Imagine having an endless supply of great ideas at your fingertips.
Imagine reaching for your greatest aspirations.
Imagine becoming all you want to be.
It takes courage to push ourselves where we have never gone before, to test our limits and break through the barriers that hold us back. Think about the lion in the 1939 classic film “The Wizard of OZ.” The lion, desperately seeking the courage to face life’s challenges, is constantly looking outside himself for courage. In all actuality, the lion had an unlimited reservoir of courage already there; only he was unable to see that truth about himself.
Just like the lion, we have everything we need inside of ourselves to become all we can be. As Mike Munn, my good friend and former head physicist for Lockheed says, “you know more than you know you know” and I would add, can be anything you want to be. The challenge for us is to look inward for our strength to stretch and grow creatively instead of looking to the outside world for that strength. Too many times we are held back because we buy into negative outside influences that don’t encourage or support different thinking, creative ideas, inventions, or solutions.
In my life I have experienced many fears about being a writer. Growing up challenged by traditional learning institutions, compounded by my dyslexia, writing has been torturous at best. As a CEO, my Board insisted that I take writing courses to improve my skills because they were concerned that my “unique” style would not be embraced by the corporate world. For the past 10 years I have been visually representing my ideas about a series of creativity books I want to create and yet have not been able to put down more than one paragraph to start the darn thing.
Writing “What Box?” is a way for me to embrace the unknown and find the courage to become a writer. What area of your life are you holding back from? What are you not doing that you want to be doing? What do you want to create for yourself?
When we find the courage to go where we have never been before it does not mean that all of the sudden insecurity, fear and anxiety do not exist. Instead we consciously make the decision to move through these feelings as constructively and creatively as we possibly can.
By taking leaps of faith and stepping over the edge into the unknown we stretch our visible and hidden skills to new limits and promote exercising our creative potential.
So next time you find yourself saying, “oh I can’t do that” or “that idea is way to over the top,” take the time and remind yourself that hey, I know more than I know I know and can do anything.
Believe in yourself and your abilities and you can accomplish great things.
Tools for Exercising Your Creativity Muscles
Sketch and Doodle Your Thinking
One of the single greatest ways I have found to generate new ideas is to pick up a pencil or pen and start doodling my thoughts. This does not mean you have to possess exceptional drawing skills to draw out your ideas. Stick figures along with simple images have an amazing power to jog your brain consciously and subconsciously, supporting you to reach your goals. These doodles are for your eyes only if you choose. Let go of judgment about artistic merit and instead think of your doodles as a tool to generate new and winning ideas. We have all heard about the idea that was drawn on a napkin and became the next big thing. What idea do you have to draw out of yourself?
Take A Risk
When you are not failing every now and again you are at risk of stagnating yourself and your creativity. When you take a chance on something every now and again you exercise your creativity muscles and continue to strengthen it. Stop doing new things and you loose the creative muscle of risk. Go ahead, take a risk and find something new to do and see where it takes you.
No More Excuses
We have all heard the saying “just do it!” Sounds so simple doesn’t it? When I started writing “What Box?” I had to give up on all the excuses that were keeping me from reaching for and fulfilling my aspirations. In many cases it takes even more creativity to remove the excuses that hold us back than it does to develop the idea in the first place. What excuses are you holding onto? How can you remove these excuses and become the creative person you were meant to be.
Let me know what you think.
Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create yourself.
