Inside of you is an unlimited inborn capacity for creativity. How are you using your unlimited creativity? ‘

Why is it that children are so widely acknowledged for being much more creative than adults? Perhaps one reason is that our muscles, physical or mental start to go flabby without continuous use and exercise.

For one thing creativity is not embraced, nurtured, or taught in our traditional school systems or in our society, which is why it makes sense that so many of us fail to reach our full creative potential. That unbridled creative child inside all of us grows older and older, more and more distant and as result our inherent creativity becomes ignored or worse, repressed.

“Life begins as a quest of the child for the man and ends as a journey by the man to rediscover the child.” Laurens van der Post

How can you learn to re-embrace the creativity of your childhood?

Your mind and our culture work against you every day. Why? Because they like to conform. It is just safer for you and society to conform and play along with the rest of society’s sheep herd mentality. Conformity involves any number of creative blocks that keep you from reaching for your full creative potential. It takes bold steps to start unblocking your creativity. The first step, and in some cases the most challenging, is to identify and recognize these blocks. The best method I have found to identify and recognize my creative blocks is to take a look at my emotions and perceptions of the world around me.

Our emotions are some of the greatest creativity blockers each of us has developed over time. In many cases our emotions run us instead of us running our emotions. We need to use our mind in order understand our emotions. Much of our creativity can be blocked by the powerful emotion of fear: we fear making a mistake, we fear looking dumb in front of people, we fear that we’re going to fail, and the list goes on and on. All of these fears prevent us from taking risks and being creative. Asking yourself questions is essential in order for you to unblock your creativity. Be willing to say, “I don’t know.” If you are willing to allow yourself to be open to exploring the questions, you will always find the answers.

Your willingness to take risks, especially the risk of failing, is an essential characteristic of the creative path. Why play it safe? If you are not failing you are not using your creativity to its full potential and you are not living to your full potential either. When you allow yourself to be afraid, acknowledge the fear and yet continue on, you take a major step to being more creative.

“Yes, risk-taking is inherently failure-prone. Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing-taking.” Tim McMahon

Here is one of the ways that I use to overcome my fears. I make a list of all the things I would like to accomplish in life but don’t because of fear. For example showing my art, keynote speaking, writing a book, engaging in a conversation with an attractive stranger, or quitting a job. After each fear I write the type of fear that blocks me and then what I need to do to overcome the fear. I also like to explore whether or not the fear is justified and if so why. The great thing is that it works and the more I work at it the less the fears hold me back. It can work for you too!

“Fear is a question. What are you afraid of and why? Our fears are a treasure house of self-knowledge if we explore them.” Marilyn Ferguson

Conformity can be another major creativity block. We all have the desire to belong to a group, a community, a team. We conform our dress, our speaking, our activities and, in many cases, our thinking. Being creative means being different in our thinking, in our problem solving, in our dress, and in our relationships. Being different does not mean being eccentric, oddball or anti-social. It is simply a willingness to try new things, explore new opportunities and to take risks. Leaving the well-marked roadway of society’s norms can be disorienting and uncomfortable which is why so many people choose to conform. Next time you feel the need to conform let your creativity rise to the top, relax your need for conformity and be prepared to break the rules every now and again.

In the end creativity requires a positive outlook, not a negative judgmental one. If you want to be more creative, suspend your judgment for just while and see what happens. There will be plenty of time to evaluate the benefits of your new thinking. Creativity builds on creativity generating a creative momentum that, when set loose, can flow forth unimpeded for the benefit of all.

Like so many things written in What Box? this life fulfillment work takes time, patience and continued practice. It’s worth the effort and if you choose to work at it you will see your creativity grow. What are you waiting for? You can do it! Go ahead and get started today!

“If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have the capacity at the beginning.” Mahatma Ghandi

Let me know what you think.

Write me at sean@whatbox.info or The Chronicle of Grand Lake PO Box 757 Langley, OK 74350 c/o What Box? Visit www.whatbox.info to learn more.

Dear Sean,

Last week you wrote about your spirit enabling you to take action. Is that the same thing as paying attention to your intuition?

Curious in Tulsa

Dear Curious,

Your spirit is the source of your energy as a human. Yoda called it, “The Force.” Your intuition is connected to the source, your spirit, and as such must be paid attention to. Your spirit as a human has a purpose. Your purpose on this earth is to discover your purpose as a human and live it. Your intuition is a guide to support you during the journey of living your purpose. By following your intuition and engaging your spirit you will discover your purpose and fulfill your potential as a human. Be patient, take bold steps, and be yourself. Anything is possible.

Keep on keeping on,
Sean

Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create yourself.

Human beings are unique among the animal kingdom. Our spirit along with the ability to reason and act on what we think separates us from all the other animals on the planet giving us the talent to create what ever it is we want in our lives. This is a very powerful reality to ponder.

Think about this for just a minute. Only 1.5% of the genetics that make up human beings are different from nonhuman primates. We are 98.5% more like a monkey than we’ve realized before. It is incredible that 1.5% of our genetic coding can make such a difference. This knowledge highlights the power of what a small percentage can do to change the world.

Our ability to think up new ideas and visions is a tremendous gift. When you think about what you want to create in your life you are utilizing your uniqueness as a human being to come one step closer to achieving what ever it is you can imagine. Here is the thing. It is, in all actuality, easy to think up new ideas, dream new visions, wish for something more and talk about what can be. Visions and words are good, but there is something even more powerful, something that can’t be explained in words.

The spirit from which we are able to act is the chief differentiator and in the end what matters the most. If all we do is think, dream, and talk about what we want to create and never use our spirit to take action, we are not realizing the full potential of what it means to be a human being.

We see it everyday: plans that just sit on the shelf collecting dust, ideas that never materialize, solutions that are never implemented and visions that never gain acceptance. People love to plan and share new ideas and yet when it comes down to actually taking action they don’t and, as a result, they never achieve what they have thought to be a good idea.

“So to conduct one’s life as to realize oneself – this seems to me the highest attainment possible to a human being. It is the task of one and all of us, but most of us bungle it.”

Ibsen

In my line of work, as it relates to facilitating strategic action plans for businesses and communities, I experience lack of action almost daily. It never ceases to amaze me. What is it that causes people to pause and let the opportunity to act slip by or freeze when it comes time to take the bold step and act?

We have all heard it before, “Actions speak louder than words.” Yet something holds many of us back from taking action on what we know we need to act upon. Over many years of facilitating the generation of action plans and the steps to achieve the desired outcomes I have come to learn that many people are scared to act and to be responsible for their actions and/or that taking action is just too much effort. Yes, you read it here. For many it is easier just not to do it and let the plans sit and slowly die. There is such a thing known as a “slow yes” which means we need to take this slow and think about it for while. In all reality this is just the same as a no to action.

“The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides.” Henri Frédéric Amiel

So how does one take the steps to generate more action in their lives? Inside of you is a great spirit, a spirit of unlimited potential. Tap it! Let go of the fear of what others will think about your actions. What you do must concern you more than what others will think. You will always find those who think they know what you should be doing better than you do. The key is to stay true to yourself and act upon what you know is best for you to act upon. Pull the resource of your spirit to guide you. Your spirit holds unlimited energy to accomplish any action you may create.

“It doesn’t matter what you are thinking, or what fear you have, if you just do it! Action is the only thing that matters . . . I can see that at the end of my life, I am not going to look back and say, ‘I wish I had taken more action’.” Diane von Welanetz Wentworth

Next time you have an idea for a new business or a better mouse trap take the action steps to start researching how others have achieved their success. Utilize the tools you have available to you: the Internet, smart people who have been there before, books, magazines, paper and pen. Engage people into your vision, make phone calls, make presentations, meet with people who can support your actions, and never ever give up. The doors of perception you open while taking action will lead you to new opportunities that will support you to achieve the desired outcomes from your actions.

When you tap your spirit, it becomes easier and easier to move forward with action. It takes practice to continually act upon your visions and dreams. When you discover that which will support you to move through the challenges of action you will come one step closer to reaching your full potential. What could be more important than that?

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.”

Walter Elliott

Let me know what you think.

Dear Sean,

Last week in your article “Expect Success” you wrote about focusing on positive energy. How can I get positive energy when I’m in a negative place?

Negative in Bernice

Dear Negative

Staying positive in a negative environment can be a major challenge. One of the things I like to do when I find myself in a negative environment is look for the area of positivity. This can be as simple as thinking about where I am going to be in the next 5 years. Visualize the positive place in your mind. Feel the power of that positive environment and hold onto the feeling and visions.

Many prisoners in concentration camps during the WWII used this technique and claim it supported them to survive the horrors they experienced. There is positivity all around the challenge is to identify it and focus your energy on it. If all else fails get out of your negative environment and move into a more positive and supportive environment. You can do it! Keep me updated on your progress.

Keep on keeping on,
Sean

Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create yourself.

Have you ever wondered why some people have greater success than others or asked yourself why they appear to be blessed with getting everything they go after? Why is it that some people seem to have that special something that allows them to achieve more than others?

Think about this. Behind every overnight success is 20 years of hard and, in some cases, torturous work. No one achieves success without some level of sacrifice, effort, determination and persistence. You have everything you need inside of you to achieve whatever success you can imagine. You are no different than the person who owns a car dealership, develops land, creates a franchise, or invents the next big product line. You can do anything you set your mind to. What do you want to create for yourself?

“To dream anything you want to dream, that is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do, that is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits, that’s the courage to succeed.” Bernard Edmunds

One thing very successful people have in common is that they focus positive energy on the expectation of success. When they go out into the world each and everyday they expect success no matter how small that may be. They focus their energy on the ideal outcomes they desire from a meeting before entering that meeting. They think positively about how their ideas will be received and embraced. They know that if they focus positive energy on the expectation of succeeding that it will bring them that much closer to realizing success.

The power of focusing on positive outcomes in life cannot be underestimated. When you project positive energy on something you want to create for yourself or the world you are one great big step closer to making that goal a reality. Successful people will visualize in their minds the ideal outcomes they are looking for, allowing those outcomes to become real in their imagination.

“Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future.” Charles Kettering

For example, if you want to win a bass tournament like The Elite Series Sooner Run held on Grand Lake, you will come one step closer to winning by imagining where the bass are going to be caught, the casts, the smells, the feelings and catching the big one. Imagine being on the stage with the winning weight, being handed the trophy and the oversized check, the applause from the crowd and the celebration that follows. When your imagination makes this so real that when you come back to reality you are not sure if it was real or not, you are on your way to winning the tournament. Athletes have used this technique for centuries. Whatever success you want to achieve, visualize it in your mind and imagine it being real over and over and over again. Eventually it will become a reality.

The other thing successful people have in common is that they know when they don’t succeed, which will happen more often than not, they will not give up and they will continue to keep the positive energy flowing. They look for the lessons they can learn from their failures and then apply those lessons when they try for it again. This is not always easy. The falls of life can be hard, but this is where the possibility of success and giving up takes place. They get themselves back up and dust themselves off with an attitude of “keep on keeping on.”

“Nothing can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genus will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the work is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” Calvin Coolidge

You have read it before in What Box? and you will continue to read it: “We all have a purpose in life.” Many successful people have discovered and embraced their purpose in life as a way to gain continued and growing success. There is quite possibly nothing more important in your life than focusing on understanding and living your life’s purpose which will make it easier for you to focus on the positive through what you may perceive as negative experiences. As a result, you will find that will become easier for you to expect success in whatever you do and your ability to stretch and take risks in life will enable your successes to grow and increase the older and wiser you get.

Next time you are looking towards creating success in your life go ahead and imagine what that success looks like before it takes place. Focus all your energy on the outcomes being real before they are imagining the success over and over again. Place your intentions on living your purpose and never ever give up. You can do it!

Let me know what you think.

Dear Sean,

The other week you talked about daydreaming. I find myself daydreaming, but not about anything that helps me solve any problems that I may be having. What can I do to make my daydreams help me in resolving conflicts that I may be having?

Help on Monkey Island
Problem solving daydreams are best when you set your intention on daydreaming about what ever it is you want to solve. Before you start to daydream ask yourself questions like, “What do I need to know that I don’t know about the issue.” Make statements to yourself such as, “I will remain open to letting my daydream share with me solutions to my problem.” Upon returning from your daydream write down the first thoughts and ideas that come to you, these first thoughts hold potentials to solve your problem. Think through these ideas and if necessary day dream some more on them. When you take the time the time to set the stage for your daydreaming you open the doors to new perceptions and opportunities. Let me know how it goes.
Keep on keeping on,
Sean

Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create.

Today we have more opportunities and resources available to us than ever before in the history of mankind.  Anything we dream up can become a reality. There are so many opportunities and choices to create something new, for example starting a new business, making a positive difference, or making major changes in your life. It can be very overwhelming at times.           

When a good opportunity presents itself we jump on it because none of us want to miss out. Perhaps we jump on opportunities because we are afraid that another opportunity won’t come our way. Perhaps we jump because we are afraid that if we don’t we will miss out on being a part of the opportunity. Or maybe we jump because the opportunity is in alignment with the purpose we have set for our lives. Whatever the reason, almost everyone likes to jump when a good opportunity presents itself.

“Be cautious. Opportunity does the knocking for temptation too.” Al Batt

I have learned that there is no end to the flow opportunities a person can respond to in their life. Sometimes the cycles of life bring tremendous opportunities and sometimes they reduce the number of opportunities. These opportunities can be expanded by a strong “abundance mentality.” I am a strong believer that the pie is always growing bigger verses growing smaller. This transformational way of thinking opens the door to tremendous opportunities: developing a new and meaningful relationship, taking on a new business, making a connection with people that have synergistic activities, applying new transformational tools, engaging in new ways of thinking. No matter what the opportunity, an “abundance mentality” increases the flow of opportunities.

What a different world we would live in if everyone lived their lives based upon an “abundance mentality.” How are you thinking about abundance?

With such an incredible flow of opportunities available to us it is important to be very selective in the opportunities we choose to pursue. There is only so much time in a day and only so many things that can be accomplished in that time. We can try to stretch our time, maximize our time, team target the amount of time we have, or burn the candle at both ends. No matter how we choose to spend it, time is precious.

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.” Benjamin Franklin

Here is the challenge I have discovered through focusing on increasing the opportunities that life presents me. Sometimes I have to say NO to some of the opportunities that come my way. We all have a limited amount of energy, time and resources. When those elements become stretched to the point of breaking I have learned that it is time to start looking at saying NO to some of the opportunities that have presented themselves to me. This does not mean that I am being negative. Quite the contrary. It means that I am taking care of myself and, in the best of circumstances, refocusing my energies on the opportunities in which I am already involved. No small task.

When you make yourself available to all the opportunities that pass your way, in some small way you are diminishing your value. People may expect you to always step up to a new opportunity. This can create a sense lessened value because you are always available. Truly influential and successful people are not always available because they are being selective in terms of where they focus their energy so that they can do their best in the choices that they have already made.

“Decide what you want, and decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” H. L. Hunt

We must all be selective as to which opportunities we choose to pursuit and expend our energy. Here are some of the questions I like to ask when a new opportunity presents itself. Does the opportunity fit into my purpose in life? Does the opportunity support my current endeavors? Does the opportunity take more time and effort than I can have available? How can I support adding value to the opportunity? Is the opportunity viable? These are among the many questions that are important to ask yourself as new opportunities present themselves.

If the opportunity does not fit into a personalized set of parameters we run the risk of stretching ourselves so thin that we become ineffective within the opportunities that we were working on before the new one entered the scene. When you feel overwhelmed by your efforts and opportunities it is time to start thinking about saying NO.

So how do you say NO to a new opportunity that you really would like to pursue, but that you know will negatively impact your other current activities? Very nicely of course by saying, “I really appreciate this opportunity and I would love to play a role, but as it is right now I have to focus on my current endeavors. I would like to be kept in the loop on your activities to see if things change or if my activities can fit to support yours. At this time I must respectfully decline your offer.” Gosh! Just writing it down makes me a little uncomfortable because I love to get involved in new and exciting opportunities.

I know that I am not alone in the challenge of learning and knowing when to say NO. I am just more prone to saying YES. Here is the thing. If I want to be effective, create value, and make a positive difference in the world I need to focus. We all do. This means that sometime we need to say NO. Opportunities are never ending and will only increase. I am committed to working on saying NO more often to opportunities that just don’t fit into my life. I know you can too.

“It is not what you say or hope, wish or intend, but only what you do that counts. Your choices tell you unerringly who you really are.”  Brian Tracy

Let me know what you think.

Dear Sean,

I attended the art auction at the Brush & Palette a couple of weeks ago. How did you learn to be an auctioneer? It was a lot of fun, thanks for a great time.

Chairing in Grove

Dear Chairing,

Thanks for the email. Being an auctioneer has been a dream of mine since childhood. Up to the Chairity Auction at the Brush & Palette I had never had the chance. My learning took place watching the auctioneers I have experienced over the years and simply integrated my own facilitation style. I had a great time and can now mark down yet another dream that has come true in my life. Thanks for coming out and supporting the local artists of Grand Lake.

Keep on keeping on,

Sean

Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create yourself.