Tag Archive for: creativity

Want to become a high-impact writer? Make your articles stronger and your message hit harder by utilizing the U2 method of high-impact writing. You can use a 3 step method to easily catch the attention of readers from the very first sentence.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, it’s indisputable that Bono and gang wrote some incredible, lasting pop songs. Tunes that become a part of people’s lives.

“One,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “Pride in the Name of Love,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “New Year’s Day,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “With or Without You,” “Beautiful Day,” the list goes on…

How does U2 have such high-impact songs? It all stems from Bono’s approach to songwriting:  Write the best chorus you can, then make that the verse and write an even better chorus.

So simple, yet so effective.

3 Step Method to High-Impact Writing

What the heck does Bono’s songwriting have to do with us writers? This is Write to Done, not Songwriting to Done.

Answer: You can apply U2’s method of high-impact songwriting to your own writing. Make your articles as immediate and catchy as U2’s songs.

Here’s the 3 step method:

  1. Write your high-impact point, the main message of your article
  2. Make that the first sentence or paragraph
  3. Write an even stronger point for the conclusion

So simple, yet so effective.

Plus, what’s awesome about the U2 method of high-impact writing is that it’s practical, rather than some abstract “push yourself to write better” tip
(what does that even mean?).

3 Reasons This Method Works

Here are 3 reasons why the U2 method will make your articles high-impact:

  1. Capture a reader’s attention right away – our short attention spans need immediate hooking in, or else we quickly lose interest
  2. Best foot forward – when you start off strong, people want to keep reading, just like a good intro riff makes you want to keep listening
  3. More valuable article – you make it easy for the reader to get the value, and the less they have to work the more they’ll read and the more value they’ll get

Nothing Clever, Just Solid Writing

Some songwriters get caught up in trying to be clever, thinking they need to figure out some secret chord progression or song structure to make a better song.

But all it is is simply pushing yourself to make the most high-impact chorus you can, then making it what starts the song and creating an even better chorus.

The same goes for writers. If you want readers, you don’t need to be clever with some fancy structure or rhyming scheme. Just write the best darn point you’re trying to make, then make that start the article and push yourself to write an even better concluding point.

I Utilized the U2 Method for This Article

The first paragraph of this article was originally the conclusion. It stated the message and value of the article.

But I decided to utilize the U2 method and put the high-impact point in the very beginning. Now, this article starts off with (hopefully) an immediate and catchy paragraph that hooked you in to read this far.

Following the 3rd step of the U2 method, the conclusion you’ll read next is an even higher-impact point.

The U2 Method of High-Impact Writing

Transform your next article into a high-impact hit. Utilize the U2 method of high-impact writing to create an immediate article that captivates readers and hooks passers-by.

You’ll capture a reader’s attention right away, have your best foot forward with your content, and create a more valuable article.

Oh U2, is there anything you wonderful Irishmen can’t teach us?

Published on the Write to Done blog http://writetodone.com   When not pulling writing tips from the controversial but awesome Bono, Oleg Mokhov writes unconventional life-maximizing ideas for remarkable people and makes energizing electronic dance music for melody-lovers on his site Lifebeat.

 

 

People who are associated with creative professions such as music, poetry, dance, advertising, research, etc. are most likely to be affected by creativity blocks. A creativity block is not only frustrating but also the worst enemy of a person. There are various types of creativity blockage that kill the creative thinking of a person. Different persons have different causes to experience a creativity block. Here we have mentioned some major creativity blocks that many people are experiencing and also have given creative tips by which you can easily defeat your creativity block.

Mental Creativity Blockage - A Mental Creative block is a big challenge where you get trapped by your own thinking. Due to a mental creativity block, you make so many assumptions and consider only limited perspectives. You can overcome this block by adopting different perspectives. You should read/listen/ watch creative things to encourage your creative thinking potential.

Emotional Creativity Blockage - Many people do not share their ideas because they think others will make fun of them. Stress can be one of the causes of creativity block. Generally, many people drop a great idea because they do not want to be criticized by others. Fear of criticism decreases your confidence level. The solution is you have to be prepared for criticism. A person has to be ready to face the worst situation. To defeat a creativity block you have to fight against fear, pain and other negative emotions. Once you overcome this creativity block you will discover your true creative potential.




Personal Problems - Creative thinking requires focus and concentration. Many people do not concentrate on creative ideas because they are surrounded by various personal problems such as bad addiction, grievance for someone, family disputes, lack of courage, etc. You can defeat this creativity block by getting the consultation from specialists. Whenever you are surrounded by any of the personal problems you should find ways to solve the problem instead of worrying about it. Give your mind enough space to process creative ideas. If the problem cannot be solved then do not allow the problem to dominate yourself.

Some more contributing factors of a creativity block are poor work environment, excessive work pressure, lack of inspiration, etc. You have understood major creativity blockages so far and now we are taking you to some easy steps and by following these steps you can enhance your creative potential. However, before that let us understand the difference between a good idea and great idea.

Each good idea cannot be a great idea, however, each great idea is a good idea. There is a major difference between good idea and great idea. Good ideas help us in solving daily life problems. On the other side, a great idea comes less frequently and requires deep research to execute it. Sometimes, unexpectedly we get the great mind-blowing idea which can give us worldwide recognition, however, most of us drop the idea and do not give proper attention to it. By this, we lose a big opportunity which could be beneficial for us. Hence, whenever we get a great idea we should not take it for granted.

Practice Creativity

 

No one can think like you. Hence, no one can steal your ideas. Opportunities will not come to us. One has to create an opportunity for oneself. Only you can polish your creativity to shine the world. Achieving success is not a big deal. It is just the matter of identifying the creative potential. Then you will be an achiever.

Follow these simple steps and generate great innovative ideas.

Write Down on Paper - You should write your idea on paper and also write down whatever thoughts come to your mind related to your idea. First time, when you will see your idea on paper, you will also notice that there are many missing connection points. However, at the first time do not give much focus on making connections. Place this paper somewhere you can see it most of the time throughout the day.

Research - Research helps you to get new perspectives. This step helps to explore missing connections. In this step, you have to work over the idea. By this, you may also get other alternative creative ideas. In research phase, you collect all the information like benefits, costs, drawbacks of each idea.




Analysis - This is the step where people struggle a lot because a person has to analysis every situation where the idea may get failed. This step requires self-criticism and reflection. The idea, which has many benefits, should be selected. You can consult with peers and experts because their suggestions help you in selecting the best creative idea.

Execute - This is the final stage where you convert your creative idea into reality.

You can defeat a creativity block and can enhance creative ideas generation by taking inspiration from the creative trainer.

Dr. Arvinder Singh has introduced Creativity training program with the name of "CreativeHeights" for unlocking the creative potential of people. In creativity training, he enhances mind creativity by using various creative tools. Dr. Singh also measures the creativity level of people by internationally approved creativity measuring scale.

Dr Arvinder Singh is a popular creativity trainer. He has also written a book on creativity and innovation through which people can defeat creativity block. To get more effective tips for self improvement, please visit the website http://drarvindersingh.com

 

 

True confession: I was a scientist.

I say that because that's what I did two degrees in, and my early career was spent in that realm. I wouldn't describe myself that way anymore, but there is one thing about science that suited me perfectly.

I'm very curious. And my curiosity is both eclectic and broad. My innate curiosity has served me very well in business. It can serve you too.

The basis of all science is curiosity. "I wonder what would happen if... " is behind every discovery and exploration.

Business is like the experiments scientists do: you don't know what's going to happen next. You may have evidence from previous experience, or see what someone else has done. But until you try it, you won't know if it will work in your business.

That level of uncertainty can be so uncomfortable!

So let's lighten things up by taking a different approach. An approach that is based in science.

No need to turn in your comfy togs or your business attire in favor of a lab coat. This kind of experimentation can be done without all the scientist trappings.

It's also not at all as grim as the serious scientist in the photo. In fact, experimenting can be fun!




REFRAME FOR A BETTER OUTCOME

Begin by reframing your choices. Ask, "I wonder what would happen if... ", instead of, "Will this succeed or fail?".

Feels lighter already, doesn't it?

You don't have the weight of failure on you. Rather, you're simply asking a question. The answer, either way, will tell you something important.

All you're doing is conducting an experiment!

DEFINE YOUR QUESTION

Now, ask your question: What would happen if [fill in the blank]?

What would happen if:

I reach out to this new potential customer group?

We add a pop-up on our website?

We create a process for how to handle customer complaints so that they are all addressed in the same way?

Visit the PIVOTAL resources on Creativity

Once you define your question, specify what you're going to observe and how long you'll observe.

Observations are the data that you collect that help you answer your question. These observations can be quantitative, monitoring numbers, like the response to your social media ads, or qualitative, like watching people's reactions when you talk about your core message.

You can have more than one way of collecting data. For example, you may want to track how many people lit up when you talked about a possible new offering, and how many remained neutral, as well as how many signed up.

Whatever you choose, be consistent about how you collect each kind of data.

Now start your experiment, and observe the outcomes.

ANALYZE YOUR DATA

Once you've conducted your experiment, it's time to analyze your observations, your data.

What are the data showing you? Look for trends. What do they mean? If you're not sure, that is the basis for your next experiment.

Don't be too quick to ignore outliers, those data that aren't what you expected and aren't aligned with the majority.

If you shared an offering idea with 10 of your customers and prospects, and 9 of them remained neutral but one responded with great enthusiasm, you may have identified a subgroup of people who would love that offering.

Your next experiments can involve learning more about this subgroup and whether they constitute a big enough group to make the investment of creating this new offering worthwhile.

Use the data you've gained to inform your decision-making or pose another question.




STICK TO THE METHOD

Here's one more thing about science that will help you in your business:

It's tempting, especially when things aren't working, to change 10 things at once. It's the scattershot approach, with the hope that something will work. Therefore, it's hard to know which one (or more) of the 10 things you changed made the difference.

One of the reasons marketing can be so frustrating is that it's often hard to project whether a marketing effort will work. That's because most marketing has many variables, things that are changeable in a way you can't control.

Instead, minimize the variables. Become more methodical. According to the scientific method, when you're conducting experiments, you only change one thing at a time. That way, when you get a different outcome, it's likely due to that one thing you changed. How clarifying that is!

It's the accumulation of data from multiple experiments that will start to fill in the story. For example, if you see a gradual increase in response over multiple social media ads as you show more videos of you talking, it suggests that people respond to seeing you and your energy.

SCIENCE STILL LETS YOU BE CREATIVE

Doing these experiments doesn't mean you can't be inspired and creative. Science is actually quite creative! Your creative ideas can be tested in one experiment at a time, to see if they have the effect you thought they would. Your creative ideas actually can achieve greater traction, because you know what's behind your success.

Keep experimenting and implementing to find out what works. As you conduct each new experiment, you move closer to clarity, which gives you an opportunity to increase your success.

Business is dynamic, ever changing. So, your experimentation will be ongoing. Using scientific principles can take some of the uncomfortable heat off of you as you experiment and explore.

Your curiosity will take you to some amazing places in your business, and you'll have more impact!

Ursula Jorch, MSc, MEd, mentors entrepreneurs starting their businesses and seasoned entrepreneurs in transition to create the business of their dreams. Her coaching programs provide knowledge, support, clarity, inspiration, and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs to empower you to reach your goals. Start with a free guide and other valuable info at http://www.WorkAlchemy.com  Photo by Lucas Vasques on Unsplash

 

Your heart is much more than a biological muscle. It signifies energy, vibrancy, life, love, hope, happiness, vitality, strength, and spirit. When we examine our lives and the priorities that we place on our routines—careers, finances, relationships, successes, and failures—none of them carry much importance if we do not have our health as a base to support everything else. We strive to continually improve the quality of our lives, our sense of well-being, our energy levels, and our mental capacities.

Life is a gift, and good health and a good heart should be our most prized possessions. Yet too often, we fail to treasure our health and our hearts until those blessings are gone. Many of my patients seem to live in a state of constant chaos. They perceive their lives to be problem-filled, busy and unsettled, and they lurch from one crisis to another.

Sandra is one such example. A busy single mom of three young boys, Sandra works full time. She drops her children off at school each morning, picks them up at the end of the day, rushes home to prepare a meal, and barely has time to help them with homework before it’s time to get ready for bed. Hers is a busy life that many of us can relate to. She is constantly stressed and worried, fearful of the next crisis around the corner. Sandra’s life is out of control. It is no wonder that she is on several blood pressure medications and is constantly in my office with chest pain and palpitation.

Living in a constant state of chaos serves a purpose for Sandra. By keeping her attention and energy focused on putting out fires, she avoids facing the root causes of her stress. If external events are to blame, she does not have to assume personal responsibility for her actions or behaviors. This is the common thinking pattern of many. We defer to the chaos and allow it to sap our energy, disrupt our relationships, feed our addictions, and subject us to long-term health concerns.

But we have much more control over our lives than we give ourselves credit for. We may not hold sway over the many external events that seem to pitch our lives into a constant state of crisis. Yet we have power over something just as critical: our own reactions to those events.

Health and a vibrant, vivacious heart are not wholly physical things. The life we desire, the health we desire, and the quality of our hearts and bodies are first created within our mind’s eye. I share many effective techniques with my patients to help us manage stress, bring order to our chaotic lives, and find deep and lasting peace with ourselves and with the world around us.

-   Build sources of renewable energy. Your body responds to stress with adrenaline, but adrenaline is a fast-burning fuel source that leaves you depleted in the long run. Renewable energy is a long-term well of power that you can draw on repeatedly. How do you build renewable energy? Spend time with family, friends and loved ones, doing things you enjoy. Nurture your soul with art, music, dance, and beautiful things. Love yourself first, and you will start to build boundless reserves of energy from within.

-   Lower your stress response. Meditation, nature walks, and quiet times will help you focus on the present and release stress. Play a musical instrument. Go dancing. Tour a museum and embrace an unusual piece of art. Breathe. Rather than letting stress be a source of agitation, train your physical body to relax. Let stress be a minor element of your day, rather than letting it define the whole day.

-   Connect with your inner self. Mindful meditation creates the right state of mind that will allow you to develop a relationship with your inner guide. Take an honest look at who you are inside and listen to your inner voice. Develop a relationship with your true self. Engage in a conversation with yourself. You may not always be aware of your inner voice – but it is always aware of you.

-   Learn to become present in the moment. This is perhaps most important of all. Focus on a single moment in time. Become aware of that moment. Savor it. Appreciate it. Fill your senses with it. Let the past go and don’t worry about tomorrow. All that matters is today, this moment. Embrace today, one single moment at a time. Don’t even try to capture it on camera – just be content to let it reside in your memory. Each moment is precious. Savor it.

By building peace within, you will create a powerful defense against the demands of a chaotic life. You will turn things around and regain control of your choices, instead of letting external events control you.

A strong sense of inner peace is something that no external factor can disrupt. More importantly, your inner peace will become a source of renewable energy that will keep nurturing you no matter what. You will have boundless energy and endless vitality that no amount of stress or chaos can take away. Make the right choices, and celebrate your vibrant heart!

Dr. Cynthia Thaik

Dr. Thaik's book, Your Vibrant Heart, includes many more insights about how to nurture and care for your heart on both a physical and emotional level. I invite you to order your copy today at http://www.yourvibrantheart.com/book.

Dr. Cyntha Thaik is a Harvard-trained HEART doctor that practices with her HEART, delivering security and peace of mind to her patients by orchestrating behavioral and mindset shifts to evoke lasting transformational changes in their health, well-being, vitality, energy, and creativity. You can learn more about her at www.drcynthia.com

Do you hate to write? Does it take you a long time to get the words on the page? Usually when people struggle to write, it’s because they are trying to edit as they go along. There is an easier way to write and be more creative!

 

Step 1 - Write

It’s hard to be creative if you’re editing at the same time. When you begin your writing project don’t think about word choices or punctuation. Just write. Don’t read your work. Just write. It will be difficult at first because you will be tempted to make changes. Resist the temptation! Just write. You’ll find that thoughts and ideas start flowing once you stop editing. When you’ve finished writing put it away for a couple of days. When you take it out, become the editor and start making your changes.

Step 2 - Edit

Read through your work, then mark the parts you want to change or revise. Focus in on the paragraphs, sentences and words that need revision. Get more specific with each round of edits. Read the piece again, then focus in on specific passages, sentences, paragraphs that you want to shape up. When you’re finished, read the entire piece again.

Now would be a good time to use the spell checker. However, don’t depend on it to catch all of the errors. If you write “your” and you really meant “you’re” the spell checker won’t catch it. It’s not a misspelled word. Unless your spell checker points out commonly confused words, it won’t find the problem.




Step 3 - Listen

Satisfied with your changes? Read your work out loud so that you’ll be more likely to catch missing words, incorrect tenses or repetitive phrases. It will also allow you to catch places where perhaps a word can be changed to a more appropriate one, or a sentence can be reworked so that it flows better. Make additional revisions and read it again.

If time permits, put your work away for another day or two. Give yourself some distance from the work, so when you read it again you’ll be less likely to be filling in words or meanings that aren’t there. You’ll be able to see it as though you were reading it for the first time. If possible have someone else read it and give you feedback. Perhaps another “pair of eyes” will find that a thought or concept isn’t coming across as you intended.

You know what you want to say, but that doesn’t mean that your readers will get it. Having someone else read the work will give you another perspective. In fact, it would be better to have a few people read it, especially if your work will be presented to a large audience. Take the feedback and determine what makes sense and what doesn’t. For instance, if the majority of your feedback mentions a specific issue, pay attention.

Allow yourself to write whatever comes to mind without editing. Let your ideas flow and you’ll see how easy it is to get your words on the page.

Autor Deborah A. Bailey, Writing Services Central, LLC
Deborah A. Bailey is a professional writer and owner of Writing Services Central, LLC. Her company provides expert writing and editing services to entrepreneurs. Subscribe to the free monthly ezine for writing and editing tips and articles at http://www.writingservicescentral.com

 

Imagine someone asking you "How many hours a week do you spend working?" or "What do you do?" you are likely to answer something like, "I am a full-time student and I work part-time at a department store," or "I am a full-time mom of three boys," or I am a professor," or "I am a computer analyst", etc. Your answer describes the daily routine of what you do for a living, which is a job that gives you income, a social identity, a certain professional status and, sometimes, public recognition. However rewarding, very often a job includes duties, tasks and requirements that we are obliged to perform, whether we like them or not. Our freedom to do only what we like in our job is almost always limited. This is a main reason why so many people suffer from job-related dissatisfaction and see their work as the necessary evil they must endure in exchange for a monthly paycheck.

Now, imagine someone asking you "How many hours a week do you spend creating something that gives you joy?" or "Do you have a creative habit that helps you handle stress?" Think of your answer: you may take a little longer to give a reply and, when you do, you may say something like: "Hmm, you know, I'd like to be creative but, truth is, I'm too tired", or "Well, I'd love to have some time for creativity, but I'm too busy with other things," or "It would be awesome to have a creative habit but that's a luxury for the rich and I have bills to pay" or "Me, creative? But I'm not an artist, I am an office manager!"

If your answer to the question about creativity resembles any of the answers above, it is high time you changed your attitude toward your ability to be creative. In this chapter, you will be introduced to a number of mythic characters and real people who consider creativity not as a luxury, but their birthright. The truth is that we are all born with the ability to be creative, just as we are born with the ability to think, dream and imagine. But, while some of us continue to honor creativity throughout our lives and enjoy the benefits of a creative habit, many others betray our creativity as we seek joy in habits that are not only non-creative but, oftentimes, self-destructive.

The prices we pay when we stifle our right to be creative are as high as those we pay when we stifle our dreams. In my practice as a psychotherapist and coach, the majority of clients complaining about feelings of depression, insomnia, panic attacks, low self-esteem, or sense of meaninglessness are the ones who ignore their dreams and their own creative impulses. Over the years, I have helped a number of people reconnect with their natural ability to create, watching them enjoy the benefits of their creativity: a recovered self-confidence, an improved ability to handle life's daily stress, freedom from depression, and a sense of fulfillment that no medical treatment alone can ever catalyze.
As you are working through the fourth phase of this method, it is essential that you experience the joy of developing and maintaining creative habits. Reconnecting with your creativity will allow you to be spontaneous and daring as you suspend judgment about the outcomes of your creative efforts. Your benefits from becoming creative will be a sense of sustained pleasure, inner freedom and independence from other people's approval. The more you allow yourself to be creative, the more self-confident you will be and the better you will like yourself.

CREATIVITY 101

"To create" means "to cause to exist"; "to bring into being something that has never existed before". Everything created is first imagined. Therefore, creativity is the human activity in which we use constructively our imagination by giving material form to our creative ideas. I In this context, a creative person is not only prolific in ideas but also active in materializing creative ideas in the real world. This creative input enriches not only the individual life of the creator, but also the world at large.

Creative people are not necessarily professional artists. They come from all walks of life and their creativity applies to all aspects of our civilization: they may be scientists discovering the hidden laws of the universe or new cures for terminal diseases; business people creating breakthrough opportunities in national economies; lawyers excelling in their field thanks to their creative problem-solving ideas; visionary politicians leading nations to freedom and prosperity; teachers creating innovative methods for the classroom; farmers creating breakthrough methods of farming or breeding; cooks creating culinary masterpieces or revolutionary cooking methods; administrators guiding organizations into success through creative leadership; police detectives solving mysteries and incarcerating criminals thanks to creative thinking. Age, level of education and socio-economic status do not matter: a creative person can be a child, an adolescent, an adult, or a senior. He or she can be single or married, divorced or widowed, childless or with children. Individual differences may be unlimited. But there are three characteristics, listed below, that all creative people share in common, which you must also develop as you work with this method:




a. Creative People Honor their Creative Impulses

Creative people know the relationship between creativity and productivity, and they are careful to keep them in balance. They nurture their creative needs by taking the necessary time and space to access imagination and stimulate creative thinking. And they bring their creative ideas into fruition by being productive. They also honor their creativity by protecting and nurturing their ideas and by following a discipline that involves hard work, concentration, isolation, unusual decisions, sacrifices, dedication to the creative purpose, and trust in their inner voice. Nevertheless, in spite of the demands of the creative process, staying loyal to their creative pursuit is never a burden for creative people. The joy from seeing their completed creation is so pure, that it redeems all the strenuous efforts exerted during the process.

Examples of movie characters portraying creative individuals abound. Some of them are introduced in this chapter. I encourage you to see the respective films and notice how different those characters are, yet how similar in the way they honor their creative impulses. These characters represent simple people yearning for the joy of creating, much as we all do. As you watch the films, let them inspire you to reconnect with your own creativity and feel the joy that you see them experience in the films.
Working Girl, is the story of a young woman's determination to bring her creative ideas into fruition, having to protect them from being appropriated by her boss. Tess McGill, the main character, is a thirty-year old administrative assistant who lives in Staten Island and commutes every day to her work in the Manhattan financial district. On the ferry, she reads and, in the evenings, she takes classes. Tess wants to become something more than a secretary. She is bright, talented, informed, and, most importantly, she has creative ideas about mergers and acquisitions that she presents to her new boss, Katharine Parker, hoping to be appreciated and offered a better position in the company. But Katharine has different intentions: when Tess offers her a brilliant idea that will save a large company from a foreign takeover, Katharine steals it and presents it to her clients as her own, advising Tess to not mention it anywhere else.

It is not too long before Tess finds out that her creativity is being exploited. She vows to protect her idea and use all means available to make it happen, even if this means that she will pretend to be Katharine. While Katharine is away recovering from a skiing accident, Tess assumes Katharine's identity and follows through with her plan, fighting to see her idea become reality until the very end, even after her true identity is discovered and she is exposed as an imposter. But, thanks to her persistence and willingness to take risks for her own creative idea, Tess does not give up. Exposing Katharine minutes before she signs the deal with the clients, she proves that the idea was originally hers, and wins. When Oven Trask, the client, asks Tess why she had to do this and risk her reputation, her answer is:

"You can bend the rules plenty once you get to the top, but not while you're trying to get there. And if you're someone like me, you can't get there without bending the rules."

Oven, admiring her courage to fight for her idea, responds:

"You've got a real fire in your belly, Ms. McGill.

Tess's answer to this complement only means that fighting to protect one's creativity is never easy:

" I'm not quite sure what you mean, sir. I've got something in my belly, but I think it's nervous knots."

Tess McGill is not an artist. Her creativity is not expressed through poetry, writing, or painting, but through brilliant ideas creating multi-million dollar breakthroughs in the financial world. But, just as an artist who fights to protect her work from being appropriated, she fights to have her idea recognized as being her own. She is diligent, thorough, brave, and she loves what she does. She does not rest until she sees it take form in reality. And, considering her limited means, she thinks and acts creatively throughout her ordeal against all odds, until the truth surfaces and she fulfills her dream.

Another tribute to creative people is the epic Titanic, which is filled with characters honoring their creativity till their last moments, even as they are drowning with the "unsinkable ship" into the abysmal depths of the North Atlantic. The story is told eighty four years later through flash backs by Rose de Witt, a survivor, as she is sitting in her pottery studio. Rose is a hundred and one years old and she is still creating pottery. Surrounded by her works, she recalls her fateful travel and introduces Jack Dawson, a young artist and the love of her life, who died during the tragic voyage. She spent only hours with him, but their love became immortal.




As she recalls their moments together, Rose brings us eighty-four years back to "the most erotic moment of her life", that she lets us witness it: hours before his death, Jack is drawing a nude of her wearing only a necklace with a big, blue diamond. The beauty of a seventeen-year old Rose in love is immortalized in the drawing, seen through the eyes of the artist. "I couldn't stop shaking" old Rose confesses, alluding to the erotic intensity of the experience that stayed with her forever. Jack's art captured a lifetime of love that survived his death. For Rose, his art did not only create her drawing; it created Jack's immortality.

As Rose remembers, we live with her the tragic scenes that unfold as the ship is about to sink. We are shown five musicians of the ship's orchestra completing their last piece of music. We watch the unknown musicians bid their last farewell and walk away; except for the violinist, who stays in the same place and starts playing solo. As the other orchestra members hear him play, they stop, return and join him in the piece. Amidst a crowd of screaming passengers running in vain to save their lives, these musicians peacefully accept their imminent death and choose to celebrate life with their music, until the dark ocean swallows them playing their last note. Defying death by remaining creative till one's last breath is one of the most powerful messages in this epic, which is also a tribute to inner freedom, immortal love, and the inexorable right to honor one's truth.

b. Creative People Regard Creating as Healing

Creative people are healers. They create to bring wholeness to the inevitable wounds inflicted by life. Their creative output is their answer to aggression, deprivation, unfairness and injustice that, unfortunately, abound in reality. Through creating, they contribute toward increasing beauty, harmony and love, without which life cannot exist. Creativity is their only weapon against the afflictions of depression, boredom or loneliness and the source of strength, courage and hope. Creative people do not allow the burdens of life to discourage them. They create in spite of the daily pressures and dramas to conquer pain, fear, poverty, illness and, even death.

"When I dance, something happens and I sort of disappear" says Billy Elliot during his interview with the Committee of the Royal Ballet Academy. "It's hard at the beginning, but then something happens and I start flying. I feel free. I disappear into the air like a bird, like electricity. Yeah, like electricity..."

Billy calls "electricity" the divine light that sparks in him when he is immersed in the creative process, enlightening his existence and the world around him. Through dancing, his essence becomes one with The Creator as he, little Billy, disappears. The joy of dancing heals his grief for his diseased mom, his worry for his ill Grandma, his sadness for being mistreated by his brother, and his sorrow for being rejected by his father. Billy's wholeness is in his dance. That is when his daily life becomes secondary and he feels truly alive.

There is no process livelier than the creative process. Its essence is the very stuff of Life, which is Nature's will to push beyond limitations in order to accomplish Creation. And, once the creation is accomplished, there is no joy deeper for the creator than the joy of sharing it with the world. A modern myth describing how the creative process brings wholeness not only the creative agent but also to those who commune with the creative outcome is Babette's Feast.

Based on a short story by Isan Dinesen, Babette's Feast is set in remote Frederikshavn, a small Lutheran community on the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in the second half of the nineteenth century. The villagers are fundamentalists adhering to a rigid puritanical dogma. Their life is dedicated to religious observance, reciting of the scripture, material poverty, and avoidance of all temptations of spirit and body. Their Spartan homes and churches are devoid of embellishments or furniture that might provide the slightest comfort. Their manners are restrained; wordy interactions are restricted as silence is enforced to maintain the spiritual tone of relationships; indulging in simple pleasures such as food or other, more complex, physical desires is simply unfathomable. For this community, joy is a sin.

One day, a French woman arrives at the village, offering her services as a maid to Martina and Philippa, the two unmarried daughters of Pouel Kern, the diseased spiritual leader and founder of this community. During his life, father Kern managed to forbid his daughters to have any relationship with the outside world, forcing them to abandon all prospects of marriage or career. Due to his intervention, Martina's ended her love for a young officer wanting to marry her, while Philippa ended on her own accord her friendship with a Parisian opera singer, afraid of the joy she experienced during their singing lessons. Years later, the same opera singer sends Babette to their home, who agrees to be their servant and work without wages. For fourteen years she does so, following diligently the community's rules, cooking simple meals, observing the silence, and helping the two sisters with their community service.

No one knows that Babette has been a gourmet chef in "Café Anglais," a famous French restaurant, until, one day, she asks the two sisters if she can prepare a lavish French dinner for the entire village, to celebrate their father's 100th birthday. Babette offers to pay for the entire feast, with the money she won in the Paris lottery. The sisters hesitate but finally agree, on the condition that the guests observe the vow of silence throughout the meal, so as not to indulge in pleasure. Babette orders the food from France and sets out to prepare the feast. Soon the ingredients arrive: live turtles for soup, game and meats for the main courses, a wheelbarrow full of offal, bottles of champagne and fine wine, and trunks with fine china, silver, crystal glasses, lace linen, and fancy candles. For days Babette works at the kitchen, creating a feast of love, a true art masterpiece that will forever change the life of the community.

As the evening of the feast arrives, the villagers congregate around a table where they taste caviar with mussels in vodka sauce, turtle soup, quail filled with foie gras and truffles, fine meats, expensive cheeses and exquisite deserts. As they raise their glasses to drink Veuve Clicquot, superb champagne, they cannot help it: moved by the spirit of the food and enveloped in the delight of its taste, they break the vow of silence and begin interacting. For the first time they realize that spiritual prosperity can be enjoyed through material abundance. As the joy of tasting Babette's food is lifting everyone off the ground into higher spheres, the retired General, Marina's discouraged suitor from the past, suddenly raises a glass to declare that nothing is impossible. Babette's abundance has brought to everyone joy beyond words, empowering their spirit with the hope that no opportunity in life is truly missed, as long as one wants to achieve a dream wholeheartedly. Her feast, creating such spiritual and emotional abundance for that deprived community also proved that the one who creates is never poor.

While the villagers delight in the majesty of the senses, Babette, alone in the kitchen, delights in the fulfillment of her dream: her culinary art has healed an entire village, banishing everyone's fear of joy. Looking at us, she reaches out with a plea that speaks for the desire of all creative people to create wholeness:

"From across the world there goes one long cry from the heart of the artist: Give me leave to do my utmost."

c. Creative People Pursue their Projects to Completion

Out of the creative projects you have begun over the years, how many have you actually finished? Remember, "to create" means "to bring something into full existence". If your creative projects are begun ideas that have never found completion, they do not count as creative endeavors. Sorry, but these are only abandoned efforts patiently awaiting your honest attention.
We all have "abandoned efforts" hiding somewhere at home, in our drawers, in our computer's hard drive, even in our mind: a screenplay that is twenty-five pages before completion; an incomplete needlecraft, quilt or knitting project; a bookcase we built in the garage but never varnished or placed in our son's bedroom; an antique car that we have been rebuilding for the last ten years; a foreign language that we never learned to speak fluently; a dance that we never learned to dance without stepping on our partner or causing public embarrassment; a recipe for the special cookware we purchased but never unpackaged; an idea to expand our business that we never pursued beyond writing it in our notepad; and so on.

What causes us to abandon our creative projects and betray the joy of creating? A usual explanation is that we stop the creative process because we give into "fear of criticism" or "fear of failure". This is only partially true considering that, in reality, we engage in many self-destructive endeavors, ignoring criticism and inviting failure in our health, finances, as well as personal and professional life: we indulge in junk food knowing that our cholesterol count will go up; we watch countless hours of television, neglecting to communicate with friends, family, and loved ones; we spend money compulsively, knowing that we are damaging our credit; we cut corners at work, knowing that we will eventually be discovered and called accountable; and so on. The truth is that the reason for abandoning creative projects is not our fear of criticism but our fear of commitment to a challenging process, period. It is in our nature to abandon a creative habit when arising difficulties cause discomfort and to indulge in destructive habits just because they are easy and immediately gratifying.

One of the most deceptive beliefs about the creative process is that it is a constant source of joy, freedom and success. Nothing could be farther from the truth: the creative process is as challenging as any other endeavor and it requires heartfelt commitment from the beginning to the end. Every creative project presents challenges, obstacles, difficulties and problems that suspend pleasure until we resolve them. This is why the joy of creativity is ten percent in starting a project, zero percent in persevering through its challenges, and ninety percent in accomplishing it. But, once the creation is completed, the experience of the creator from sharing it with the world is filled with pure delight. In western religious teachings, the Creator's profound, restful enjoyment from having completed the universe is described as the Seventh Day of Creation. Creative people seek this joy and, therefore, do not abandon their efforts as unwanted children; instead, they treat their creative projects as children needing to be parented until they become self-sufficient through consistent love and dedication despite challenges and rough spots.

An example of creative person who accomplished her project with amazing determination, overcoming criticism and personal attacks of national proportions, is Maya Lin. Her story is the theme of the documentary A Strong, Clear Vision, a tribute to her creative work with a special focus on her remarkable achievement, the Vietnam Memorial Wall. In 1981, as a 21-year-old senior architecture major at Yale, Maya Lin won first prize in the contest to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the northwest corner of the Mall in Washington D.C. She had proposed a simple, graceful, and abstract design of two 247-foot-long walls of polished black granite, set below grade and connected at a 125-degree angle, on which the names of all the more than 58,000 American dead and missing from the war would be carved in letters a little over half an inch high and arranged chronologically, according to the year of death or disappearance.

Lin's winning design did not enjoy the public acceptance one would have expected. As soon as it was publicized, it triggered the bitter criticism of a small but powerful group of Vietnam veterans about its color, proposed placement below ground level, and lack of heroic quality. The design was characterized a "black ditch" or "black gash of shame." A few conservative politicians supported the opposition until a compromise was reached. Following a number of highly publicized meetings, in which Maya Lin was personally attacked and repeatedly forced to defend her project, it was finally agreed to add to the monument an American flag on a 60-foot pole and a group of three realistically-modeled, seven-foot bronze figures of Vietnam-era American soldiers by another artist. Fortunately, these additions were placed far enough away from the wall so that its artistic integrity was not seriously affected.




Maya Lin withstood unfair, chauvinistic and, occasionally, racist attacks with admirable strength and inner composure. She never compromised the integrity of her vision or negotiated the principles of her conception: the Memorial Wall was a healing monument, offering visitors an intimate and contemplative experience as it allowed them to experience the deep sense of loss it conveyed. Lin's perseverance resulted in the phenomenal success of her project, once it was completed. The monument was dedicated and officially opened to the public on November 11, 1982, Veteran's Day. Since that day, more than ten thousand people per day visit the Wall; amongst them are Vietnam veterans, families of the fallen, and the public at large who experience profound healing as the names of the dead or missing, which seem to float on a transparent black plane, exert their power evoking strong emotion. Additionally, as the visitors can see their own face dimly reflected on the polished black granite, they are invited to enter a dimension in which life and death are two facets of one continuous experience. The monument, in silence, speaks to each visitor in a very personal yet universal way about life and death, grief and loss, and embracing what one cannot change.

Another remarkable woman who left a legacy of overcoming difficulties in order to bring a creative project to completion is Roberta Guaspari, the heroine of Music of the Heart. Based on the Roberta's real life, the film tells the story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to underprivileged children in East Harlem. After her devastating divorce, Roberta finds herself with two children and in need of work. A music teacher facing few opportunities for work, she becomes aware of an opening at an East Harlem public school. After convincing the school principal about the value of teaching music in her school, she is hired. Roberta begins her work in a problem-ridden environment, filled with burned-out, underpaid teachers, accustomed to expect very little of themselves and the school system. In addition the children, most from troubled families, have little support at home for academic achievement let alone learning the violin.

Roberta begins working with the zeal and stubbornness of a neophyte, as the children challenge her authority and question the value of her work. But she does not get intimidated. Showing determination, amazing inner strength and genuine interest in the children, she eventually wins their trust and connects them to the violin. As her students learn to play, their improving self-confidence has a positive influence on other aspects of their lives. Their parents, formerly skeptical about Roberta's function in their school, notice their children blossom and begin to respect and admire Roberta. She has earned everyone's trust.
For ten years Roberta's program flourishes, earning great reputation in the City until, in 1991, the school board seizes the funding. Roberta will not allow this to happen. Determined to give the biggest fight of her life, she summons the help of the parents, a journalist, and a number of the world's best violinists, and organizes an amazing concert at Carnegie Hall to raise funds and save her program. The concert, in which she and her students share the stage with artists such as Isaac Stern, Arnold Steinhardt, Itzhac Perlman, and Sandra Park, is a phenomenal success and raises funds that ensure the survival of her program for several more years.

Roberta Guaspari is a living legend. An Italian-American woman who made Harlem her home, she had been playing the violin since nine years of age. Music gave her peace, sanity, and inner strength when her divorce shattered her life. She brought her gift to inner-city schools and shared it generously with the children, empowering them to honor their creativity and always pursue their dreams.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CREATIVE HABIT

In the next section you will be encouraged to develop a creative habit following recommended activities and exercises. As you discover and nurture your own creative habit, keep in mind its main characteristics. A creative habit:

1. Gives you energy.

2. Holds your interest.

3. Gives you the freedom to make mistakes and see them as learning experiences.

4. Challenges your thoughts, stretches your imagination, and generates new discoveries and problem-solving ideas.

5. Increases your self-confidence and self- acceptance.

REEL FULFILLMENT IN ACTION

A. MOVIE TIME! WATCH A MOVIE FOR FUN, LEARN A LESSON FOR LIFE

The following films portray different characters with one thing in common: their lives are determined by their willingness to be creative. Choose a film and watch it alone or with your groups. Answer the questions at the end of the list in writing and discuss your answers with your group. Repeat the same with more films of the list, as your time permits:

A Chef in Love (1997); directed by Nana Dzhordzhadze

Amadeus (1984); directed by Milos Forman

Artemisia (1997); directed by Agnes Merlet

Babette's Feast (1987); directed by Gabriel Axel

Big Night (1996); directed by Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci

Billy Elliot (2000); directed by Stephen Daldry

Camille Claudel (1988); directed by Bruno Nuytten

Chocolat (2000); directed by Lasse Hallström

Finding Neverland (2004); directed by Marc Forster

Frida (1988); directed by Paul Leduc

Frida (2002); directed by Julie Taymor

Immortal Beloved (1994); directed by Bernard Rose

Like Water for Chocolate (1992); directed by Alfonso Arau

Maya Lin: A Strong, Clear Vision (1994); directed by Freida Lee Mock

Music of the Heart (1999); directed by Wes Craven

Pleasantville (1998); directed by Garry Ross

Pollock (2000); directed by Ed Harris

Shall We Dansu? (1996); directed by Masayuki Suo

Shall We Dance? (2004); directed by Peter Chelsom

Surviving Picasso (1996); directed by James Ivory

The Agony and The Ecstasy (1954); directed by Carol Reed

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947); directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Titanic (1997); directed by James Cameron

Working Girl (1988); directed by Mike Nichols

Questions to Answer:

1. What role does creativity play in the life of the main character of the story?

2. How does the environment respond to the main character's creativity?

3. What other forces in the life of the character do oppose his/her creativity?

4. Notice that these forces may be not only external, but also internal.

5. How does the character stand up for his/her need to stay creative? How does he/she defend his/her creativity? List his/her actions and evaluate them.

6. How does the story reach you and what lessons did you learn about your own creativity?

7. What are you prepared to do to be more creative?

B. PRACTICE CREATIVITY: EXERCISES FOR YOU

1. Developing a Creative Habit

1. Think of something you have long wanted to do or something you used to like doing as a child but later abandoned because you got on with life obligations. It must be something that used to give you pleasure.

2. Set time aside and begin the process of developing a creative habit. At the beginning you may feel awkward, as though you were out on a first date. Do not give up; in time, awkwardness will dissipate and will be replaced by delight.

3. From time to time, check your progress of becoming creative by running through the five characteristics of the creative habit described above. Remember: you will know that you are becoming creative because you will feel inner joy and trust in your ability to resolve problems in unusual, new, surprisingly intelligent ways!

2. How Much Do You Avoid Being Creative? A Check-in

1. Use a daily schedule to count the number of hours you spend watching television in a week.

2. Also, count the hours you spend every day surfing the web, chatting on the internet, or reading and writing e-mails.

3. Promise yourself to spend half of this time on television and the internet and the other half doing something creative. Challenge yourself.

3. Dare to Be Creative: Some Ideas

1. Do something you have wanted to do by have been postponing for a long time. E.g.: learn how to cook, work on your car, decorate a room in your house, develop a business idea, learn how to dance, begin a collection, learn how to make jewelry, learn a foreign language. Follow your desire and listen to your heart.

2. Make it your habit to do something constructive or creative when you are in the grips of an unhelpful emotion, such as anger or sadness. Keep a log of your activities and progress. You will be amazed with the results in your life, in a very short time. (Hint: Watch Billy Elliot dance his anger off in the film listed above.)

3. Join a group or a class and learn to do something with your hands (e.g.: pottery, gardening, baking, making jewelry, welding, making furniture, knitting, etc.) Engage your body in the creative process, especially if you spend hours in an office.

4. If you like music, join a choir or learn an instrument. Organize music nights at your home. (A client of mine organized 'opera nights' in her home; her guests dressed up as famous opera characters and each performed their favorite aria. Then, they had champagne and a lavish, home-cooked dinner.)

5. Finish a project that you began and abandoned some time ago. When you finish it, have a party to celebrate your completed creation.

6. There are hundreds of books and video-tapes on craft-making. Borrow a few from your public library and read through them. Find a craft or activity that interests you and emerge yourself in it. Allow yourself to have fun in the process.

7. For Christmas, a birthday, or for a special a holiday, make your gifts for your family, friends or loved ones, instead of buying them: they can be hand-made cards, home-made cakes, a craft, a knitted sweater, a carved toy, a framed sketch, a collage, anything that excites your fantasy and gives you pleasure to create. Invite your family to do the same. Hand-made gifts are special and very meaningful not only for those who receive them but also for those who make them. They are less likely to be thrown or put away, and gain value as time goes by.

8. Take a cooking class or create your "Party of Chefs", in which you invite friends to participate in a collaboratively cooked dinner. Rent a cooking video, open your recipe books, and have a lot of fun creating in the kitchen!

9. Interview three people that you consider creative in any domain. Ask them about their creative habits and their relationship to their creativity. Ask them about the gifts they received from their creative habits. Ask for advice of how to develop and maintain a creative habit.

10. Write the names of three people who drain your creative energy due to their actions, words, or attitudes. Resolve to limit your contact with them to the minimum, and use your time to develop a creative habit.

11. List three activities that drain your creative energy or consume your time from having a creative habit. Resolve to stop engaging in those activities immediately and save your creative energy.

C. THINGS TO REMEMBER

● Creativity needs practice to grow into a habit.

● When are creative you feel free. When you feel free you have an open mind that allows others the freedom of being creative. This makes you attractive and, very often, irresistible.

● Creativity and Joy are twins.

Maria Grace, Ph.D., is an expert at teaching people how to learn lessons from popular movies to find the job, home, relationship, and healthy body and mind they want. She is a Fulbright scholar, licensed psychotherapist, sought-after public speaker and coach, and the author of “Reel Fulfillment: A 12-Step Plan for Transforming Your Life through Movies” (McGraw-Hill, 2005). “Reel Fulfillment” was praised by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the top “self help books out of the self-help box” for 2005-2006.

For more information visit http://www.mariagrace.com and [http://www.reelfulfillment.com]

The essence of being happily human is to be creative. Few things in life are more fulfilling than transforming something old or non-existent into something new, better, faster, less expensive, more lucrative, joyful, efficient, effective, etc. And the secret to creative power is to get lost in what you're "creating." Getting lost is necessary to finding what's new.

 

The secret to creativity is getting lost

Why? Because you can't come up with something new, different or original using your same old thinking mind. The metaphor and cliché for this concept is "thinking outside the box." But that's a misnomer because creativity is only partially about thinking. The purpose of thinking and feeling is just to get things started, get the creative process stimulated -- not to get the answer directly. This is where you may be going astray. The answer cannot be completely thought out no matter how smart you think you are.

Outside-the-box means outside the conscious, personal, thinking mind and into the subconscious, knowing mind. That's where all the creative power and action is. That's the faculty the answers come from. That's the higher level of consciousness you want to operate on all the time to be creative all the time. This is a form of meditation, perhaps the highest form.

All your thinking mind has to do is just get out the of way and let the creative process unfold. It unfolds from the subconscious by itself to the degree your personal, thinking/feeling mind is out of the way -- your ego is out of the way! Don't try, push or stress. That's the catch: Your effort needs to be effortless for it to work.

First, think or brainstorm about the new thing you strongly desire to create. Once it's clearly in mind and you're satisfied it is, then let it go. Drop it. Detach from it. Let it incubate. Let it sink into the subconscious for advanced processing.

Finally, just be calmly and patiently receptive to the answer -- which is guaranteed to come to the degree you are persistent and convinced that it will come.

You become a creator, inventor, explorer of that which is new and different -- that which has never been produced or expressed exactly this way before. Your getting lost in uncharted, unknown territory is the great joy, thrill and adventure of creation. You were created to be a creator, and fulfilling that purpose is what the good life is all about.

Author: William F McLaughlin. Bill is a stress and meditation expert with a focus on the law of detachment and how to apply it to personal & professional excellence. He's the author The Power of Personal Detachment: Letting Go of Everything All The Time. - About how to be your higher self by keeping a distance from your lower self. Visit Bill at http://www.AdventuresInSelfUnderstanding.com. - A website dedicated to the study of detachment and how to apply it to resolve any personal or spiritual difficulty. Contact Bill with your questions and comments at ZenWilliam@yahoo.com.