April, 2009:

You are Creative

2382760547_d9c8995a21I was recently recommended a book, Walking in this World, by Julia Cameron. I am grateful I have read this amazing book. It has reminded me that I am a creative person and why it is important to nurture this part of me.

Do you consider yourself to be “creative” or “artistic?”Many people have the idea that in order to be creative one must have a specific and special talent.They discount their own creativity because of their perceived inability to draw, sing, write, play an instrument, or perform any other act they consider creative or artistic. Some dismiss creativity as whimsical or childish and believe the pursuit of artistic endeavors to be irresponsible. Here are a few creative actions everyone can take, which nurture the soul and positively affect relationships.

  1. Pay attention to what you say. Your words carry tremendous power. What you say has the ability to immediately change lives. There are people in your life who hang on your opinions and listen to what you say. Create harmony and peace with your words.
  2. Give. Do something for someone. Anything. Creative energy is life affirming. When you give, the recipient of your gift experiences gratitude. Gratitude heals, inspires, and empowers. Gratitude is also contagious.
  3. Receive. It is as important to receive graciously. Again, receiving allows you to experience gratitude.
  4. Clean or fix something. The idea is creativity. When you clean a mess or fix something that is broken, you participate in healing.Healing creates and renews.

Simple actions help you get in touch with your inner creator. There is no such thing as a non-artistic or non-creative person. It is merely a matter of perspective. When you are in touch with your inner creator, you will be amazed with the creative ideas and divine inspirations which come to you. Pay attention and act on your creative whims!

Photo credit for top picture:honey 77 via Flickr, Second picture taken by me (being creative) in San Juan

The Adolescent Challenge

If you are interested, this is a link to a post I wrote about adolescent drug and alcohol treatment. The post is called, The Adolescent Challenge.

This  issue  is very important to me, so I hope you enjoy it!

Connect

2855271953_e32f64d1b7Connection is vital to a fulfilling and joyful life. We connect with people, spirit, and purpose. When we don’t feel a sense of connection, we feel adrift and without direction. It is so easy to get caught in the trap of trying to please others while neglecting our own sense of self. Re- establishing a sense of connection is not difficult. It may be uncomfortable, or sometimes painful, but not difficult.  The two most important factors are to keep things simple and to be honest with yourself. Here are some exercises which can help simplify this process:

  • Make a list of your most common activities, such as work, school, hobbies, etc. Next to each of these activities write down why you do them. This is just for you (unless you want to share it), so be honest.
  • Make a list of what you would love to do (if there were no limitations)
  • Write down the names of the significant relationships in your life and determine if these relationships support your purpose (if not, dig a little deeper to determine if this lack of support is due to your lack of communication)

The idea with these exercises is to provide you with some insight into your definition of happiness. When you have a clearer definition of happiness, it is easier to figure out how to connect with your purpose. It is also easier to connect your purpose with spirit and to connect with people who nurture your purpose.

Everyone is important. Your presence in the world is vital to someone, probably more people than you could possibly be aware. Take the time to let go of any limitations you place on yourself and any walls you put between yourself and others. Take the time to connect.

Photo Credit: alles-schlumpf via Flickr

Peace Comes From Within

One of the most difficult things to do is to find peace.  It sounds very easy in theory, but we have a ton of distractions. Some of these distractions are positive, like falling in love or an exciting challenge at work, and some are very toxic, like resentment or anger. One of the keys to a fulfilling life is to remove as many toxic distractions as possible in order to focus on relationships and activities that bring us joy. Of course there are situations and actions of other people over which we have no power or control, but we always have control over our responses.

Resentment and anger waste more energy than any other emotional reactions. The time you spend focusing on the shortcomings and faults of others does nothing for anybody. One of the best tools I have found to stay out of anger and resentment comes from the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

The second agreement encourages you to “not take things personally.” This is wonderful advice. Any opinion someone has about you is based on their own projection and experience. Choosing to take someone else’s opinion on, whether it is positive or negative, is making the choice to give away your power. It feels good to receive compliments and it hurts to be criticized, but allowing outside influences to control your perception of yourself hinders your ability to be responsible for your own happiness.

Make the decision to stop taking things personally. When you find yourself affected by the opinions of others ask yourself a couple of simple questions:

  • Do I already believe this to be true about me?
  • Is this an aspect of my personality I would like to change?
  • If it is a compliment, am I using this compliment to make myself superior to others?

Ultimately, how you live and interact with others will be dictated by the way you see yourself. Focus on living simple, acknowledging when you make a positive change, and commit to using mistakes as opportunities to learn. When you follow these simple steps you will be less affected by the opinions of others and will feel more at peace.

Success in Business Part IV: Anticipate Their Needs!

This is a continuation of the series I have been writing on managing a successful business. Much of what I focus on is service. Providing good service is the number one key to success. By providing quality service, you are able to build trust. With this trust you form a strong relationship with your client/customer. The relationship establishes loyalty and generates strong word of mouth referral. No matter how adept an organization is with advertising and PR, without trust, relationships, loyalty, and strong word of mouth referrals, a business will struggle to find long term success.

An effective way to establish these qualities is to have an ability to meet the needs of your client before they are even aware of their needs. A recent experience of mine illustrates this point very well.

I just returned from a wonderful cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas. It was seven nights of absolute relaxation and escape. As we cruised around the eastern Caribbean I found myself amazed at the amount of thought which went into the creation of this entire experience. I felt the same way I do when I am at Walt Disney World. It seemed as though they thought of everything.

  • Our stateroom was always cleaned
  • The waiters remembered our drinks
  • The shows were fabulous
  • The pools were immaculate
  • The excursions were easy and fun

I could go on and on. My point is simple. In any business there is a version of being able to leave the client with the feeling that they are important and taken care of. Do you make this a priority in your work? Whether you own a business or not, you provide service to someone. Someone relies on your genuine care and concern. Those who realize this fact and anticipate those needs will thrive. Those who don’t will continue to flounder and wonder why they can’t catch a “break”.

On which side do you want to land?