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Find the Artist Within

Can anyone be an artist? People admiring my work often say, "I could never do that!" I say, "Yes, you can!" Eight years ago, during a very difficult time in my career in finance (Downsizings, layoffs ? let's not talk about it, OK?), my company sent me to a development workshop for female executives. I came out of a particularly thought-provoking discussion group and penned the following very prophetic free verse. Threads They Said Mimi said, "Why don't you paint again?" I said, "There's no time. I crunch numbers now." Carole... Read More

Why Do We Need Creativity?

Creativity is central to the management of our individual lives, but in modern times few people are able to access this as a resource. Alan Watts writes in The Wisdom of Insecurity:"We have allowed brain thinking to develop and dominate our lives out of all proportion to 'instinctual wisdom'; which we are allowing to slump into atrophy. As a consequence we are at war within ourselves - the brain desiring things which the body does not want, and the body desiring things that the brain will not allow; the brain giving directions which the body will nor follow, and the... Read More

7 Techniques to Supercharge your Creativity and Solve your Problems

Do you ever encounter problems, challenges or obstacles in your business? If you answered 'no,' then you can stop reading and continue to rake in the fortune you must be making. For the rest of us, the answer of course is 'yes.' For the most troubling problems, the biggest challenge is in your inability to come up with new and innovative solutions. This is because when you try to solve a problem, you probably use the same approach every time ('let me sit here and think about it until I come up with something?'). The next time you try to... Read More

Telling It Like It Is (Or Can Be)

When you hear, "tell me a story," does your mind suddenly go blank? Don't panic. The good news is, you're already a natural storyteller! Surprised? You shouldn't be. It's built right into our genetic code. Human beings are a storytelling species. Of all the creatures on Earth, we're the only ones that share past memories and future dreams as a way to get to know others, build friendships, plan an endeavor, inspire a group.In fact, we're usually telling ourselves some kind of story all the time - about our job, a relationship, the kids, neighbors down the street, our next... Read More

12 Ways To Boost Your Creativity At Work

As workplaces continue to rightsize and downsize, we all find ourselves doing more with less. How do we stay ahead of the workload while staying sane? The key is to put your creativity to work for you so you can do more with less and shine like never before. Just what is creativity? It is the ability to make, produce, cause to exist or bring into being; the ability to make something out of nothing or to make something better than it was before. Creativity is an inborn force that we all have: If you're alive, you're creative. ... Read More

Unlock Your Creative Secret Weapon

It seems like this week a ton of people have been asking me how they can become more creative. I even had one client jokingly accuse me of being in cahoots with the Devil in trade for my creativity. "Where do you get all of your ideas?" he asked. Well, I have decided to share my secret with you in this issue.In the following paragraphs you will learn my creativity secret weapon. I use it all the time. It will work for you just as it works for me. It has served me well and it is this technique that... Read More

20 Ways to Keep Your Writing Inspiration and Creativity High

When stressed or blocked it is wise to make a change so thatwe don't stay in that place. Yet, many times we forget someof the simple things that we can do for ourselves, quicklyand easily to bring our inspiration back and increase ourcreativity. 1. If you usually type your first drafts, hand write them.Nothing compares to the feeling the ink melting into thepaper and the surge of that creative flow. 2. If you spend too much time at the computer, take a breakevery hour. Go for a walk or just sit outside in the sun.Even five minutes in a winter... Read More

Break An Egg For Creativity

In 1420, the dignitaries of Florence held a competition.They offered the enormous prize of 200 gold florins to the architect whose genius could span the unfinished dome of the Florence Cathedral.This was a great challenge. Even the original builders of the cathedral in 1296 left writings hoping that God would offer a solution because they did not have one.Filippo Brunelleschi was the answer to their prayers.He proposed the radical idea of a dome supported by a brick vaulting system that balanced the opposing forces, but without the customary central supports.The experts called him mad.Brunelleschi sought to demonstrate his design with... Read More

Top Ten Ways To Jump-Start Your Creativity

1 - Take A Tour of the Great Outdoors Consider a hike in the mountains, a stroll beside the river, a run along the beach, a jog through the park or a walk around the city.2 - Soak Up Your Surroundings like a New Sponge Open your mind to the unknown and grasp the little details often overlooked in every day life.3 - Read, Read, Read Read anything that interests you... Regardless of whether it´s related to writing or not! Think variety - from trashy romance novels and bad tabloids to The New York Times and Writers Digest. Find something... Read More

Creativity And You

95 percent of what we know about the brain, we have learned in the last 20 years. So, your beliefs about creativity were probably shaped by faulty information.For instance, many believe that only special, talented people are creative ? and you have to be born that way.Wrong.The notion that geniuses such as Shakespeare, Picasso and Mozart were `gifted' is a myth, according to a recent study at Exeter University. Researchers examined outstanding performances in the arts, mathematics and sports, to find out if "the widespread belief that to reach high levels of ability a person must possess an innate potential... Read More

Riches Through Creative Thinking!

When solving problems after you have exhausted the normal means of coming up with the solution, think in terms of unorthodox methods. Vary your thinking and try to solve the problems by creating something completely new and irrelevant. Come into the problem through the "back door". Research and curiosity go hand in hand in solving the toughest problems. Quite often the answer is so simple, it is not obvious to us. Use an organized plan to work with and record the results logically so you will have a format to follow and a basis for review as you proceed to... Read More

3 Clever Creative Strategies!

I've got a confession to make... there are many ways leaders can be more creative, innovative and ingenious than are presented in this article.It does not matter if you desire to be a marketing, entrepreneurial or organizational leader, you do have to use your creativity to be successful.Most leaders have trouble discovering new opportunities, generating good ideas and promoting innovative solutions. In the game of creativity, you need both quality and quantity to win the prize.I'll show you how to use 3 simple ways to boost the number, power and value of your ideas. All you need to do is... Read More

Rejuvenate & Re-Fuel Your Inner Drive

I believe that as solo-entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives we all need a pat on the back. Give yourself commendation. Why? Because we have the courage to step outside of the corporate box and start our own businesses, be our own boss and take on the challenge and responsibilities required for this adventure. In order to even contemplate that step we must have had a vision, a dream and a passion to bring it to fruition. So commend yourself.Now, we're in business. We've been working our little brains out. We are dedicated to making our dream come true. But some... Read More

How To Increase Creativity... Set Deadlines!

Deadlines are something all of us face from time to time. We face deadlines whenever we set even a small goal and commit to accomplish it... that's when deadlines becomes important and valuable to us.Why is a deadline so important?... Without one... many of our projects would, be put off, or eliminated completely. The closer we get to a deadline the more our thoughts, ideas, imagination and creativity go to work to help us meet the deadline.Daily... many of us set goals to start projects, complete and send out ezines, finish articles, or finish writing a sales page for our... Read More

Three Ways Journaling Can Boost Your Creativity and Your Business

I have a friend who has struggled with her creativity for a long time. She's extremely uncomfortable thinking of herself as "creative." We've been working together on it, and making progress. One of the tools that's really helped her has been journaling.From Julia Cameron's The Artist Way to Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones to Linda Trichter Metcalf, Ph.D. and Tobin Simon, Ph.D.'s Writing the Mind Alive to numerous other publications, journaling has enjoyed a long history of creative-nurturing along with a host of other benefits.For my purposes, I'm defining journaling as any sort of loose, longhand writing. Whatever thoughts... Read More

Five Basic Steps to Benefit from Your Creativity

The ability to exercise your creativity is even more important for you than you probably think. Why? First, your creativity tremendously contributes to your self-actualization, which is essential for you to feel satisfied with your life and be happy. Second, it is exceedingly important for being successful in building relationships and earning money.Taking creative approach contributes to your emotional state the similar way as the spice contributes to the taste of a course stimulating the appetite. If you generate ideas and fulfill them, your life becomes more and more interesting and exciting. This does not mean that you must generate... Read More

A Quick Course in Creativity

This quick course in creativity is designed to give you a platform to stand on as we look at the various ways you can handle home, social and workplace situations, job-search details and career-path decisions. Let's examine what creativity might look like.Here are some of the ways in which creativity expresses itself. Perhaps the creative idea is one that mixes and matches items or ideas that haven't been combined in just this way before. A wonderful example of this comes from Anita Roddick, who founded the Body Shop, a chain of personal care products and stores. She combined the need... Read More

Dare to Dream

Have you ever thought of this? When you were young and at school the teachers always reprimanded the dreamers - "You live on another planet", "You've got your head full of silly notions!" and the like.Then we are in the playground. The boys say, "I'm gonna jump over that garbage can" and the other boys say, "Nah, you're not good enough, you can't do that."You back up and run your hardest at the garbage can and try to ignore the taunts of your disbelieving friends - you leap - and on passing over the bin, catch your foot and crash... Read More

9 Steps to Supercharge Your Productivity with Creativity

Time is the great equalizer. Everybody has the exact same number of hours in each day. For most people, the hours available are usually less than the hours needed to get everything done. However, by using the following principles of creativity, you should be able get more done in less time, while making certain that you are doing what's most important and moving yourself closer to your goals.1. Start with quiet focusWhen you have a lot to do, your first instinct is probably to hit the ground running. If you feel you have a tremendous amount to do, you may... Read More

Tapping into Your Super Creative Power

Do you consider yourself creative? How about super creative? Most people may not think of themselves as creative, but I believe that everyone has the potential for great creativity. They just need a little understanding and practice.Think of two parts of the mind: the conscious, and the subconscious. The conscious is the part that thinks. It's the part that you are aware of. The subconscious handles everything else. Your bodily functions, sensory input, memories, feelings, associations, and more are all handled by the subconscious.The subconscious is much more powerful than the conscious. The subconscious handles thousands of things every minute.... Read More