Think About It

Four Misconceptions About Creativity

1. Only smart people are creative

2. Only involved in the arts and humanities

3. You either are creative or not 

4. Creativity is an abstract power

What is creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson says it is the process of having original ideas that have value. 

Process, originality, and value. 

Today’s Focused Thought - Life Sentence

Alfred Nobel wasn’t thinking about wanting to be named for the Nobel Peace prize when he invented dynamite.

He focused on

The obituary clearly recognized that Alfred’s invention of dynamite had killed more people than previous inventions combined.

Alfred read his life sentence; a window of his influence in the minds of other human beings. It was in that moment that he decided to commit himself to changing the world for the better and funding efforts that had that primary mission.

He spoke up and made sure he was heard. He wanted and chose to change his life sentence.

What is your life sentence at the moment? Are you building toward it every day the way you want to? How do you want to be remembered and for what?

Never lose sight of it. Keep the end in mind, but realize that life is curved and your plan will most definitely change. A plan gets you started and keeping the end in mind gets you where you want to be.

Know where you want to be. The journey of how to get from point A and point B is the harder part. 

Habit #2 Begin with the End in Mind (Drive in life…or life will drive YOU)

I put up a similar quote before. Not sure about the name of the quoter. It’s on my tumblr somewhere…maybe I’m paraphrasing it. 

“Life is always moving forward and you can’t stop it. Luckily, you’re the pilot!”

Beginning with the end in mind is important because you create a mental roadmap for yourself that guides you in decisions and opportunities. We obviously can’t know what the word is like in five years because of how advanced our species has become, but we can each have a personal idea of who we want to become, so every decision we make brings us closer to our imagined, better self.

You can begin with a personal mission statement: something you constantly refer to that motivates you in the direction you want to head in your life. Your personal mission statement helps you push pause during important events in your life and remind you about your direction, and if you need to keep doing what you do or change habits.

If you don’t lead your life, someone else will. 

A mission statement is almost like your identity blurb. If someone reads it or sees it, they could quickly get a general idea of who you truly are, what makes you unique. 

A mission statement is also like a deep-rooted tree that helps you deal with change because you can hold onto it when life is tough. Benefits like animals, flowers, buds, and leaves can be ripped off by personal life events (a storm, hurricane, tornado for metaphorical ideas), but the trunk and roots are firmly there to grasp. 

Other blurbs from the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey

• (don’t be a snob) people are too complex to be judged quickly and labeled. Take time to learn their mission statement, whether written already or learned through experience by being around them

• don’t dwell over mistakes and crash and burn. We’re all human and learn through failure

• be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else

• goals aren’t made in one day, it takes small steps. A goal not written is only a wish, so monitor your progress and witness yourself succeeding!!! =D

• just go for it. Commit and carry through your goal. Do or do not, there is no try (Yoda).

• use important moments in life to form goals and reflect on direction. Look for big TRANSITION MOMENTS in life. They need thought. 

• “rope up” with people for support in different principles in your life. People need people. Even if it’s a rare and short meeting with a mentor you admire. They have experience, and can save you time with sharing value and experience

• Lastly, turn some weaknesses intro strengths, recognize your talents, and take opportunities to do small things in a great way, if not greater things to be accomplished at the moment.