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Creativity Articles |
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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 More.. |
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| 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 More.. |
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| 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. Humanbeings are a storytelling species. Of all the creatures on Earth, we're theonly ones that share past memories and future dreams as a way to getto know others, build friendships, plan an endeavor, inspire a group.
In fact, we're usually telling ourselves some kind of story all the time -abo More.. |
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| 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 More.. |
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| Unlock Your Creative Secret Weapon |
| It seems like this week a ton of people have been asking me how they canbecome more creative. I even had one client jokingly accuse me of being incahoots with the Devil in trade for my creativity. "Where do you get all of yourideas?" 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 itall the time. It will work for you just as it works for me. It has served me welland it is this technique that More.. |
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| 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 More.. |
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| 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 SpongeOpen your mind to the unknown and grasp the little details often overlooked in every day life.
3 - Read, Read, ReadRead 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 More.. |
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| 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 spor More.. |
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| 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 h More.. |
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| ejuvenate & 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 o More.. |
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| 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 andcommit to accomplish it... that's when deadlines becomesimportant 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, compl More.. |
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| 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 app More.. |
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| 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, w More.. |
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| 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 More.. |
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| 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 mo More.. |
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| Seeing Problems From Their Creative Side |
| Did you know that winning actually puts less wear and tear on the body than worrying? And did you know that you could worry yourself sick to the point that you'll end up in a hospital bed? And that, depending on the severity of the problem, when it becomes chronic and acceptable mode of conduct, it could lead to options beyond hospitalization? It could very well lead to imprisonment or interment!
Dr. Charles H. Mayo once said that half the beds in American hospitals are filled by people who wor More.. |
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| Quiz -- Are You Creative? |
| Worried you may not be creative or you may not be creativeenough? This quiz will help you find out just how creativeyou are.
Take a piece of paper and number it from one to seven. Foreach question, write down the corresponding letter of youranswer.
1. When you come across a rose, you immediately:
A. Smell it.
B. Quote every rose poem you can remember.
C. Write your own poem.
D. Sketch the rose.
E. Step on the rose.
2. One of your dreams in life is to:
A. Write a novel.
B. Become a painter.
More.. |
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| The Creativity Creed |
| I believe that creativity is a natural order of life itself and it provides my life with the purest of energies.
I believe there is an underlying creative force infusing throughout my life.
I believe that when I open my creativity, I am opening the Creatorâ?'s creativity.
I believe creativity is part of my destiny and just as important as all living things.
I believe creativity is my Creatorâ?'s gift to me. Using my creativity is my gift back to him.
I believe expectation of a fulfill More.. |
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| Charge Your Imagination (1) |
| "The challenges are not in the marketplace. They are in the mind"....... Jean Bernard
As we progress into year 2005, it is time for the professional and business class to "charge your imagination" for greater exploits this year. Take this message from IMAGINATION himself. Is IMAGINATION a person you ask? Yes he is, and he wants to address you, this season. It would be worth your while to listen. His sentences are short and language in the first person. This is the preamble of his message.
I am More.. |
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| Overcoming Artists Block (Part 1) |
| How many times does an artist stare down at that blank piece of paper thinking "What on earth do I paint - Where do I put my first mark?" More often than you would imagine! It happens to all creative people actually, from visual artists, designers, poets, through to musicians and writers.
When this situation arises, you are in the grip of creative block. When you wrack your brains to come up with ideas but just can't seem to. There may be contributing factors to this state, such as tiredness, d More.. |
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| Overcoming Artists Block (part 2) |
| Once you are ready to start working again you will know it instinctively. All artists go through periods of 'creative block' - it's normal, but after one such episode there are ways of stimulating ideas and getting the creative juices flowing again.
Visit your local library and take out books that cover materials, techniques and subjects that are not familiar to you. If you are a watercolour artist, why not try oils for once? If you paint large acrylic abstracts, would it be possible to try sof More.. |
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| Recharge Your Battery |
| It was 4:15PM on a Thursday when I arrived at the hair salon to get my haircut. My hair appointment was at 5PM but I arrived there quite early.
As I set down in the comfortable leather chair in the little "waiting corner," I looked down to my left with an intention to pick a magazine from the big basket that was filled with maybe over 50 magazines.
I sorted through the magazines but nothing would catch my eye. There were so many different magazines; I couldn't decide which one to pick and read More.. |
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| A New Discovery Of An Old Secret |
| Some years ago, when the world seemed to close in on me and I felt as though I was trapped between the sword and the wall, I made an exciting discovery. Actually, it was a phenomenon that was as old as dirt but it took on significant meanings for me because it freed me from all my problems and all the stresses and pressures that were being imposed upon me.
I discovered that there is only one simple root cause of all problems. When this primal cause becomes known, understood and properly applied More.. |
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| Improve Your Bottom Line, Kens Idea Saved over $100,000 |
| Engaged employees can show us the way to continuously improve. Customers want our products and services to be better, delivered faster, and produced less expensively. This means that everything we do needs to be improved. All employees can be thinking about how to reduce costs, looking at safety issues, reducing wastes, and improving the environment, while at the same time developing skills to identify, articulate and communicate those kinds of things.
The Gallup Organization has studied thousa More.. |
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| Shyness - Another View |
| We are all born shy, aren't we? When we see little children clinging to their parents, hiding behind Mom or Dad, we are reminded about the shyness of first coming into this World. As this early stage of our life we are not ready to be seen just yet. We want to hide until it feels safe to come out and be visible.
Becoming visible is what Life is all about. Revealing ourselves, showing ourselves and expressing our "inner self" are about becoming visible and declaring ourselves "Ready" to meet the More.. |
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| Top Ten Brainstorming Techniques for Business Success |
| We experience creativity every time a fresh idea pops into our minds. We recognize creative imagination in everything from a pastel painting to a business plan. By trying these ten tips, you will discover some amazing creative abilities that may surprise you.
1. Substitute someone else's perspective for yours. How would a teacher, lawyer, actor, artist, explorer, journalist, psychologist, engineer, homemaker, child, or accountant approach your idea or subject? Don't know? Ask them!
2. Look at More.. |
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| The Art of Keeping a Journal |
| Journal keeping is basically without rules. It is an uncensored invitation to cut & paste, sketch & chart, and to visualize and unravel every great and small thought. At its most basic it is a decision that your life has value.
Just listing your experiences and endeavors can reveal incredible things and encourage you to work for the nearly impossible, the rigorous, and the unseen. Recently, during a course on INQUIRY, I was asked to make a list of one hundred things I didn't know. Here a simple More.. |
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| Breathing Out Stage Fright |
| You're stepping onto the stage, amidst opening night flurry and last minute stage directions. In the audience are the director you'd like to work with, the reviewer everyone listens to, and your first acting coach. The blood pumps in your ears, your heart is racing, and your throat is so dry you can't possibly speak your lines. Every muscle is tense and you want to run.
It's called the "fight or flight" response. It's also called stage fright. Stage fright comes in many different forms. For som More.. |
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| 10 Ways to Thrive as a Creative Artist |
| 1. Connect with your DREAM - Indulge yourself in a vision of the bigger picture and get out of the mire of self-doubt, details and challenges of today. What's the purpose of it all? What are you working towards? What is your unique mission to carry out?
Daily Practice: Spend a few quiet moments reflecting on your BIG CREATIVE DREAM. Then, capture your thoughts through words, images and/or music and look back on these every day as a way to reconnect.
2. Connect with your "INNER ARTIST" - That p More.. |
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| Think & Grow Rich |
| 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 thoug More.. |
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| 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 r More.. |
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| Sleep and Creativity |
| In my life, sleep is the number one way that I can either enhance my self-care and nourish myself or defeat my self-care and deplete my energy, peace of mind & productivity all in one shot.
When I'm rested I'm more resilient to stress. My body is more flexible and willing to work, my head is more clear and focused, I feel happier and more at peace and I'm nicer to myself AND to everyone else.
When I'm overtired, on the other hand - my body and my emotions feel more brittle. Unexpected turns ca More.. |
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| Creating and Living Your Ideal Legacy |
| A legacy is more than a gift that lives on after you. Certainly, a legacy is a contribution to humanity. A legacy provides value to future generations. However, if you are creating your ideal legacy, it will also make your heart bubble with passion and excitement today!
Louisa Alcott wrote:"When Emerson's library was burning at Concord, I went to him as he stood with the firelight on his strong, sweet face, and endeavored to express my sympathy for the loss of his most valued possessions, but h More.. |
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| 7 Things Sapping Your Creativity Right Now |
| This was a very easy article to write. I was late in getting started this month, and as my publication deadline got closer and I could no longer wait until I "felt" like writing an article, I was forced to sit down and do it. In doing it, I thought about the last month (when I meant to be getting started on this as well as other creative projects), and I identified seven things that have gotten in the way of my creativity. Maybe you'll see yourself in some of these.
1. Not getting enough sleep More.. |
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| Fear & Creativity |
| My fears are most powerful when they're simmering just under the surface of my awareness. I'm resistant to a new idea, I'm defensive about holding on to my old ways, I feel excited and panicked at the same time - these are sure-fire signs that there's some fear under there.
Shining a spotlight on my fear has been the best (and only) way to get to the other side of it.
"Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love" - Ranier Maria Rilke
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| Problem Solving Techniques For Business And Life |
| Learning a few good problem solving techniques can improve your bottom line and your life.
Do you ever run out of good ideas, or go around in circles trying to come up with a solution for a persistent problem? Maybe you just need to learn some simple problem solving techniques, and then start applying them. Choose one or two of the methods below, and get in the habit of using them in your personal life and your business.
Using Your Unconscious Mind
Let your unconscious mind do your problem so More.. |
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| Sing & Be Well |
| When people find out that I'm a music therapist, the comments I hear most often are "I wish I could sing!" or "Oh, I love to sing, but I'm not good enough to do it in front of anyone". Some of these people tell me that, as children, a parent, teacher or someone else told them that they should just mouth the words because they didn't have a good enough voice.
Singing is our birthright! Singing is a natural and pure expression of how glad we feel to be alive, and the way we show our love of music More.. |
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| Creative Thinking versus Critical Thinking |
| The process of creative thinking is often, mistakenly, intertwined with critical thinking. There is a tendency to write and edit simultaneously, couple hypothesis generation and evaluation, combine problem identification with solution.
To increase effectiveness, one should first apply creative thought, which is meant to be daring, uninhibited, free-spirited, imaginative, unpredictable, and revolutionary. The trick is to ignore content and maximise the size and richness of the idea pool.
Second More.. |
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