More to Life at Work

Some Secrets to Jump Starting Creativity

Today, I read a great post by Brian Tracy - world famous author, speaker, and creative leader in The Golden Thread, the ezine from American Writers & Artists (www.awaionline.com) that always has provocative suggestions about writing, networking, copy-writing ideas and more.

I believe that we are all creative - although in different ways. Maybe you are a great cook. Perhaps you have created wonderful events that everyone has raved about. Creativity isn't just for writers and artists but is hardwired for each of us in different ways.

Tracy's article can be applied to all aspects of our lives. I enjoyed it so thoroughly that I wanted to share it with you. In Meeting Yourself on the Way to Work there are four (and maybe I will add a fifth) archetypes that are guides for living a deep and enriching life. They are (as of now) The Visionary, The Sage, The Healer, the Warrior and I am considering adding the Magician that oversees and interacts with each. Seen together these ways of being project an holistic view of what each of us already possesses and can develop more deeply and intentionally.

Creativity is an inherent aspect to each archetype. How we choose to use the aspects and wisdom of these ways of being is as varied as we are.

So, if you yearn to feel more creative. Or, you feel blocked and frustrated. Or, are merely curious, read on and learn from a master.

A GUIDE FOR CREATIVE THINKING
By Brian Tracy

Einstein said, "Every child is born a genius."

But the reason most people don't function at genius levels is because they're not aware of how creative and smart they can be.

By practicing a few simple exercises, you can start your creative juices flowing. And you'll amaze yourself by the quality and quantity of good ideas you come up with.

Keep in mind that your success in life is determined largely by the quantity of ideas you generate. The quality of ideas is secondary. If you have enough ideas, one or more of them will turn out to be prizewinners

What Is Creativity?

One of the best definitions of creativity is simply "improvement." You don't have to be super-smart to be creative. All you have to do is develop the ability to improve something in some way.

There are four parts to the creative process:

1. Preparation, where much of the work is done.
2. Cerebration (or reflection), where you turn matters over to your subconscious.
3. Realization, where ideas come to you.
4. Application, where you turn the creative idea into something worthwhile.

Of the four, preparation - gathering the right data and asking the right questions - is the most important.

Begin the preparation stage by asking focused questions like these:

• What am I trying to do?
• How am I trying to do it?
• What are my assumptions?
• What if my assumptions are wrong?

All improvements begin with questioning existing circumstances. If you're not making progress, for any reason, begin asking yourself hard questions that stimulate your mind to consider other possibilities.

A second necessity for building creativity is having intensely desired goals.

The more you want something and the clearer you are about it, the more likely you will be to generate ideas that move you toward it.

Any intense emotion - like desire - stimulates creativity and ideas to fulfill that desire. And the more you write and review your goals and plans, the more you'll see all kinds of possibilities for achieving those goals.

The third builder of creativity is having pressing problems.

When something is worrying you, thinking about what you could do immediately to begin easing that concern is a prime use of your creative powers.

So ask yourself, "What are the three biggest problems in my life today?" Write the answer in less than 30 seconds. When you answer a question in less than 30 seconds, your subconscious mind sorts out extraneous answers and gives you only the most important ones.

When you have your three most pressing problems, ask yourself, "What is the worst possible thing that can happen because of each of these problems?"

Then ask yourself, "What are all the things that I can do right now to lessen each of those problems?"

3 Keys to Success in Creativity

The first key to success in creative thinking is clarity. Take time to think through, discuss, and ask questions that clarify exactly what you are trying to accomplish and exactly what problems you are facing at the present moment. Just as fuzzy thinking leads to fuzzy answers, clear thinking leads to clear answers.

The second key is concentration. Put everything else aside and focus all your mental powers on solving one single problem, overcoming one particular obstacle, or achieving one important goal.

The ability to concentrate on a single objective without diversion or distraction is a hallmark of the superior thinker.

The third key is an open mind. The average person tends to be rigid and fixed in his thinking. The creative thinker remains very flexible and open to a variety of ways to approach problems. The average person tends to leap to conclusions, deciding there is only one way to achieve a particular goal. The superior thinker is patient and willing to consider a variety of options before adopting a strategy.

You are a genius. You were born with the potential for exceptional creativity. But your creative abilities are like muscles: They grow with use. Increase your creative powers by using them, over and over, in every situation, deliberately and specifically, until creativity and a creative response to life is as natural to you as breathing.

There are few things you can do that have a more powerful, positive impact on your entire life than becoming excellent at creative thinking. And you can do it ... if you think you can.

[Ed. Note: Brian Tracy - a legend in the fields of management, leadership, and sales - has produced more than 300 audio/video programs and has written 28 books, including his just-released "The Psychology of Selling."

To hear Brian's stimulating - and secret-packed - presentation from this year's FastTrack to Success Bootcamp, click http://www.awaionline.com/bootcampinyourhome 

Overclocking Your Brain

I was just sent an article called, "22 Ways to Overclock Your Brain" :http://ririanproject.com/2006/11/03/22-ways-to-overclok-your-brain/  . Now, there was a fascinating headline, don't you think? I did. Particularly because if we are overwhelmed, exhausted, or stressed to the max we not only don't perform very well, but we actually misfire.  And, if we want to learn new ways to be or to act that takes a lot of brain power and consciousness.

Here's some facts about our brains, from the ririanproject: "Your brain is more complicated than any computer we can imagine. Did you know that you have one hundred billion nerve cells in your brain, and every nerve cell has many connections to other nerve cells? In fact, your brain has more connections in it than there are stars in the universe! Optimizing your brain’s function is essential to being the best you can be, whether at work, in leisure, or in your relationships."

You must read the article, and here are the 22 Ways that are suggested for top brain performance:

1. Run Up Your Brain Cells
2. Exercise Your Mind
3. Ask Why
4. Laugh
5. Be a Fish Head
6. Remember
7. Cut the Fat
8. Do A Puzzle
9. The Mozart Effect
10. Improve Your Skills At Things You Already Do (great suggestion)
11. Be a Thinker, Not a Drinker
12. Play (Hang around children - they remind you how great play is)
13. Sleep On It
14. Concentration
15. Make Love For Your Brain (Maybe you want to rethink - I'm too tired)
16. Play with Passion!
17. Cycles of Consciousness
18. Learn Something New
19. Write to be Read (Journal, tell stories, write letters not email)
20. Try Aromatherapy to Activate Your Brain
21. Drugs to Increase Brainpower (Not the bad kind)
22. (and one of my favorites) Build a Brain Trust

What this all adds up to is that we have lots of control of our brainpower, energy, and capacity to to invent, learn and grow. And, these suggestions are pretty easy to do.

Put everything you have in service to your success.

Thank you to Patricia Kitchen of Newsday

I have had the privledge of being interviewed by Patricia Kitchen who writes a great column on Career for Newsday - the largest newspaper on Long Island.  Patricia and I recently had a chance to chat on the very important issue of reconnecting with people at this time of year - what works and what doesn't. Below you can read the entire article, and I am thrilled to be in the company of other great colleagues such as Duffy Spencer and Lucy Rosen.

I hope you find value in this article:

Making a 're-connection'

This is the time of year to make the most of your business sources, without pressure

Patricia Kitchen
Change@work

December 3, 2006

It may seem as though the holiday season at work is all about online shopping when the boss is away and facing down piles of frosted cookies arrayed at three-foot intervals.

In fact, it is more than that. This is the perfect time to reconnect with those who have been helpful to you in the past - and who may be so again in the future, says Lindsey Pollak, a career writer and speaker in

Manhattan

. And though many people know the value of reconnecting, few actually do anything about it.

The holidays provide "carte blanche to get in touch with anyone," Pollak says, even if "you haven't spoken in 100 years."

This certainly is easiest to do if you have no immediate request for help. You can send a card or e-mail offering thanks for help given in the past and reporting what you're up to now, offering wishes for a happy holiday season and saying you would love to stay in touch - say, coffee or drinks after the first of the year when the pressures of the season are over. And if you think it's appropriate, consider issuing an invitation to holiday events you think they might enjoy.

Don't forget that this window of opportunity extends into the New Year. Duffy Spencer, a business communications coach and corporate trainer in Westbury, sends out Happy New Year fliers the first week of January - when they won't be competing with December's incoming flood of party invitations, Christmas cards and holiday catalogs.

Of course, reconnecting is much trickier if you want to ask for help from someone with whom you've lost touch. It's tempting to pretend you're calling to offer wishes for a happy holiday - and then sneak in the request for a job lead or reference. But people can see through the charade, says Lucy Rosen, president of the Business Development Group, a marketing and public relations firm in Garden City.

She says people generally resent setting up a how-are-you-doin' meeting only to have you "show up with an empty pad and pen asking, 'Who can you tell me to call?' " It's better to bite the bullet and be up front about what you need.

Spencer suggests opting for the "open agenda" approach: Start by saying you're sorry you have not done a better job of staying in touch - a move that, she says, "asserts your right to make mistakes" - then explain that you're calling now to ask if a reference might be possible. Of course, you should indicate that you hope to reconnect and offer support in the future. And wrap up the conversation with a wish for a happy holiday.

Pollak says that if you want to reconnect with several people, start with the nicest one first, a move that will "set yourself up for success." If a long time has elapsed and your initial relationship was not a close one, she says sending a request in an e-mail would be a better choice.

And because this is the season for giving, it's wise to take stock of how giving you've been - not only to those with whom you're looking to reconnect, but to others as well. Could it be that you are what Rosen calls "a taker" - always in asking mode? If that's the case, boy, do we have a New Year's resolution for you.

It may be time to reflect on how much help/support you've received this year and compare it to how much you've given. Then, be on the lookout for resources you can share with others. "Listen well, think about where the match could be," Spencer says.

You can avoid the anxiety of having to reconnect and ask for help, she says, if you "always understand the nature of reciprocity."

Giving genuine thanks in the work world

"Keep your network close," says Lucy Rosen, president of the Business Development Group, a marketing and public relations firm in Garden City. You don't want professional contacts to feel valued only when you need them - but to "feel valued even when you don't need them."

Yes, it can be a challenge to pick up the phone or send a note on a regular basis. But Duffy Spencer, a business communications coach in Westbury, reminds us of the important thinking in Stephen Covey's longtime bestseller, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People": We make a big mistake in focusing only on what's urgent to the detriment of what's important.

With that in mind, consider the following.

If you're new to the work world and never really thanked those who helped you get your first job, this is a perfect time to do so. Send a holiday greeting and personal note to people such as your coach in the college career center, friends of your parents who set you up with interviews, a professor who gave great guidance, says Leslie Malin, a life coach in Woodstock, N.Y., who also operates the greeting card Web site winterwonderlandcards.com.

If you received great training or support on an earlier job, send a greeting to your former supervisor, suggests Malin - something like, "At the time I didn't realize how much you influenced me. But now that I'm a manager, I find myself patterning myself after you. I never thanked you properly and I want to do so now."

Steer clear of cards or e-greetings that carry religious messages or those that could be construed as offensive.

Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.