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Leadership, especially in times of change, depends increasingly on the ability of managers, professionals and even front line workers to think and do things differently. In other words, to get out of the box!

So, how do we get out of the box especially when most people are comfortable staying with the tried and true rather than exploring and championing new ideas? Here are tips to jolt your mind and start thinking more creatively.

Stretch your brain.

When a group meets to come up with new ideas, it is helpful to begin with a fun activity that starts the participants thinking in new directions and generating innovative ideas.

Example: Challenge your group to redesign panty hose for male consumers. Yes, you read it correctly. Distribute samples of conventional panty hose and ask such question as, “Who is our target market….How should the new product be packaged? What shall we call it?”

Transform your perspective.

A good way to come up with solutions to problems is to look at them from a perspective that you never considered before.

Example: Bank executives were asked to think of outrageous ways to make their customers very angry. One suggested closing down credit lines without informing customers—causing checks to bounce without any warning. (How would you like that to happen to you?) What they realized is that one of the bank’s greatest assets is the perception of total reliability by the customer. They then focused on ways to ensure that reliability.

Dump your garbage.

Hanging on to old complaints or grievances prevents you from dealing with today’s significant issues. Therefore everyone has to move on and ‘get with the program.’

Example: Encourage workers to symbolically dispose of such obstacles by distributing index cards and asking them to write down all their complaints. The cards are torn up and are placed into a large garbage bag which is then thrown out. After this exercise, the workers may find it easier to forget about their old agendas and move forward. I have also seen this done even more dramatically. The torn pieces are put into a large ash tray or wastebasket and lit with a match. Everyone watches as all the complaints go up in smoke and are burned completely.

Ask the right questions.

Many poor decisions can be traced to asking the wrong questions and to inappropriate, incomplete or poorly framed questions. Good questions should be open enough for creative solutions but narrow enough to focus on solving a specific problem.

Example: A consumer products company was testing an idea for a household cleaner specially formulated for washing walls. Focus groups of consumers were asked to compare the new product’s cleaning ability to that of general purpose cleaners. All participants agreed that the new product cleaned better. Armed with this information, the company put the new product into production, advertised extensively and waited for the orders to come pouring in. They waited and waited and waited. The product failed.

While the company was asking consumers how well the product cleaned, they did not ask the most important question: How often do you wash your walls? By the time they learned that most people do not spend time washing walls, they had spent millions of dollars.

Lesson: Before making important decisions, spend time thinking about the questions that you need to ask. Good questions lead to good decisions.

Marcia Zidle, the ‘people smarts’ coach, works with business leaders to quickly solve their people management headaches so they can concentrate on their #1 job to grow and increase profits. She offers free help through Leadership Briefing, a weekly e-newsletter with practical tips on leadership style, employee motivation, recruitment and retention and relationship management. Subscribe by going to
http://leadershiphooks.com/ and get the bonus report “61 Leadership Time Savers and Life Savers”. Marcia is the author of the What Really Works Handbooks resources for managers on the front line and the Power-by-the-Hour programs fast, convenient, real life, affordable courses for leadership and staff development. She is available for media interviews, conference presentations and panel discussions on the hottest issues affecting the workplace today. Contact Marcia at 800-971-7619.

Brainstorming is a great way to come up with new creative ideas. For years it’s been considered most effective when people brainstorm in a group, but research is now showing this is not necessarily so.

Dr. Paul Paulus, psychologist at the University of Texas Creativity Lab, after 14 years of studying the science of creative brainstorming, has discovered that individuals working alone, without the fear of looking foolish in front of their peers, generate twice as many ideas as those working in a group. This is great news for anyone wanting to create new ideas for abundance and wealth.

Some important traditional techniques include: letting your imagination run wild, going for a quantity of ideas rather than focusing on quality and making a decision to suspend any judgment until later. But Dr. Paulus realized that other methods can also greatly increase an individual’s creativity.

Brainstorming through “brainwriting” (writing down every idea that comes to mind) can generate 40% more new ideas than just thinking about things. Another productive technique is taking a break and coming back to the problem when you feel refreshed. With this second round, Dr. Paulus found people could come up with 66% more ideas.

So, when you’re looking for insight or breakthroughs, get out paper and pen. Write down every possibility - no matter how outrageous. Then take a walk, sleep on it or just enjoy a nice relaxing bath. After all, the great Greek mathematician, Archimedes, got one of his most life-changing ideas while in the tub. He was so excited he jumped out of the water and ran naked through the streets of Athens shouting, “Eureka, I found it!”

Although enthusiasm is very important, that much “bare” spontaneity isn’t necessary. As Dr. Paulus discovered, you don’t have to “share yourself” with a whole group of others when brainstorming for new ideas.

Katie Byrd will take you by the hand and teach you the skills she’s used to journey from a financially strapped, bad credit nightmare to debt free abundant living. To find out more visit: http://abundanceandwealth.bellaonline.com

Did you know that happiness is a complete state of mind, one that you and I set for ourselves on a certain level, and leave at the same setting for the rest of our lives? Yes, we can win the lottery, be chosen Mr./Miss America, win the CEO’s chair, luck out with the smartest, best-dressed, most successful parents (or offspring) imaginable… but none of it will change our essential “happy point.”

If you start out as a modestly happy person, you’ll not rise much higher throughout your entire life. On the plus side, neither will you sink lower. But start out low and you’ll surely stay low too, whatever your external circumstances. Start out on the high side– bubbly, vivacious, the life of the party … well, you’re doomed there too!

But hey, don’t take my word for it, just ask the good folks over at the University of Minnesota where happiness has been a serious subject of their research for many years. And all their experiments have drawn one predominant conclusion: Our lifelong levels of happiness are determined primarily by our genes.

Explains David Lykke, a top researcher and professor emeritus of psychology at UMinn, “Each of us has our own ‘happiness set point,’” which you cannot alter all that much. The best thing one can do, he suggests, is focus on little things that allow for occasional “leaps” above your happiness set point.

What little things does Professor Lykke mean? Well, you could recognize when you’ve had a good day, for example, or when you’ve achieved something great, or gotten lucky, or had a favor done you, or earned someone’s praise or encouragement. Through such precious, tiny moments nature rewards us, enabling us to survive, persist and move on to nest steps and new things. And the fact that they are fleeting is actually a good thing.

Consider if moments of ecstasy hung around us forever rather than gradually fading away. Investigators at UMinn, leaders in the growing happiness research field, label this a “hedonic treadmill,” or an endless “hap state” that would soon result in boredom, complacency, entitlement and expectation.

“Nature uses pain and pleasure as sticks to guide us,” Lykke says. Perhaps for that reason, no relationship seems to exist at all between salary and ultimate happiness, according to a 1997 study. Other studies affirm that personal beauty, graduation from college, significant advances in social status also offer only fleeting hap moments. None of these have been found to offer hap states that are long-term.

What can one do if stuck with low gear hap levels? What if your set points keep sliding you back to states of pessimism and malaise? The hap researchers would recommend that you keep reaching for those short-lived upticks and reminding yourself they will not, and cannot, last. Your pursuit of happiness must always be an up-and-down battle, so savor what you’ve got when you’ve got it, knowing that before too long you’ll be savoring again. The lapses in between keep the good times on a constant roll!

Ken Lizotte CMC is Chief Imaginative Officer (CIO) of emerson consulting group inc. (Concord, MA), which transforms consultants, law firms, executives and companies into “thoughtleaders.” This article is an excerpt from his newest book “Beyond Reason: Questioning Assumptions of Everyday Life”.

Visit ==>www.thoughtleading.com for more info.

Have you decided it may be time to start creating some new
excitement in your life? If you are now retired, soon to be
retired, or just now reaching those “golden years” do you
feel your life has become a little dull? Uneventful? Maybe
even a little discouraging?

After all, when you reach this period in your life, your
routine may have changed, your energy may have dwindled and even your drive may have simply slowed down a bit. So if you are not happy with this situation what do you do about it? Well here’s something to think about that could just change the whole picture.

Over the years all of us have developed certain talents.
Probably more of them than you might believe. You may have dramatically excelled in some of those at a higher degree than the average would have. Maybe today you no longer use those talents anymore because they were either career related or you just lost your excitement about them. You may have even forgotten about them now and they could have even become hidden for years.

Well so what! What’s this got to do with creating some
excitement in your life today? Plenty. Because you might not realize how much joy you could create in your life restoring these talents. You may not realize what you could do with these talents to help yourself and/or others enjoy life even more. See if you can dig out some these talents now and apply some of those in your life today.

OK so what if you are interested in doing this. What do you need to do to bring these to the surface once again? Here’s one way; “Brainstorm.” Select a time and place where you can spent some quiet time by yourself and relax. Now think back to your childhood days, your early school years, your high school and/or college days, your military service, your first job. Think all the way up to your adult years.

Then try to remember what things you were good at doing? What got you excited? What turned you on? What were the activities you enjoyed doing the most with family and friends? Were you a promoter, a good communicator, a good listener, a terrific athlete, a dancer, a singer, a musician? What did you excel in at best? Think, think and think some more. Then apply them in your life now and watch your enthusiasm skyrocket.

In my book “Absolutely Senior” I talk about how some of my earlier talents resurfaced and how I was able to apply them in my life to bring me more joy than I ever realized. What a thrill it has been. What great benefits it has provided me and others in my life. You might not realize this but by doing this simple exercise it could not only help you enjoy life more but also be the best medicine you could take to keep your mind off your illnesses, your problems and/or challenges or anything you may be facing that’s unpleasant
in your life.

This could be just one step closer to learning “How To Have
The Best Time In Your Life For The Rest Of Your Life”.

Go for it!

Want to learn some more about my ideas? Then go to my website and have a look right now at: http://www.thesunnysenior.com

Sonny Julius is a 74 year old retired sales supervisor, Prior to his sales career he spent 30 years in the family florist business. Becoming dissatisfied with that business he decided it was time to leave it and pursue a sales career. His interest in the internet eventually led him to write an ebook geared to senior citizens. The ebook is a guide for living the senior lifestyle.

In addition he offers a Free 20-minute no obligation phone coaching session to anyone interested in enhancing his or her present lifestyle. Email for more information: mailto:sonnyj@absolutelysenior.com

Sonny Julius, President of S A & Associates, is devoted to teaching senior citizens “How To Have The Time Of Their Life For The Rest Of Their Life” For more information go to: http://www.thesunnysenior.com

Last week we left off with:

“My profits became quite slim on some deliveries, so I became
discouraged and decided not to sell Grit anymore.

Next I decided to sell greeting cards.”

—————————————————————–
—————

And now continuing:

I ordered them from the back of a comic book. I got a sample box
to show people and some order forms.

I took the box to all the neighbor’s doors and spent most of the
day doing this. I would then go out every day for a bit to get
more orders.

People seemed to like ordering greeting cards and I did get some
orders. I probably knocked on 100 doors or more and I met a lot
of interesting people doing this.

I was only about 11 years old at the time, so everytime someone
answered the door they would first look out over my head, and
then act like they saw a mouse when they looked down to see me.

I was unusually small for my age. By age 12 I was barely 4 feet
tall and 55 pounds. So I am sure most people thought I was only
about 7 years old.

Most people were quite polite and would look at the cards. There
were others that seemed to have a need for Prozac, but that was
not due to be invented yet till 1980.

I remember approaching one house with green outdoor carpet on
the porch surrounded by wrought iron railing and neatly trimmed
hedges.

I knocked on the door. I could hear thundering foot steps
inside, and a muttering that started low and increased in
strength until I made out, “These *&5< kids why do they have to
^%#* bother me!"

I was confident I would win the sale anyway.

The door jerked open, in the shadowy light of the doorway I
could barely make out the face of a very angry elderly woman.
Lines accentuated all the features on her face, and her gray
hair was pulled tightly back.

"Go away!" she bellowed and slammed the door shut.

Well. Maybe I can get her next time.

I continued around the blocks until I came by the house with the
angry box again.

Well, I don't have Grit to sell this time. Maybe the box would
like some greeting cards.

I walked slowly up the steps and approached the sleeping box. I
gazed at it for a while. The shiny metal with the red button was
immensely interesting.

I pushed the button.

You can read all the chapters of "How To Be an Entrepreneur" by
going to http://salessuccessmagazin
e.com. These stories are copyrighted by Timothy L. Drobnick
Sr. 1995 thru 2005. Any person using this article must publish
it without modification and include authors bio and links.

A headhunter was on the other end of the phone. He was looking for an assistant to a CEO/Owner for a small, but very successful business. Essentially, he wanted someone at his disposal night and day. That didn’t seem like a huge deal. And then the next question came…”Do you mind if someone screams at you?” As soon as I could get past the sirens going off in my head, and visions of Dilbert comic strips, I replied, “Yes, that’s not acceptable”. The headhunter continued, “Well, he probably wouldn’t call you names, but he’s a pretty hard driving guy and he raises his voice a lot”.

Yes, this is a true story, and it was my first conversation of the day today. It’s been enough to amaze and amuse me all day. Somehow I thought the days of screaming bosses were buried with the days of managing by intimidation. I guess I was wrong! I can’t help but wonder if this guy has even heard of all the work being done around emotional intelligence, or employee retention. Maybe he doesn’t read.

Message To The Screaming Boss…

Chances are, your employees have one foot out the door. They probably even spend a part of their working day reviewing emails and job postings at places like Monster.com.

You are missing out on significant amounts of information. Why? Because nobody wants to be “the one” to tell you. What you don’t know can hurt you.

Every time you indulge in a screaming frenzy your employees spend time telling each other, talking about you, and maybe even looking for ways to push your buttons. After all, you’ve become the entertainment.

If your employees have conditioned themselves to tolerate and even disregard your screaming, they’ve probably learned to not take it personally. After all, your hissy fits are about YOU, your huge ego, your insecurities, and your lack of desire to create win-win, mutually beneficial relationships.

If your company is successful in spite of the way you treat your employees, just think about how much more successful you could be if your employees loved to come to work every day.

And finally, “What is your screaming costing you?” I’m talking about in terms of dollars and cents. Think in terms of unproductive employees, the way your employees treat each other and customers, turnover, health benefits, and maybe even some employee sabotage.

The Bottom Line Is This…

Even the military is undergoing a huge initiative to become more emotionally intelligent. The drill sergeants of tomorrow will be very different than the drill sergeants of yesterday.

What could be different for you and your business if you stopped screaming and started treating people with respect and dignity?

It’s simply a choice you know.

About The Author

As the owner of Essential Connections, Lora Adrianse is a catalyst for clients who aspire to create dynamic business relationships with their colleagues and customers. She authors a free monthly newsletter, “Relating@Work”. coach@connectionscoach.com

Go to her website to subscribe now! www.connectionscoach.com

Actually, the title of this article is the title of the book that I’m in the process of writing as well as the main theme of my radio show, “Welcome to Life Happens”. It has to do with patterns that we develop in our lives from childhood on.

We don’t consciously or purposefully choose to develop these patterns. Instead they developed unknowingly and unconsciously. We picked them up by watching how our parents and other significant figures dealt with their lives. We also learned them as a result of experiences that we encountered growing up. We may have had a “bent” in the direction of developing those patterns because of our personality types or because of circumstances in our early development that demanded a certain adjustment on our part. Perhaps something traumatic occurred that resulted in a certain type reaction or just that the family commonly practiced the pattern.

The problem with these early developmental patterns is that although they may have been effective at one point in our lives, they’re still being practiced and they don’t work anymore. Many of these patterns may have grown out of a child’s not having any choices because of their dependence on parents or parental figures. When we don’t have choices, we tend to compensate by developing patterns that might usually go to extremes. If there’s one rule that I’ve learned from working with thousands of people it is this: extremes never work! Essentially, when we go to extremes, we believe that the opposite of whatever the problem is for which we’re trying to compensate will take us to the answers that we need to find. Instead, we usually end up going into another set of problems.

The answer to life is balance. However, we cannot attain a sense of balance that lasts indefinitely. We can only strive to attain balance in our lives and realize that striving is a necessary constant in life if we want to become healthy and happy. It means that we need to be aware and willing to work at gaining balance. I liken this process to exercising and the effort it takes to “stay in shape”. So, when our patterns of dealing with life coming into our adult years become problematic….even though they worked for us previously….we need to consciously change them. Because these patterns were part of our learned behaviors, we can learn to change them a little at a time. At first it’s difficult but with determination and practice, it will become easier and we will become healthier.

Charles M. Bonasera was a practicing psychotherapist for over forty years resulting in his literally touching thousands of peoples’ lives. From his professional experiences, he developed a number of programs that he renders to the general public, corporations and businesses as well as educational institutions that were designed to prevent problems as well as to become meaningful tools that can be used immediately to deal with existing difficulties. These programs are delivered live and he also consults with people on an individual and group basis telephonically to help them resolve issues in their lives on a personal level.

His practice motto is “learning how to find alternative methods to happiness”. His “easy to understand” approach, sense of humor and easy going manner have also resulted in his being a keynote speaker for many major business and organizational functions. His practical approach teaches people to “think out of the box” to find their own unique answers.

People can learn more my visiting his professional website at charlesbonasera.com.

Most of us know that assertiveness will get you further in life than being passive or aggressive. But few of us were actually taught how to be assertive. Here are some helpful tips.

1. Choose the right time. Imagine you’re dashing down the hall on your way to a meeting. Lisa passes by. You call out, “Can you have the Microsoft project out by Tuesday?” Because you haven’t scheduled a special time to bring up the issue, Lisa has no reason to think your request deserves high priority.

2. Choose the right place. Discuss important issues in a private, neutral location.

3. Be direct. For example, “Lisa, I would like you to work overtime on the Microsoft project.” Whether or not Lisa likes your request, she respects you for your directness.

4. Say “I,” not “we.” Instead of saying, “We need the project by Tuesday,” say, “I would like you to finish the project by Tuesday.”

5. Be specific. Instead of, “Put a rush on the Microsoft project,” say, “I would like the Microsoft project finished and on Joe’s desk by 9:00 Tuesday morning.”

6. Use body language to emphasize your words. “Lisa, I need that report Tuesday morning,” is an assertive statement. But if you mumble this statement while staring at the floor, you undermine your message.

7. Confirm your request. Ask your staff to take notes at meetings. At the end of each meeting, ask your group to repeat back the specifics that were agreed upon. This minimizes miscommunication.

8. Stand up for yourself. Don’t allow others to take advantage of you; insist on being treated fairly. Here are a few examples: “I was here first,” “I’d like more coffee, please,” “Excuse me, but I have another appointment,” “Please turn down the radio,” or “This steak is well done, but I asked for medium rare.”

9. Learn to be friendly with people you would like to know better. Do not avoid people because you don’t know what to say. Smile at people. Convey that you are happy to see them.

10. Express your opinions honestly. When you disagree with someone, do not pretend to agree. When you are asked to do something unreasonable, ask for an explanation.

11. Share your experiences and opinions. When you have done something worthwhile, let others know about it.

12. Learn to accept kind words. When someone compliments you, say, “Thank you.”

13. Maintain eye contact when you are in a conversation.

14. Don’t get personal. When expressing annoyance or criticism, comment on the person’s behavior rather than attacking the person. For example: “Please don’t talk to me that way,” rather than, “What kind of jerk are you?”

15. Use “I” statements when commenting on another’s behavior. For example: “When you cancel social arrangements at the last minute, it’s extremely inconvenient and I feel really annoyed.”

16. State what you want. If appropriate, ask for another behavior. (“I think we’d better sit down and try to figure out how we can make plans together and cut down on this kind of problem.”)

17. Look for good examples. Pay attention to assertive people and model your behavior after theirs.

18. Start slowly. Express your assertiveness in low-anxiety situations at first; don’t leap into a highly emotional situation until you have more confidence. Most people don’t learn new skills overnight.

19. Reward yourself each time you push yourself to formulate an assertive response. Do this regardless of the response from the other person.

20. Don’t put yourself down when you behave passively or aggressively. Instead, identify where you went off course and learn how to improve.

Garrett Coan is a professional therapist, coach, and pscyhotherapist. His two New Jersey office locations are accessible to individuals who reside in Bergen County, Rockland County, Essex County, Passaic County and Manhattan. He also offers online and telephone counseling services. He can be accessed through http://www.creativecounselors.com or at 201-303-4303.

With life coaching becoming “the” career choice in this millennium, many of you are seeking the right choice for training and certification. Hopefully this article will answer some of your questions.

There are many fine life coach schools, academies and institutes. Some are accredited and some not. Should the school’s accreditation make a difference to you? In my opinion, no.

Because there are no universal standards for the life coaching profession, there are no universal standards for schools. Also, because well-paid coaches generally work in a niche, those niches are such that they are developed by the coach independently of any training they might receive.

What makes the issue of accreditation particularly confusing is marketing. Accreditation is being used as a marketing tool in some cases, not as a barometer of their success. Many coaching schools are accredited only because a group of colleagues got together and decided to form a group and accredit their associates’ schools. How do you know whether this is the case for a school you are interested in? You really don’t know and generally can’t find out.

Many schools use accreditation as a marketing ploy to draw you in and charge exhorbitant rates. If you just want to spend more money, go ahead. Price really has little to do with the effectiveness of the materials. Mid-range schools generally work harder to please students and offer as good or better training in many cases, because students get more one-on-one time with instructors.

How important is a school’s accreditation? Let’s put it into realistic perspective. What is most important to a prospective coaching client is, can this coach help me? Most clients look to see whether a coach has had formal coach training, but not into the background of the school. And the truth is, clients don’t care whether the school you attended, is accredited. It just doesn’t come up. Clients will decide to use your services if they like you, feel a connection, and experience benefits from their sample session with you. That’s pretty much it.

Peer Resources (http://www.peer.ca/coachingschools.html), recognized world leader in coach training resources states “accreditation” in the coaching field at present has a number of troubling aspects, including its lack of wide-spread acceptance, conflicts of interests between reviewers and some rated schools, minimal reporting of results, and questionable or vague criteria. While accreditation typically means the school has been reviewed by an external source, it does not necessarily mean that “non-accredited schools” provide less value or poorer quality programs.”

Since coaching is a distinct and relatively new profession, and no universal standards exist, many new schools have come into existence. To build a fence around the training opportunities and the income derived from it, some schools formed organizations to accredit only their schools of choice and make it nearly impossible for a newer school to become accredited. They will mandate applicant schools to show evidence of ten or more years of professional success, before they even consider them for accreditation. Then, they apply personal biases for accrediting schools, so unless a school fits within their philosophies, they aren’t eligible or will not be approved.

So how does the potential coaching student make a sound choice? Here are some ways:

Read student testimonials

Verify the school’s philosophies allign with yours

Contact the school and see if they are prompt with replies to your questions

Look for a school in your desired niche - Here is an example:

Let’s say you are a Christian and prefer training that agrees with your faith. It will be important to select a Christian (bible-based) certification course. Admittedly this niche offers a few options for training. Some are accredited and some not. But this should not matter, because there is no governing body to decide whose course is best. The Christian schools who show accreditation from established secular accrediting bodies, are actually less likely to have substantive biblical content, because secular groups frequently subscribe to new age philosophies and may influence course content and materials.

Through my research and contact with various institutions, there was only one Christian coaching school which impressed me. That is the Professional Christian Counseling and Coaching Academy. (www.pccca.org). PCCCA offers training and certification for Christian Life Coaches and Christian Counselors.

I found they stand on their principles of faith, maintain the integrity of their programs and consistently strive for excellence. What is more, they offer one-to-one training with practicing coaches, serving as coach training instructors. Any coaching school’s success relies on what they bring to the table with their skills, integrity, response-time, reasonable fees and knowledge. Add that to superb training and you have an unbeatable combination. While PCCCA has Christian School Accreditation, they do not have secular coaching school accreditation.

I recommend that potential students not be persuaded by gimicky advertising, high fees and accreditation. Look for the best school for you. Period.

The author, Emery Hilton-Goode is a freelance writer specializing in entrepreneurial strategies and career training.
You may contact the author at diamonglo@aol.com

Most creative people have great ambitions for their creativity, at various different levels. We all have some dream project or series of projects we’re striving towards, and then smaller but no less creative or worthwhile pieces of work along the way.

For example if you’re a graphic designer, a small ambition may be to design a logo for your new side project business. A major ambition of yours may be to write, design and publish your own definitive graphic design bible.

As a wood sculptor, making simple wooden toys to give to children’s charities might be a small ambition. One of your dream projects might be sculpting a life size model of your own children in a single piece of oak.

If you’re a a jewellery designer, maybe you have the small ambition to make earrings as presents for family and friends. Your big goals may include being the exclusive designer to a number of major Hollywood stars.

We all have to start somewhere, and every great creative achievement in the world began as a mere glimpse of an idea in someone’s mind.

When we have only these huge ambitions for our creativity – and becoming blind to the steps and effort needed along the way, the everyday creativity that is our lifeblood – it’s easy to get stuck.

There are few things more de-motivating and depressing than having a huge complex project and not being able to work on it because it simply feels too big and too overwhelming.

So what can we do to build on our creative strengths and become better prepared for these huge dream projects, our “creative mountains”?

Put simply, the more we create, and the more “stepping-stone” projects we do, the better prepared we are for our conquest of that major creative mountain. By doing a number of small projects around the same theme or area of our mountain – frolicking around in the foothills as it were – we gain the confidence and momentum to climb ever higher.

Another effective way of tackling these large creative mountains, and not becoming stuck or overwhelmed, is to break them down into smaller parts and set a timescale for each part.

Commit yourself to specific times and dates when you’ll work on the component elements of the project, and constantly review and re-plan as you go along, as well as remembering to acknowledge your progress and achievements.

To continue the graphic designer example from before, maybe your first step would be to outline the aim of your design bible, what you want it to achieve, who you want to aim it at, what kind of form it will be presented in and other such details.

You can then plan the outline of each section, work out the order they’d best be done in and give yourself dates and times to begin and end each part.

By continuing to create a little each day, whether it be on one of your dream projects, or on smaller works, you will step closer and closer to the summits of your creative mountains and the incredible feelings of pride and achievement you’ll experience when you get there…

© Copyright 2006 Dan Goodwin.

Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin is the author of “Create Create!”, a FREE twice monthly ezine for people who want simple and powerful articles, tips and exercises to help them unleash their creative talents. Sign up right now and get your FREE “Explode Your Creativity!” Action Workbook, at http://www.CoachCreative.com.