Do something creative every day. I read this recently on a magnet. Makes sense, given that many people are not as fortunate as you and your colleagues. Those who work in careers outside of professional beauty may well need to remind and nudge themselves to take time to be creative.

You, on the other hand, have it built into the very fabric and mission of your daily work. What you do requires vision, imagination. You create shape, color, texture. You see a better version of your client’s look well before it appears in the mirror.

Do something that scares you every day. Yep, another magnet—one with a different yet related philosophy at its core. Translation? Push limits and overcome self-imposed obstacles. But there’s no need to be so harsh. Fear doesn’t drive success and growth. In the beauty industry in particular, there are gentler ways to develop your skills and celebrate achievements. All you have to do is explore the ever-changing menu of innovative education workshops, advanced academy sessions and competitions, and find one that challenges you to go to the next level.

Do something outside the salon world to feed your inner artist. While working with Luis Alvarez on plans for this issue’s cover shoot and feature— which is all about art for art’s sake, finding inspiration outside the salon and pushing limits—he called me from a photography class he was taking with someone whose work he’d always admired. Alvarez told me he finds one class per year that he invests in solely to recharge his creativity and nurture his artistic vision. Ultimately, he says it fuels and improves his work, but the experience itself is not “about work.” You, too, can set a goal to find at least one opportunity per year to channel your art and creativity in a new direction.

Do something to share your art. Whether through social media (see the amazing work from your peers on our Facebook and Pinterest pages) or one of the many exciting industry competitions that celebrate the art, passion and creativity of hairdressing, find a way to express your art and share it with your community.

For immediate inspiration, visit modernsalon.com/naha to meet the finalists in the 23rd North American Hairstyling Awards. As a proud cofounder of NAHA, we at MODERN SALON will be celebrating and sharing the creativity of these artists all the way through the announcement of the winners July 22nd during PBA Beauty Week in Las Vegas.

In honor of the creative work you do every day, it’s the least we can do.