant to making any adjustments to transition to work they enjoy. One such client is a woman in her mid twenties who makes a good salary, but has no full-time work experience except for a year with a law firm. She would like to transition out of law, but refuses to consider a job that would pay her less than her current salary.