Best Job on Earth

Yesterday design*sponge profiled Keith Johnson, the buyer-at-large for Anthropologie, and host of his own show that follows him on his buying trips. I've heard of the show, but never seen it myself. I'm pretty sure I don't need to see it to know that it is hands down the best job on earth. A friend once gave me the example of him pointing to 4 brightly colored fishing huts and saying he wanted those colors, in that order for a product. I would kill to have that sort of authority and creative license. Another friend sent me the link to the interview, and while I usually enjoy reading how these people got started etc, these interviews also tend to feel somewhat generic.

However, at the end Keith was asked to share one piece of advise for aspiring creatives. Here is what he said ::

"The best advice I would give for someone aspiring to have a creative life is to travel and learn to see the world through more lenses than your own. The best advice I’ve ever been given wasn’t really advice, it was that I received love and respect for what I had to offer. My advice is to surround yourself with people who see your talents, even when you don’t see them yourself."

I really like this idea of whom your surround yourself with mattering so much. I couldn't agree more, yet I feel like most strong creative personalities would claim to have enough confidence and gumption not to need anyone else to tell them that their ideas are good. Well Keith is proof you don't need to think you're the bees knees to succeed. You just need to find the friends who do :).

[photo courtesy of Anthropologie]