Unlock Your Creative Secret Weapon

It seems like this week a ton of people have been asking me how they can become more creative. I even had one client jokingly accuse me of being in cahoots with the Devil in trade for my creativity. "Where do you get all of your ideas?" 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 it all the time. It will work for you just as it works for me. It has served me well and it is this technique that got me into the buyers meeting of a major drug store when I was just 15 years old. Yup! You read that right. At age 15 my creativity strategy got me an appointment with a major drug store buyer where I sold my "Idea's" to them. I didn't even have a clue what I was doing and I walked right past the suit and tie businessmen right into the office of the guy they were trying to get an appointment with. This happened simply because I was more creative. I know you will have fun with this weeks issue. Enjoy!

It's not rocket science! : Creativity doesn't have to be rocket science. We all have fountains of creative energy flowing within us. Our problem is that the world teaches us, in the interest of our own security, to use our heads far too much. In the process, we shift from the habit of spontaneous imaginary expression to intense self- censorship in service to our security conscious ego-minds. We become so concerned with the image we project that we lose touch with our inner "wizard behind the curtain."

I've learned that when I feel stuck, confused, and frustrated, and my intellect can't seem to find its way out of the cage, that it's this same mind that created the prison in the first place. Fortunately I've found a very simple way out. I've taken up the mantra during times such as these to simply "Just Make Stuff Up."

Experts became experts by studying other experts: Now our culture typically doesn't give a lot of credence to stuff that's just made up. Particularly if it's yours and you're a nobody (a non-expert with questionable credentials). But I think you'll find that in most cases, the experts became experts by studying other experts. And if you follow the line of experts to the very heart of their lineage, you'll most likely find that the originator of their expertise actually "just made stuff up" that hadn't been seen before and that happened to work, at least for the time being.

So the next time you or your group is stuck in a problem-solving or creative venture, please, encourage them to try "just making stuff up," and see what comes forward. There's something about this approach that frees us of our need to be right and invites our inner creative children out to play. Try it. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Example: I've been personally challenged with just about all of my major projects for the past few weeks. I've felt a change of course was not only needed, but the path I was taking with these projects seemed to be reaching an impasse. Now I'm a pretty creative guy, but I felt really stumped, to the point of giving up on some of them. But being open-minded and self-reflective, I realized that the frustration and confusion I was feeling was energy that I could use to evolve these projects to the next level. This process could be effortless if I simply surrendered to the timing of the project in lieu of my ego-mind.

I discovered that I could view these projects as living beings with intelligence and a natural impulse to unfold in a way they are "intended." Like seeds that know fully what they are to become if nurtured properly and patiently. I made all of that up and you can do the same thing. Make stuff up that makes your life easier, more free, happier, etc.

We make up everything: So I began to actually listen to what each project had to tell me. I also started "just making stuff up" around each project. I found that the openness and freedom brought by the attitude of "just making stuff up" combined with the act of doing something, got me moving again into creative new arenas, with a sense of childlike lightness, fun, and adventure.

My Coach Steve Davis was discussing this with his partner Anna Dargitz. She decided to consult the wisdom of her seven year old daughter on this subject. When asked what she thought about the nature of "making stuff up," she replied with something like this. "Well, I make stuff up when I want something real." It took me awhile to decipher this sage advice. But then it hit me that we make up everything, including what we call real, and that admitting that we make it up, is the closest thing to real we can get...she's now our new guru.

How to practice this... This week, try just making stuff up or if you find your group, friends, clients, or colleagues stuck or confused, give them permission to try just making stuff up to see what happens. I'd love to hear you're perspectives and experiences on this. Please email them to me.

Before Ricky Brandon was a life coach, he was a professional Magician. He dedicated his entire life to learning and understanding how to tweak people's perception of reality. By by his early 20's, he was consulting and working with the worlds top Illusionists as well as training tigers for large production shows. Ricky now combines his skills as a Magician with Personal Coaching to teach people how to see through life's illusions so they can focus on what really matters. email him at: ricky@mymomentum.com

Visit Ricky's website at: http://www.mymomentum.com

---

Creativity: Getting Out of the Box

Leadership, especially in times of change, depends increasingly on the... Read More

True Power: Understanding the Source of All Creation and Creativity

"True Power" is a series that will focus on proven... Read More

How to Generate Ideas for Info-products?

Dear friends the current study shows that there are more... Read More

How to be More Creative and Enhance Your Creativity

efore thinking about how to be more creative, let me... Read More

Improvisation in Life and the Arts: What I learned from Free Play by Stephen Nachmanovitch

Can you be an artist while you're washing the dishes?In... Read More

The Elements of Creativity: Attributes Listing Method

Attribute listing is one of the best ways to generate... Read More

Are You A Creative Meathead?

Remember Archie Bunker's description of what a Meathead was on... Read More

Why Do We Need Creativity?

Creativity is central to the management of our individual lives,... Read More

Creative Thinking versus Critical Thinking

The process of creative thinking is often, mistakenly, intertwined with... Read More

10 Ways To Boost Your Creativity

Creativity is your birthright ? but can often be hidden... Read More

Analysis of The Monkeys Paw by W. W. Jacobs: A Study in Lateral Thinking

I first read The Monkey's Paw as a youngster in... Read More

How to Make Time for Art

The key to making time for art is the ability... Read More

Trying to Create From Distorted Perceptions?

We've all met people who are "negative" ? negative thinkers... Read More

Mindfulness and Creativity: The Wow of Wonder

You are so creative.Don't deny it. Whether or not you... Read More

The Art of Keeping a Journal

Journal keeping is basically without rules. It is an uncensored... Read More

Make Yourself Creative: Two Easy Idea-Generating Methods

Here are a couple of exercises to force yourself to... Read More

The Sylvia Plath Pattern Of Creative Flow

* Sylvia Plath teaches a valuable lesson about the Even... Read More

Creativity, Innovation, and Market Performance

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Mindfulness and Music: Things That Go Hmmm

Shhh... can you hear it?One of the most powerful forms... Read More

Mind Mapping

Ever been on a project where you had trouble keeping... Read More

A Book About Faith and Love

With news about Iraq and London and even our own... Read More

Push The Right Button

You can live a much more successful life than you... Read More

The Elements of Creativity: What-ifs?

What if there is no toilet paper and I am... Read More

I Want To Create...

What would you like to create? A peaceful life, a... Read More

Stress VS Creativity

Now when I use the term "creativity", I mean the... Read More

Top Five Journal Exercises

Keeping a journal is a form of creative expression that... Read More

Creativity Management ? Breaking Through The Mental Barrier

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Art of Creation with Attention

Attention is the greatest creative power in the world. If... Read More

Sharing Our Creative Work with Others

In my "Roadblocks to Creativity" e-course, I ask the question:"What's... Read More

Characteristics: Creative Types VS Clods!

Here are some odds & ends I have observed in... Read More

A Quick Course in Creativity

This quick course in creativity is designed to give you... Read More

Top Five Reasons to Cultivate Your Creativity

Cultivating your creativity is more than spending time with a... Read More

Improve Your Bottom Line, Kens Idea Saved over $100,000

Engaged employees can show us the way to continuously improve.... Read More