Amongst my movements, I meet lots of people- journalists tend to do that, and to a large degree, people are our bread and butter. They tell us things we can pass on or comment about or or they give us things we can review.

Last evening, I met a young lady who I found a breath of fresh air, inspiring and who I believe will go a long way? Simply, she knows what she wants to do, and has formulated a plan to do it.

I was introduced to her some months ago by one of my writers on AusCam who also doubles as my business advisor; he had employed her as talent for a video project he was working on, and then used her services again to create a TVC (television commercial). Juanita has aspirations in the field of acting, and according to my writer, shows enormous potential; he wanted to know if we could give some exposure for her portfolio by featuring her on the front cover.

Not a problem.

Just before the twice monthly ITJourno junket for hacks (damn, really must get out of that habit of copying and pasting from others websites) Juanita emailed me asking if now that she had moved to Melbourne, there were any projects she could be involved with for AusCam – writing specifically or anything else I might have in mind.

As it turned out, I had planned to fly to Melbourne after the Kickstartconference to see some clients, so suggested we meet up and have a chat.

That evening was illuminating; all sorts of ideas were thrown around,projects shelved in my mind brought back to life, projects on hold revitalised, new projects born and much, much more.

Concepts were discussed and discarded or written down for future thought, a nice bottle of white demolished and a fine meal partaken during the course of these discussions. The night finished with a promise we would take these things further by email and future get-togethers, and see what could be tunred into concrete projects.

This evening showed the beneft of collaboration, of brain storming and think tanking. But more, it showed me the tip of the iceberg of someone who is passionate about what she is, does and wants to be.

Make no bones, Juanita is strong – indeed that is how she describes herself. Not with any aggression, attempt at one upmanship or a dare to disagree, just a matter of fact. Woe betide anyone who stands in the way of her gaining her goals!

What was eye opening was that many people I know have that creative flair that could allow them greatness. They are writers, painters, software engineers, photographers, video camera operators and so on. And yes actors too.

But Juanita showed me something I knew, but had slightly misplaced. You also need a desire and the brains to know to ask other people who can help to do so because we cannot do it all or know it all. And just as importantly, we should give back to those what you have received – we all win in that scenario.

True successful creativity lies in the minds and hearts of the many combining.