Creative Dreams – What Winter Driving Taught Me
Creative Dreams - What Winter Driving Taught Me
We had a winter storm the other day here in Toronto. And as I was driving, I started thinking about what my winter driving had in common with my creative dreams. Here's what I came up with.1. Being grateful to be in my car, pointed in the right direction and moving (however slowly). Some days I don't accomplish as much work towards my creative dream as I set out to. Other days it seems like I'm moving backwards.And I know that as I:~ Get in the car (show up every day),~ Point it in the right direction (have positive intentions and goals that I've expressed, written down and shared with someone), and~ Keep moving (spending time on my creative dream every day, even just five minutes),I'm doing the right things to protect my creative dreams and keep them alive.2. There will always be someone in front of me and there will always be someone behind me, and where I am is just perfect.When I come upon a person who is living out a version of my creative dream, only they seem to be farther along with it than I am, I need to let go of any feelings of jealousy, fear or discouragement that may come up.I need to learn from them, admire them, connect with them and offer them my support. And I can do the same for the person who's just starting out and for whom my almost two and a half years in business seems like a lifetime.I need to accept that my fate is already happening, and it's happening at the perfect speed, even if I don't always see it at the moment.3. If I try to do more than one thing at a time I risk derailing myself ? and my very survival. A winter storm day is not the time to open a water bottle, make a phone call or jot down my grocery list while I'm driving.I have many creative dreams and many things I want to accomplish everyday, every week and throughout my life. I can do them all. And I can only do one at a time. Spreading myself thin makes it harder to be effective and I risk giving up on one of my projects.One worry is that I'll "lose something" ? completely forget about a project or my excitement for it. I have to keep faith that the really special projects won't be forgotten.And that if something is jumping in front of me and distracting me from the task at hand, maybe the truly exciting thing about it is that it's taking me away from the "drudgery" of completing what's in front of me. I need to complete what's in front of me.4. I have to keep my reservoir full. By practicing healthy self-care habits every day, my reservoir of energy (adequate nutrition and enough sleep, rest and activity) will get topped up.It's when my reservoir is full that I'll be the most creative and the most open to my muse and to spiritual guidance.And as I use it I need to constantly replace it.Because any change we make needs to be reinforced with our actions every day. And every morning is a brand new start and the beginning of a whole day's worth of choices to make.5. God's in charge (and I'm not). I can make all the plans in the world, and, as we all were reminded on December 26, 2004, plans (and lives) can be washed away in an instant.So while I set positive intentions, create goals and practice positive visioning of what the future holds, I also aim to be open and accepting to whatever God's plan is for me and for my creative dreams.Prayer, meditation, talking things over with someone I trust, all of these help me to separate *my* plans from what God seems to be telling me.And last Wednesday God planted the seeds for this article by providing a winter storm, extra time in the car, a good dose of inspiration from my muse, and the willingness to listen to it.(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
Creative Writing
Creative Writing
Do you consider yourself a storyteller? Do you consider yourself a writer? Were you always the student in school that the teacher chose to read your creative writing out loud to the rest of the class? Believe it or not these skills can land you a very good job in Washington D.C. with a regulatory agency. Perhaps you can get a job at the FTC, i.e. The Federal Trade Commission, because many of their cases are pure hokum and creative writing projects.Here is how it works. A company, which is giving good benefits to the consumer, such as great service and good pricing accelerates in the market place providing jobs and tax base. The competitors, who are lazy, weak and have disenchanted their customers, go to the agency to complain about unfair competition. The Agency then, puts the good company on their target list and starts doing investigations. But the Agency has to try to find something that they can make stick otherwise they look bad. So they promise advancement to junior newbie regulators if they make a good case and that is exactly what they do; make or create a case, generally out of thin air. They use their creative writing skills to attack the company and make up supporting documents for their lawsuit. Then the agency files the BS in court under secret seal, while simultaneously embellishing the story and more creative writing in their press releases. Eventually the case is settled and the company, which has been defamed is free and no penalty is given out. (companies know not to ever expect an apology for government regulator lies, that is a well known fact, ask any D.C. lawyer). Meanwhile the creative writing regulators advance to the next level having done well in their first big case.So if you have these skills of making stuff up, creative writing and story telling, well there is a good high paying job waiting for you at the Federal Trade Commission where creating stories, false declarations, embellished profiles and BS rule. Go get that fat paycheck in Washington D.C. and put your creative writing skills to work."Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs
Creative Visualization For Successful Goal Achievement – Positive-Attitude
Creative Visualization For Successful Goal Achievement
No one becomes successful by accident. Motivational speaker Les Brown advises, "You must see your goals clearly and specifically before you can set out for them. Hold them in your mind until they become second nature." Certainly, visualization is an essential element of achieving success.Visualization is a secret shared by top athletes, actors, performers, and business leaders. It is used by almost all successful people. Visualization is mentally picturing an event before it happens, and seeing yourself successfully accomplishing the event. It is a powerful tool used to generate confidence, motivation, and faith. Imagine if right now you could motivate yourself, and then keep yourself motivated - how much you could achieve? Visualization creates energy, determination, and allows your creativity to generate new ideas to overcome possible obstacles. Vision creates motivation. Vision creates persistence.The first step in creating what you want is to determine exactly what it is you want. Sounds simple, but it is not always so. For a dream to become a goal, clarity and detail are required. It's not enough just to have "an idea" of what we want. We need to define exactly what we want. The first step is to shape it, define it, visualize it.CREATING A VISIONOnce you have decided on a goal, close your eyes and imagine your desires as if they have already been obtained. Generate as many details as possible. Be clear and specific. See yourself successfully achieving your goals. Create a vision of who you want to be and live in that picture as if it were already true. Use your five senses to bring life and excitement to your imagination. Rehearse your desired outcome many times in your mind before it actually happens. By doing this you program your subconscious allowing you to tap into its tremendous power. It will help you find a way to win even under the most difficult circumstances.While creative visualization is thinking positively, it is much more than wishful thinking. It is a mental process establishing a goal and then imagining the process of attaining that goal. Vision isn't magic, it requires perseverance and patience, but it works. Stick with it and creative visualization can be a useful tool to manifest your dreams.VISUALIZE SELF-ACCEPTANCELook into the nearest mirror. The person staring back at you is the only person responsible for your success. Cutting her down, or honing in on all her perceived faults will not motivate you into a successful person. Immediately stop all the mind chatter, take a deep breath and SMILE! It's time to take a new look at yourself and begin creating a vision of success.Find a moment when you are completely alone. Get a good look at yourself in a full length mirror. Now close your eyes. Do you see a human being there? Or do you see a collection of different parts? Do the components consist of a fat stomach, imperfect skin, ugly thighs, or a big butt?These thoughts are merely judgements you have made. If you look close enough you could find flaws and imperfections on every human body. Notice the people in your life when taken apart into pieces, are not attractive (who is?). But, as a whole, they are enchanting, striking, have a magnetic air, or you just feel good around them. Begin creating a new vision of yourself by looking for something like this in your self image. Visualize a presence surrounding you, or a certain charm which draws others to you. Note that at some point in your life, you have already felt this. Life was going well, you were succeeding in some way, or you felt loved. See the person in the mirror surrounded by this kind of charismatic energy. Spend some time seeing it, drawing it into your body, and feeling it.A vision is simply how we see ourselves. It is the running dialog we have with ourselves and the way we feel about ourselves. Notice with the above mirror exercise that you are already using visualization to create your current reality. Your current visions (fat stomach, ugly thighs, big butt) motivate you to do what you are currently doing. You get what you expect of yourself. It's not a matter of getting a vision, it's a matter substituting the one you already have with one that moves you forward towards your goal.ENVISION!Spend time each day imagining your ideal life. Envision the details of that life. Imagine you are living it now. Go through all your senses and notice what you imagine seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, even smelling, with this new vision. Breathe deeply and easily as you do this, breathing life into your visualization. Close your eyes and visualize your ideal future now.Copyright 2005, Dr. Annette Colby, all rights reserved.Dr. Annette Colby, RD
Nutrition Therapist & Master Energy Healer
Annette@AnnetteColby.com
972.985.8750"Opening Creative Portals to Success"