[DON'T INSERT TITLE HERE] The Guide Toward Creative Freedom & Success

words by Marco Smith

There was a song in the mid 2000's  entitled "Can't Stop Won't Stop" that was pretty popular.  Aside from the obviously infectious beat and the slick bars being delivered by the Young Gunz, the song was largely popular because of what it represented and the message it was delivering.  At its core it represented this mind state and work ethic that quite simply put...won't stop.  You hear people all the time talk about their "hustle" and their "grind" in a failed attempt to emulate Diddy's own legendary work ethic. Because after all he was the first one to tell us all how "he won't stop".  But unfortunately when it comes down to the "day to day" and the work, for many it is just talk.  However that isn't the case when it comes to Justin Adu.  He is the walking embodiment of "Can't Stop Won't Stop".  I have personally had the opportunity to work with him and watch him work for from afar.  He really doesn't stop....ever!  He is literally a walking ball of creative energy that is always a step ahead and constantly thinking of the next thing.  Now that energy has manifested itself in his first literary offering entitled "Don't Insert Title Here" The Guide Toward Creative Freedom & Success which is here to help us all harness our own creative potential.

What led you to write this book?

I finally arrived at a place in my life about 3 years ago that I figured out how to merge all of my creative talents together. I believe that when you have knowledge you should share it with others and I remember graduating from college (both undergrad and grad) and applying for jobs and being told that I had too many things on my resume. Almost as if I was doing too much.  I wanted to create a body of work for people to read and be motivated by. Hell, even after sitting with it for a while it made me jump start my next project already, so I’m pretty excited to hear what other people think. It is a short read that is to the point and filled with visuals.

What are you hoping to accomplish or want the book's impact to be?

I would love to hear stories from other creatives on how they get over those creative roadblocks. I'm really looking forward to hearing the feedback from others. I want to start a silent movement which I think has already begun of more people being about it rather then talking about it. My goal in life is to do anything and everything creatively that I aspire to do regardless of where I live, no matter how limited my resources are or what anyone is telling me.

Who is this book for?  What audience are you speaking to or trying to reach?

 I’m speaking to that kid in high school who doesn’t know what they want to do. The college student that doesn’t know what they want to major in. The graduate student that finally figured it out but is too burnt out to get out there and do it and the young professional that doesn’t know where to start. Hopefully through reading this book all of those individuals will have more concrete guidance on how to begin their journey.

Where does the title derive from?

So maybe about 10 years ago I was redoing my CV (curriculum vitae) which I do often and for the life of me I didn’t know how the hell to present myself. So I put everything that I did on it, which was a lot.  But all in all what’s interesting is that I live a life of identifying people before I identify their title. Titles are overrated and some people don’t even live up to what is expected of that title. So for me a "title-less" society of individuals doing cool things makes more sense to me.  I always recognize the body of work and what they have done before I look at their title.

What's next for you?

I’m really excited about the release and everything that is going to roll out with it. I'm also looking forward to going on my book tour and I am in the process of releasing a product. So all in all 2017 will be exciting!

You can pre-order the book here