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 solve a problem, try applying any (or all) of these approaches:
1) Be Obvious - Cances are, whatever your problem is, there is some conventional wisdom about how to solve it. Ask yourself why you are not following it, and evaluate for yourself whether your reasons are valid. Sometimes the easiest solution is the one right in front of us.
2) Be Contrarian - The opposite of being obvious, being contrarian means to consider doing the opposite of what conventional wisdom says. If the standard advice is to buy, think about selling. Instead of working more, work less. Note: This does not mean you should automatically DO what the opposite is; it just means to let your mind wander over the opposite to get it working in another direction.
3) Start Where you are - Sometimes we get so caught up in the long term goal that we lose sight of where we are. Think about your problem and what you might do right now to solve it. Usually this results in frustration because we don't have a fully formed solution. But just because an idea is not fully formed does not mean that it does not have some validity. Start with your current idea and watch as new ideas present themselves.
4) Chunk up - If you can't figure out how to achieve your goal, try looking at the bigger picture. If your goal is to earn $10,000 this month and you can't figure out how, think bigger - maybe you want $10K because you want to earn six figures this year. Then start to brainstorm ways of earning six figures. Don't get so caught up on your problem that you lose sight of the bigger picture.
5) Chunk down - The opposite of chunking up. Think in terms of smaller details. Continuing with the $10K example, if you can't think of how to earn $10,000 this month, can you think of ways to earn $333 per day? Maybe, but even if you can't it gets the mind working in a new way.
6) Take a REAL Break - Stop working on the problem for a bit and let your subconscious work on it. This requires two things. First, you need to actually give your mind a break and recharge. Switching from thinking about one problem to another will not do it. Get away from the problem an your work, even if for only five minutes. Second, make sure you are not dwelling on the problem. Taking a walk to get away from work is great, but if you continue to mull over the problem your not really giving your mind a break from it.
7) Move - Get the blood flowing! Exercise, walk, run, stretch, whatever. Be it from blood flow, endorphins, or a change in focus, physical movement enhances creativity. I do some of my best thinking while shooting baskets. Find out what works for you and do it.
There are many different techniques you can use to solve a problem. Try the few above to start, and then come up with your own. Use them well, and watch yourself create new and exciting solutions faster than ever.Avish Parashar is a professional speaker who runs seminars on creativity, teamwork, productivity, leadership, and communication using the principles of improvisational comedy. http://www.professional-speaker-avish-parashar.com
Creativity e-book:http://www.supercharge-your-creativity.com

From time immemorial mankind has wished for an Aladin's lamp,
which would make wisheds come true.The closest thing to this magic lamp is the subconscious mind.
The "genii" of the subconsious mind
will work for you if you follow a certain process.How can we trap the subconscious mind
into a great deal of our creative work for us.Here are eight tested ways.1. Give yourself a motive.The subconscious mind works at its creative best
when you have a purpose.2. Make a date with your subconscious mind.Prod it with definite orders as to what you want,
but don't tell it what methods to use.Let it use its own methods.Example : "Genii, at 2 p.m. tomorrow,
I want you to tell me just how I am going to sell 3000 crates
of oranges to hard boiled Mr. Mack."
It will help the genii if you have obligingly
collected on cards all the pertinent information about Mr. Mack likes,
dislikes and hobbies.
This will make it easier for the genii to figure out the best approach.3. Always keep a pad and pencil at your bedside.You never can tell when the subconscious mind
will suddenly come up with an idea.
When it does, write it down.
Always carry a small notebook or pad with you.4. Write every idea down.When you first get an idea,
don't try to figure out whether it's good or bad.
Write it down.
"The faintest ink is better then the best memory."
This is particularly true of creative ideas.5. Don't be critical of your ideas too soon.You have a problem that can't be solved by cold logic.
It needs the spark of imagination.
But the moment your subconscious mind tries to throw out a spark,
your conscious mind says :
"That idea is a lemon. It will never work."In the early stages of the creative game,
the conscious mind must be told to shut up.
Nothing will cause the genii to scamper away
so much as being told by the conscious mind
that their ideas are worthless.6. When stymied, stop for a while.Of course, most creative problems can't be solved overnight.
After you had a creative session with yourself,
it's usually best to stop trying to think up any more ideas.
This stage is called the incubation.7. Keep yourself motivated.Whenever you have temporarily abandoned
seeking an answer to a problem,
the uncounscious mind should have its orders :
"This is important to me.
Don't give up the ship.
Keep on working on this idea while I sleep and rest."8. When the heat of creation is goneput your work aside for later evaluation.Just as a period of conscious thinking and gathering facts
usually precedes a creative idea,
so a period of conscious thinking should eventually follow it.
This is the period of evaluation.Creativeness is wonderfull.
But it is only half the battle.
The other half is evaluating your idea
or hearing another's opinion of it.Sometimes an honest opinion may spark a new idea.Fernando Soave
CEO CUTTING EDGE MLM
http://www.cuttingedgemlm.tk
Free Cutting Edge MLM Newsletter.
mailto:mnet@followup101.com?subject=SUBSCRIBEThis article comes with reprint rights. Feel free to
reprint and distribute as needed. All that we ask is
that you do not make any changes and to be sure that
the web site address http://www.cuttingedgemlm.tk and
mailto:mnet@followup101.com?subject=SUBSCRIBE is
hyperlinked correctly.Fernando Soave

I used to be a jazz singer. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, they were wonderful and I strived to sing like they did. But no one impressed me as much as Billie Holiday. The tragedy and the talent meshed together into a musical offering unlike any I'd heard. I was inexplicably drawn to the drama and the heartache.Louise Montello points out, in her book, Essential Musical Intelligence, that I was drawn to those songs for a reason. They corresponded with how I was feeling about myself and my life, and the real or imagined conflicts or unresolved issues that were going on for me.Later, I found myself still listening to music that was at a different 'frequency' than me, simply out of habit. I either didn't notice that all the songs I was choosing were focused on 'negative' topics or content I didn't agree with anymore, or sometimes I was drawn to the music or musicality of the performers. Or it was simply habit.There was sometimes a 'coolness' factor - maybe the performer emulated a quality I wanted to possess. Maybe it was their version of success I was after.A common concept in the personal growth field is that whatever we put our attention on, we unconsciously manifest into our lives. This is the purpose behind the gratitude list - taking time each day to focus on what we're grateful for. It helps to balance out the time that most of us spend lamenting what we DON'T have.Last night I saw the new movie, 'What the Bleep do We Know?'. My mind is still reeling from all of the scientific evidence that supports the notion that the possibilities, for all of us, are infinite - AND definitely within our control if we choose to think a certain way.One of the most fascinating and concrete examples came from a Japanese researcher who documented how water crystals changed depending on which thoughts were directed towards them. For more information about the movie, see http://www.whatthebleep.com.This is not to say that we shouldn't ever sing sad songs, that we should only paint with pink and yellow, or that we should use our computer to filter out negative words in our writing. It's not to say that we should in ANY way censor our authentic expression.My point here, as it with many of the topics I speak about, is that we should consciously choose and be aware of what we're expressing. AND, as an experiment, we can choose to try and manifest what we want by describing THAT in our art, instead of focusing on expressing our feelings about what we don't.Today I experiment with choosing songs, both to listen to and to sing, which evoke images of things I want to create in my life, or things I'm grateful for.I have a very special collection of songs that I listen to every morning. Every song in there is very deliberate. Some of the songs remind me to be grateful, some songs remind me to celebrate and all of the songs connect me in some way to my spirituality.(c) Copyright 2005, Genuine Coaching Services.Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive her free monthly newsletter, "Everyday Artist", subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/artist-newsletter.html

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 come into your
head you put them down on paper. There's no structure, no
form, nor concern about spelling or grammar or even
legibility.Even if writing isn't your dream, incorporating a regular
program of journaling into your life is a wonderful way to
jump-start your creativity and cultivate a constant flow of new
ideas. Here are three reasons why.1. Helps you get rid of the junk in your head. We all have it.
Junk thoughts. Everything from self-defeating comments
("Oh, I'll never be good at that." or "Who told you that you
could be a writer?") to the "worry of the moment" to neurosis
of every type to the ever-growing, constant to-do lists.Who can be creative with all that noise going on? For that
matter, who could even hear a creative thought over all that
racket?Journaling is a way to quiet the mind. Writing all that junk
down transfers it from your head to the paper. Suddenly, you
find you can actually think rather than simply react.The best part is this quiet lasts long after the journaling is
done for the day. And if you journal frequently, then the effect
is cumulative.When I finish journaling, I find that I feel peaceful. Calm.
Able to focus. The junk is gone, leaving space to be creative.2. Gives you a chance to try new ideas. What better way to
see if a new idea will work than to try it out on paper? You
can write out the pros and cons, describe a scenario, play
"what if" games ("What if my new business was
successful?" "What if I tried that new advertising
campaign?" "What if I contacted the editor at Money
Magazine?"). And the best part is it's all in a private little
notebook that no one will ever have to see.Try writing down your hopes, dreams, goals, visions. Play
around with them. You may find as you journal about them,
a strategy for making them come true suddenly presents
itself, right there in the pages of your notebook.3. Helps you build a bridge to your muse. This one really
only kicks in after you've sufficiently done number one (at
least, this is the way it works for me). It seems only after I've
gotten most of the junk out of my head that the muse
sometimes slips out to play a bit.How do you know the muse came to visit you? When that
brilliant idea flashes in your head. It may not happen while
you're journaling, but instead while you're showering,
walking, driving or something else. This is the muse talking
to you.It's important to remember muses have quiet voices. They
can easily be drowned out by the incessant bickering of the
other noisy chatter going on in your head. Once you can get
those other voices to shut up, you can start to listen for the
muse.Don't worry if this doesn't happen right away. There have
been weeks and even months when I write nothing but junk
down. But then, one day, that great idea appears on the
paper or in my head as I'm walking my dogs.And when that happens, I know all the time I spent
journaling about nothing has paid off.Creativity Exercises -- Journal more ideasI would love it if you made a pact with yourself to journal
regularly for a month. If that's too much of a commitment for
you, try it as a creativity exercise.Write down your challenge at the top of a piece of paper.
Maybe it's ways to increase business or promote your
products more or a new PR campaign. Now just start writing
about it.Don't think, just write. Fill a few pages of musing about that
particular challenge. Don't type it either -- write longhand. If
you wander away from it, try nudging yourself back.Write for at least 20 minutes. If no answer presents itself in
that time, don't get too hung up about it. Try it again the next
day or a few days in a row. Sometimes it just takes awhile to
jar things loose. And remember, great ideas have a
tendency to pop up in the most unexpected places, not just
when you're doing something "creative."Michele Pariza Wacek is the author of "Got Ideas? Unleash
Your Creativity and Make More Money." She offers two free
e-zines that help subscribers combine their creativity with
hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become
more successful at attracting new clients, selling products
and services and boosting business. She can be reached
at TheArtistSoul.com.

There are many creative problem solving techniques used by inventors to come up with new solutions to old problems. For sheer innovation, though, it's hard to beat the technique of concept-combination. Just start combining ideas and things, and voila, you're having fun - and maybe creating something new.Innovation or Inovation?Combining the concept of search engine misspellings with article writing gave me "inovation." What good is that? Well, now that I've used the misspelled word twice, the thousand people every month that type "inovation" into search engines can find this article."Search engine" combined with "people," could lead to the first search engine devoted entirely to information on individuals. "People" plus "advertising" might lead to the first large-scale paid-tatoo-placement campaign. Want a monthly stipend for having a Coke logo on your forehead?Much of the innovation you see in the business world is nothing more than combining existing ideas. For a ton of new business ideas, just combine the concept of "home delivery" with almost anything. Parties, tax preparers, rental swimming pools? Would people pay to have these things delivered?Using Creative Problem Solving TechniquesIn the process of innovation, you need to be careful not to stifle creativity. This means allowing ideas to come without judging them at first. It also means using techniques only as tools, not as a rules. If your mind goes off on a creative tangent - let it.Randomly combining things is a great mental exercise when you're driving or daydreaming. A boat and a bicycle becomes a waterski-bike that glides across the lake using pedal-power. Combining stock-trading and McDonalds has you imagining the selling of stocks and bonds at drive through windows.For more specific problems, you just look for things to combine with what you already have. If your taxi business is struggling, combining "taxi" and "pets" might lead to a successful arrangement with a kennel, to pick up and deliver their client's cats and dogs. "Famous people," might give you the idea to run some sort of tour of the town, like they do in Hollywood.For maximum creativity in your innovation, look far and wide for concepts to combine. "Meditation" and "amusement parks" seem too unrelated to yield interesting combinations, but I'll bet people at a carnival would pay to be put into a meditative trance using the latest brainwave entrainment technologies.Steve Gillman has been studying brainpower enhancement, creative problem solving, and related topics for years. Learn more, and subscribe to his free Mind Power Course, at: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com/mind-power.html

Let's begin by defining the optimal mind state and the power it will give you to channel your energy toward your desired outcome. The optimal mind state is a quality of attention that leads to the highest level of concentration. It's a balanced state that's neither rigidly tense nor too relaxed. The optimal mind state is a quality of mind that's under your control. And this means that you have the ability to focus your attention on whatever you choose, and maintain that quality of focus in an undistracted way.Your ability to focus your attention in this way means that you'll be better equipped to enhance the quality of your life, work, and relationships. Since the quality of your attention is so fundamental to the quality of your life, you could say that your ability or inability to focus your mind provides a fairly accurate measure of how in control or out of control you are of your life.When you think about an optimal mind state or about optimal states of performance, keep in mind that these are not totally foreign to you. If you think about your past, I'm sure you'll remember some times, and even special moments, that stand out and sparkle in your memory.Pause for a moment, and reflect back on the near or distant past, scanning through your mind, and find a time or times when you knew what it really felt like to be "in focus."Can you remember the times in your life when you felt most fully alive and in the flow? The times when your attention was completely captured by the intensity of the moment and that nothing else dared to intrude? Can you remember the times when you just relaxed into the flow, and felt yourself carried and supported, moving effortlessly and easily through some activity? Or a time when everything just clicked into place, effortlessly, and you didn't have to try to get things to work, they just happened? Can you remember what it felt like to be alive at those magic moments in your life?Special moments are often described as times in your life when you are most in the flow, or in the zone, or at the peak of your performance. It is a deep flowing and an effortless sense of concentration. You have a vivid sense of clarity of your goals and a sense of being on purpose and aligned with what has real value. You even experience a loss of the sense of time, and a lack of self-consciousness. You have a deep sense of connectedness or belonging.These special moments are the ones we all live for, they are the moments that shine like beacons in our lives. They remind us of what we're really looking for, and what we're really capable of doing and being. So then, what are the strategies for having more of these moments of being present, open, connected, and in the flow of life in such a wonderful way?The key to having an optimal mind state is being able to have dynamic or fluid concentration. Learning to focus your mind with dynamic concentration will equip you with a wealth of powerful skills and strategies to carry the power of the optimal mind state into every activity of your life.Learning to live and work in the flow of an optimal mind state means learning how to put your mind to work for you. To accomplish this, you must understand the nature of your mind, and learn how to use and direct the energy and power of your mind more effectively. Though you rely on many wonderful tools and technologies to live your life, ultimately, your mind is your most important and primary tool. With your mind, you envision and design all other tools and direct the way they're used.The first thing you must learn is how to focus your attention. One of the most effective methods for developing your concentration is with deep breathing. When you inhale, focus your attention within yourself, and as you exhale, imagine that you can direct the focused power of your attention in whatever direction you choose. Breathing in and focusing. Breathing in and directing the focused beam of your awareness wherever you choose. Just remember, you're focusing, and directing, focusing, and radiating.Once you have developed your deep breathing, then you need to develop the flexibility of your concentration. The best way to do this is by focusing on your hands. Just zoom in and focus on them, notice their position, and feel all the sensations or vibrations in your hands. Then, intentionally shift your attention and focus on some other interesting object in your visual field. Just let go of focusing on your hands, and focus completely on this visual object. And then, shift your attention back to your hands. Keep shifting your attention back and forth and just listen to the flow of sounds around you as you do this. Then shift your attention to observing the flow of thoughts and images in your mind. Don't try to elaborate, just watch the flow for a moment. Finally, shift your attention to the top of your head, and then to your hands, to the taste in your mouth, and back again to your hands.Practicing these simple exercises on a daily basis will help you to develop a greater flexibility of your attention. You will be to take greater control of where and how you direct your attention. And this will allow you to concentrate in an infinite variety of complex ways and to also perform an infinite array of complex activities. Your flexibility of attention offers you freedom by giving you the power to control the movements of your mind. The greater your mental flexibility is, the greater your power and creativity will be to move your mind through an infinite array of possible moves and functions.The flexibility of your concentration is directly related to the versatility and adaptability of your nervous system. The more rigid and inflexible your mind is, the more rigid and limited your brain function will be. As you develop greater flexibility of your mind and body, you'll find that your brain is able to handle more and more complex situations, and you'll be able to deal with greater challenges without feeling nearly as much stress. When you become a master of concentration you're really building a mind that is "fit for action."The quality of your life is directly related to your ability to shift between different ways of thinking, viewing, and working with the creative challenges that life brings you. The flexibility of your attention will allow you to shift your focus from one person to another, or from thinking about one project to thinking about another. As your resilience and versatility of concentration grows, you'll be able to shift mental gears more easily, and move fluidly, from one way of looking or thinking about a situation, to another point of view. For example, you can focus your attention toward someone in a critical manner or in an appreciative way, and you can shift back and forth between multiple styles of thinking about the same situation.In this complex and fast changing world of today, you're constantly challenged to pay attention to a barrage of continually changing circumstances. Your success in life will depend largely on your ability to interact with all the situations that your are faced with in a creative manner.Regardless of all the outrageous claims of some of the new, flashy mind technology that's appeared on the market, real and lasting mental development, like muscular development, can be achieved only through practice. You simply can't passively take a pill or plug into a machine that's going to strengthen your mental muscles and build your powers of concentration for you.However, you'll find that training the mind is in many ways easier than physical training, since you don't need to wait for a special time or place. You don't need to rely on expensive equipment or exotic paraphernalia. You already have everything that you need to improve the quality of your concentration. Just strengthen your personal commitment to continuously learn to improve the quality of your life, and you'll be on your way to a life of happiness, success, and prosperity.Copyright

What would you like to create? A peaceful life, a successful life, a good life, a sculpture, a piece of art, a book? What is it that you would like to create? Whatever you want you can achieve it. All you have to do is follow your natural compass. Remove the rubbish that takes you off course and let the natural you come through. It is not the case of adding new behaviours to create what you want. No. It's a case of moving the obstacles out of the away and let the natural you come through.One of the biggest obstacles of all to being creative in life, to reaching your potential: is conformity.As Shakti Gawain says: 'We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or other peoples model'.Just think for a moment. How much do you conform?The world of work wants you to conform more and more. The computerisation of systems has taken away the creativity of individuals and made you conform. Individual creativity of employees has almost disappeared in favour of conformity.The clothes you wear. Isn't there a strong push to get you to be similar if not the same as everyone else.The food you eat. Don't you feel that you are being told what to eat and where you ought to eat it. Which restaurants are fashionable, which food is good for you. What supplements you 'ought' to take.So its not surprising therefore that in our family lives and our lives in general we have become slaves to conformity. The habit and behaviour of conformity, wanting to be the same, is stopping you from touching your creativity.To reach your true potential, to open up your creativity you must start by having:Trust in yourself.Having trust in yourself is about listening to the real you, your feelings, your heart and becoming the person you really are capable of becoming. The you, who has been hidden for years and would really like to show the world how good you are.Now, what are the first thoughts that come into your mind to stop you achieving this aim and objective? Often the first thing that stops you having power over your day to day behaviour is the one who sits on your shoulder or the voice inside your head that constantly nags like a oppressive parent. It's whole aim is to sabotage your efforts. To destroy your self esteem.? you ought to do ??..that will never work? you should do ???what do you think your doing? that will never work Forget it.? how do you think that's going to pay the bills? you must be mad don't you remember what happened last timeRemember there is another voice that you can tune into. A voice that is full of encouragement and hope. Every time you are faced with 'you can't do ..??? reply with Of course I can do this??.I have the skills.The role of the inner voice is no more than getting you to conform to the labels people have put on you. Your job is to reach your potential. Release your creativity. So why listen? Tell yourself and everyone else I can do it?Of course I can??I am following my aim and objective in life. I am like a seed. With a little nurturing and the right environment I can mature into a beautiful flower. I have done it before I can do it again.Just think for a moment:when was the last time you successfully handled difficulties that occurred in your life?when were you thanked and congratulated for doing a good job?what responsibilities do you have in your life that you successfully deal with?what do you like about yourself. What are your qualities?when in your life have you felt loved?Remember conformity stops you from being creative. Stops you from leading your natural life. As you learn to overcome conformity and start to believe in your strengths then you have the first step in living a more creative and fruitful life. A life which is naturally yours.Remember:Instead of where there is a will there is a wont.I now believe where there is a will there is a way.To improve your intuition, initiative and energy levels please go to:
http://www.desktop-meditation.com. It's free.

All wealth is a product of mind. Some economists will try to convince you that wealth comes from productivity. Many people believe that wealth is a matter of ownership or the accumulation of possessions. They are blind to the truth. They see only effects, not causes.It is ideas that produce wealth. The process of creating anything, including wealth, begins with the idealization, the conceptualization, the visualization. Everything that follows is simply the implementation of the original thought. Everyone has the capacity to think and to choose what and how to think. Therefore, everyone can be wealthy.The great thing is that ideas are free. You don't have to exchange or pay anything to have an idea. The problem most people have is that they don't have any original ideas. Of course, it is possible to refine someone else's idea or to find a better way to implement someone else's idea and thereby create wealth. That is actually what most people do. But why not just come up with your own concept. After all, ideas are free. Yours for the asking. No cost.Hold onto that thought. Something you can produce with no visible effort, something you can have an endless supply of, something that you can have for free, can make you wealthy. Just one simple idea.Hey, why don't we create an online flea market?Zap. eBay. A multi-billion dollar company.Hey, why don't we create a 24-hour international TV news channel?Zap. CNN.Hey, why don't we create a better delivery system than the post office?Zap. FedEx.Hey, why don't we create a personal computer?Zap. Apple Computer.The experts at IBM laughed at the two Steves. "Who would want a computer in their home? You guys are nuts." Now IBM's business relies on the sale of PCs. And the world is a different place. What would your life be like without a personal computer?His college professor gave Fred Smith a 'C' on his paper proposing the need for a guaranteed overnight delivery service. Now even the post office copies Fred's FedEx concept. Fred is wealthy. The prof is still not. Not wealthy and not thinking correctly. Thinks A ideas are C value.Ted Turner knew nothing about TV. His business was outdoor advertising. Billboards. Now, the major TV networks copy little old upstart TBS. And now it is CNN/Time Warner/AOL.Ideas. How great they are compared to tangible things. Here's why. If I have clay pots and you have apple pies, I can trade you a clay pot for an apple pie, but then I'd have one less clay pot and you'd have one less apple pie. But if I have an idea and you have an idea, I can trade you my idea for your idea and now we both have two ideas. Not only that, two ideas often act synergistically to make a third idea and maybe even a fourth or a fifth idea as well.Tangible things do not grow when exchanged. They merely change hands. Ideas change the world. Tangible things do not create wealth. They are the effects of wealth creation. Ideas are the cause of wealth creation. Had any good or original ideas recently? You are equally as capable of having them as any one else. Ok, maybe you don't know how to think original thoughts. Improved upon anybody else's ideas lately? At least you can do that. No? The find a good idea and implement it. Copy. Mimic. Do the same thing.Michael Dell did not invent the personal computer. DHL is merely copying FedEx. The boys at Google did not invent Internet search engines. They just built a better one. It was someone else's original idea.I did not invent eBooks. Online marketing was not my original idea. I took my ideas, added the ideas of others and presto, a wealth creation business.Yes, you can think and grow rich. I know. I have the proof. That's what I do. So can you. Go ahead; I dare you. Think. Idealize. Imagine. What if...Why don't we create a...

Lately I've been discussing how to thrive as a creative artist by connecting with different things. I thought it might be helpful to begin this article with some distinctions.Inner Artist - A Part of OurselvesAs I've discussed before, the Inner Artist is that part of ourselves that has been untouched by our experiences, trials, tribulations or creative roadblocks. It is infinitely creative and joyful in everything that it does.Spirit - All Around Us, All of Us, Every One of UsANY time we connect, we're also connected with Spirit. And I use the word Spirit to also refer to God, the Universe, Higher Power, something that connects us all, no matter how unique we are. While our personal definition of Spirit is unique, when we connect with that Spirit it immediately connects us with something outside of ourselves.Muse - Outside of OurselvesAnd that brings us to today's topic: the Muse, and how to connect with yours.The word muse stems from the 9 muses of Greek mythology, who were responsible for inspiring creative artists and helping them remember their works (since in those days they didn't write them down). The Greek muses were also responsible for protecting history by singing about the great heroes and events of the day.The muse is something that's outside of yourself, which provides inspiration and helps you get your creative work done.I like that definition ? because with that definition I get to be a muse! And I certainly am honored when I get to fulfill that role for my clients.To have a connection with your muse you need to be tuned in to your inner voices. This is because a muse (even in the form of a coach) will not dictate, "Draw it this way", "Use this word", or "Here's the winning chord progression".So, connecting to your muse is really a three-fold process.1. Finding a muse (or muses ? many artists have several sources of inspiration)Your muse is unique to you, and so are the ways you can best tune in to it. You might be able to name your muse(s) immediately, or you might need to explore a bit. You might:
Look through finished (or started) pieces and think back on what sparked them into being. That might be a source you can return to
Ask other artists about their sources of inspiration
Sit in stillness for a few moments and reflect on what is inspiring to you
Experiment with other forms of art, nature walks, meditation, cooking and people who glow
2. Spending time in the presence of that museThis could be a person you can spend time with, a place you can visit or look at photos of, an activity you can do more of or a personal environment you can create in your creative workspace. If your muse is someone you don't know personally, like another artist you admire, this could be spending time in the presence of their work.3. Spending time in creative contemplation and expressionAllow whatever the muse has evoked to be expressed through your creative medium(s). Here's where tuning back in to your inner voice comes in. Whatever you've taken in from your external source of inspiration still needs to be filtered through your unique lens of skills, experiences, opinions, ideas and sensations. Otherwise you'd simply be reproducing exactly what you've seen or heard.PUT IT INTO PLAYIt's time to make another date with your Inner Artist ? only this time you're in search of your muse. Block off some time for simply noticing what inspires you ? if you can't help but rush home and write, draw, build, photograph, compose or otherwise create something, well, call it a happy bonus of this exercise.MUSE MINDING FOR THE BUSY CREATIVE ARTISTWhat if you don't have time to go traipsing all over the city to the spots where you find inspiration? What if your creativity has a deadline? What if you have a busy life that involves other people's schedules?Here are two possible solutions:Make sure that your creative workspace evokes your muse. Find objects, words and/or photos that capture the essence of your muse and place them prominently in your creative workspace. Move them around every month or so, so you don't stop noticing them.Be open to spontaneous sightings. When you're rushing around from place to place, worrying about what you did yesterday or dreading what you need to do tomorrow, there's not much time or space for the muse to get your attention. Experiment with slowing down occasionally and checking in ? my muse has been talking to me a lot in the car (as long as I leave the radio off!), and also really likes to chat with me when I'm in the shower (no kidding ? and I've heard that water evokes inspiration for others ? how about you?).So, what is it about water?Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong. - Lao-Tzu (600 B.C.)My muse whispers to me through water, if I yield to it and bend my resistance.(c) Copyright 2005, Linda Dessau.Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. Feel like your creativity is blocked? Sign-up for your complimentary copy of the popular e-course, "Roadblocks to Creativity" by visiting http://www.genuinecoaching.com

Ever been on a project where you had trouble keeping all the 'if' questions straight? "If this happens," you say, "we'll do one thing. But, if that happens, we'll do something else instead, but only on a Wednesday."In cases like these, especially with high stakes, you may have drawn a diagram on a piece of paper. That way you could visualize the forks in the path ahead, while still seeing the objective at the end.Diagrams map our reasoning and can be as simple as a few lines on a napkin, or as complex as computer models. Called mind maps, these diagrams help us make better decisions, or make difficult decisions more easily.But, let's also think of them as a system for better communication. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes.Mind mapping helps us communicate in at least three ways: to illustrate the components of complex situations; to show the outcomes of a series of actions; and to highlight otherwise unrecognized linkages.Whenever I redesign my website, I'm dealing with a complex situation. So, I draw a simple diagram, with boxes representing pages and lines showing their connections. It's only a modestly complex website, but keeping track of the hierarchy and connections can drive me crazy.So, you can imagine how hard it is, not only to work with a more complex situation, but also explaining it to someone else. However, a simple visual outline of the components and their relationships can effectively communicate even the most Byzantine of structures.You can also apply mind maps to track the outcomes of a series of actions. By way of an example, some manufacturers of consumer products wonder about selling directly to consumers on the Web. First they ask themselves whether or not they think such an initiative would be profitable. Second, if it will be profitable, how much will they have to spend, and how long will it take? And the list goes on.By now, though, you're getting the picture. One thing depends on another, and the answer to it depends on the answer to a previous question. Mind maps illustrate the actions and consequences, and give us a way to forecast possible outcomes.Now, let's turn to highlighting unrecognized linkages. One of my former newsletter clients is a major printing company, and part of our newsletter mandate involved explaining changes in the work world to employees. On some occasions we found it helpful to create diagrams of the forces behind the changes, and of our responses to them. We might show how technology relates to globalization, for example, without overwhelming our readers with words and abstract concepts.In summary, mind mapping, or diagramming our reasoning, helps us communicate by simplifying complex situations, showing the possible consequences of a series of decisions, and highlighting linkages among seemingly unconnected events or players.Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott's Communication Letter. Learn how you can use communication to help achieve your goals, by reading articles or subscribing to this ad-supported newsletter. An excellent resource for leaders and managers, at: http://www.communication-newsletter.com