Open Your Creative Mind

There are all sorts of situations where creative thinking comes into play.

Generally, we might associate creative thinking with art: writing a story, creating a painting, or composing music, for example.  In reality, creative thinking is something that even the lay person uses on a daily basis, especially when it comes to problem solving.

When you find yourself in a quandary about how to solve a dilemma or create your next masterpiece, here are some powerful creative thinking techniques that can get the ideas flowing.

The Random Element

One problem we often face when trying to solve a problem is that we tend to think in a straight line. 

The Random Element Technique allows us to take our mind in different directions to hit on solutions that may have never occurred to us using a more conventional approach.

To use this technique, start by defining your problem.

For example, let’s say that you are having trouble getting along with a coworker.  Look around you and find something completely unrelated to your situation, say a jar of jellybeans on your desk.  What kind of inspiration can you get from applying that jar of jellybeans to your problem?

Some possibilities include:

• Jellybeans are sweet.  Maybe I need to be sweet to this person and “kill him with kindness.”

• All colors of jellybeans are mixed together.  Maybe I need to recognize that it takes all types of personalities to make the world work and accept our differences.

• There are a whole lot of jellybeans in a jar.  Maybe this person and I spend too much time in close proximity to one another.  Would moving to a different desk or cubicle make a difference?

It’s amazing when you discover just what kinds of connections your mind can make, and it gives you a whole new list of possible solutions to try.

Read more..

Napoleon Hill reading his book 1937.

“Going solo” is a popular term that describes the decision to become an entrepreneur.

Striking out on one’s own has always been an attractive alternative for people who are dissatisfied with working for a large company.  In today’s economy, it has also become a survival strategy for people who are unemployed or for people who have a job but need extra income to cover the mortgage or pay the bills.

Everyone who goes solo wants success, but many people don’t have a clear vision of how to achieve it.

No one plans on failing when embarking on a solo career, and yet some do.  Besides luck and being in the right place at the right time, what are the factors that cause one person to succeed while another fails?

Knowledge is an important part of starting a business and passion is the fuel that keeps an entrepreneur going when times get tough.  But perhaps the most important component of success is daily attitude.  A positive and happy attitude will provide the inspiration, motivation and self-belief that are required to keep going when times are tough.  If you’d like to go solo or have recently made the leap, you need to remember that a positive attitude will allow you to rededicate yourself each day to your vision of success.

Reading about people who have succeeded is a great way to boost your attitude.

You can gain a better understanding of what success is and what it takes to achieve it by studying the lives of successful people.  This approach was first promoted by a journalist named Napoleon Hill.  Born in a one-room cabin in Virginia in 1883, Hill began his writing career when still a teenager as a reporter for a small town newspaper.

The turning point in Hill’s career came in 1908, when he was assigned to interview billionaire Andrew Carnegie, who was at that time was one of the richest and most powerful men in the world.  Carnegie explained to Hill a theory he had that success could be summed up by a simple formula that could be used by anyone.  The catch was that Carnegie couldn’t articulate this formula.  Instead, he suggested that Hill take on a project of interviewing 500 famous and successful men and women in an effort to define the formula for success that Carnegie believe existed.

Read more..

The season of gratitude is upon us.

Thanksgiving Day is our official national holiday for giving thanks.  We traditionally celebrate it with family get-togethers and feasts of turkey, delicious side dishes and pumpkin pie.

We express our gratitude for the abundance of our lives by overindulging in the goodness of food and enjoying the company of family.

It’s a busy holiday for many people, filled with travel, cooking and socializing with family not often seen.  It’s easy to get caught up in the stress of the holiday and lose sight of the deeper meaning of the Thanksgiving tradition.

Thanksgiving has its roots in the festivals that marked the completion of the harvest season in farming communities.  Most of us no longer live in farming communities and we enjoy a far richer life than many of the farmers of old.

Our lives are more materially comfortable than at any time in history.

Even though times are tougher for many people these days, most people in the America still have plenty to eat and a warm place to sleep.  Many people have homes that are filled with expensive possessions.  Thanksgiving is definitely a day to feel grateful for our material comforts and the possessions that bring us happiness.

In addition to our possessions, there are priceless intangible things that we all possess as U.S. residents and sometimes take for granted.

These 5 things to be grateful for on Thanksgiving as Americans should be at the top of our list.

Read more..