Archive for the Category »Creativity «

Don’t prepare. Begin.
11
April

Here are some quotes from Steven Pressfield’s new book, Do The Work (the Kindle version is free for now).

“Don’t prepare. Begin.
Remember, our enemy is not lack of preparation; it’s not the difficulty of the project, or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account.
The enemy is our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications and a million reasons why we can’t/shouldn’t/won’t do what we know we need to do.
Start before you’re ready.
Good things happen when we start before we’re ready. For one thing, we show huevos. Our blood heats up. Courage begets more courage. The gods, witnessing our boldness, look on in approval.”

Pick your favorite quotes from the selection and while you are there check out The Domino Project to enrich your life.

We have our marching orders today. Begin, then share your success.

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What can you imagine?
09
November

“Forcing yourself to use restricted means is the sort of restraint that liberates invention. It obliges you to make a kind of progress that you can’t even imagine in advance.” – Pablo Picasso

Dare to go for it where you are with what you have. We talk about things/people/places that hold us back. Want to reach new heights? Here is the chance. Action trumps words.

I look forward to hearing of your success.

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Love it when a plan comes together
24
February

Great conservation with a student today reaching beyond the walls of the classroom into many areas of life. In this lively discussion he touched on a point and I responded “I wrote about that last night on my blog.” With wide eyes he read the post and showed appreciation with a knuckle-bump.

Share what is on your heart to touch a soul.

You may be the only person that helps someone become who they are supposed to be.

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Being
01
February

Can you hear it? That still small voice. The gnawing desire to be. Your heart yearning.

“The desire to play music is the power which can play music seeking expression and development; the desire to invent mechanical devices is the mechanical talent seeking expression and development.” Wallace D. Wattles

In 2007 I wrote in my journal; “The desire to write is the power which can write seeking expression and development.” In 2009 I made another entry expressing my excitement in finally understanding these words. Now the words of Abraham Maslow ring louder for me; “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.”

What are you being?

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Catch a dream
25
January

What comes to mind when you hear ‘dream’? Do you think of your passion? Does it cause you to become giddy with excitement? Can you feel the anticipation of an adventure?

If these ideas seem foreign to you, you can awaken your dreams. Remember your child’s play when you were saving the world? Somewhere along the way we were convinced to leave the dreaming behind. Foolish, we were told. Grow up.

Read these words from Steven Spielberg and tell me who is foolish.

“I dream for a living.” Steven Spielberg

Catch a dream. Change the world today.

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Control
20
January

Creative tension. Boundaries to achieve your highest potential.

Lose control (let go of your illusion of having control) and see what you dream up.

Then take control and breath life into it.

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Fun
13
January

“What have you done for fun lately?”

For years I have asked this when greeting folks in person or on the phone. The results are along the following lines.

*glazed over as they are only waiting for their turn to talk
*no real answer
*”hmm” whispers over their lips as they grasp the question
*fire-hose response of their fun adventures

Fun needs to be a requirement. Talk about it everywhere or better yet do fun stuff.

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One tree = 18 boxes of paper
06
January

“I wonder how many trees this is?” One of my students asked this as we briefly unboxed paper in the workroom today. Their next thought was: “I’ll Google it.”

We didn’t have the whole tree, only half.

Isn’t that cool how they questioned? “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” Albert Einstein

Bonus question. How much paper did we unbox?

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Curiositá and Continuous Learning
28
June

The wonder of a child is refreshing and gives us a pattern to which we can return. The sad part is having lost the wonder, the curiosity. Pablo Picasso had it right when he said; “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

When did your artist leave? Mine departed at a very early age but is being welcomed back through reading. Artist is a metaphor for the ‘wonder of a child’ kind-of-life with limitless possibilities. You are free to claim your ‘wonder of a child’ life.

I am gleaning nuggets in How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gleb. Here is one great nugget from Michael that we can cash in for profit; “You can increase your problem-solving skills, at work and at home, by honing your questioning-asking ability.” Think about questions from a child. Tap into that wonder, see with fresh eyes, ask why, ask why not.

“Just as iron rusts from disuse, and stagnant water putrefies, or when cold turns to ice, so our intellect wastes unless it is kept in use.” Leonardo da Vinci

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Learning to dream today
17
March

Do you capture your thoughts so you get better/more thoughts? You will improve your thoughts as you assign value to your thoughts. Practice writing them down, recording them, or by what ever means excites you.

Here is one I captured today while reading Jason Salamun’s blog. Those crazy dreamers has a sweet flavor.

Hmm ~ How about capturing your dreams?

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Is life a puzzle or a mystery?
03
August

The wise and awesome Kevin L. Jackson enlightened me to a crazy dilemma in my life. After some conversation Kevin explained (rightly) how I had been viewing life as a puzzle in which I had to find all the pieces. Hey, I was good at solving puzzles. Kevin suggested life is a mystery. Makes sense and has really freed up my mind to live richer.

Just read this piece in Leaders by Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus

“Managers, for the most part, deal with a mental process known as problem solving. Problem solving involves a problem, a method, and a solution that follows from the problem and method. A creative mental process occurs when neither the problem nor the method, let alone the solution, exists as a known entity. Creativity involves a “discovered problem,” one that needs to be worked out from beginning to end. The highest form of discovery always requires problem finding. This is very like identification of a new direction or vision for an organization. This is the difference we noted earlier between leaders and managers; it is the difference between routine problem solvers and problem finders.”

Thanks Kevin, I am now solving mysteries.

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Declare your position (What are you standing for?)
24
July

Picture a lifetime ago in 2003 when I penned ‘Discovering and Nurturing Possibilities to Transform the World’ as my position (in 8 words). The wonderful and talented Jacquie Shillis helped tremendously in this endeavor through wordsmithing, encouragement and believing.

A recent post on DailyLit by Tom Peters speaks volumes to get us excited to answer ‘What are you standing for?’ (and yes, I learned 8 words or less from Seth Godin).

We have the privilege to be the only person who can fulfill the adventure before us. Please be sure to allow folks like Jacquie to contribute to your success. Remember the Japanese Proverb; “None of us are as smart as all of us.”

Category: Creativity, Leadership  Tags: , , ,  2 Comments
Where do you fit in?
23
April

Take this step from Robin Crow in the section on ‘Achieving the Unachievable’ in Jump and the Net Will Appear to bump your life up a notch or three. Here is the step:

“But this next chapter adds another key element. It’s a trait that will make the difference in whatever you set out to do. It’s the ability to consistently move forward toward your goals each and every day. It’s the ability to follow through. It’s the ability to take action even when you’re unsure, to be willing to trust that your net will appear. This is where faith comes in.”

Robin states it another way; “Your success in business will always be in direct proportion to your ability to take action.”

Need some ideas for building this step into a habit? Take action by getting involved here.

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We must change
19
April

That is the note I wrote (& underlined) in the margin of Jump and the Net Will Appear when I read the section on The Power of a New Thought. I highlighted this part; “There’s an old saying: ‘You can’t get where you’ve never been by doing the same things you’ve always done.’ The same goes for our thoughts. We have more than 30,000 thoughts a day; the problem is that 29,900 of them are the same tired ones we thought yesterday. We can’t ascend to new heights without lifting our thoughts to new heights.”

You have the thoughts, the important thing is recognizing them. Show youself ideas are important and you have more thoughts. Build the habit of capturing your ideas to launch your life to a new level.

What are you waiting for? Write this down.

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