Creativity

The Push Pin Tale by Sebastian

January 28, 2010 By Cara Lumen

This is a story about how to leverage an idea.

I looked up to see my 11 month old Tabby cat Sebastian, diligently pulling the push pins out of my bulletin board. He had to work at it a bit but he persisted and of course when he finally pulled it out, the papers it was holding up fell in a fascinating flurry behind a chest that will make them hard for me to get to. But he loved that push pin and proudly carried it away as if he had just made a major jungle kill and was bringing it home to feed his family. What a sense of satisfaction he seemed to have over a job well done. But it also turned into a skill building exercise as he turned it into a toy – to push around and pounce on and chase under and around things as he batted it around. He even shared it with his sister Sabrina to have even more fun with it. What a lot of mileage he got from his one push pin.

So here’s what I learned from watching Sebastian and his push pin.

Be Curious
You can find ideas everywhere. You just have to notice what is around you. Be aware. Look beyond the obvious into the possibilities. Do something simply because it is there to do. Examine everything for possibilities. Get creative about how you go about gaining access to what interests you.

Be Persistent
If you want something, keep at it. Approach it one way and then another. Use a soft touch. Use a hard touch. Come at it from several angles. Just stick with it.

See infinite possibilities in every situation
You may think you have figured out how to put something to use, but stay open to the other possibilities that show up. Can it be tweaked to go another direction? Can it be combined with something else to become have an entirely new purpose? Do you need to share it with someone to make it really interesting?

Know there is something excitingly glorious in everything
Everything has potential. Everything has a message, an opportunity, and an insight. Look at what seems ordinary and look beyond how you already know to use it. Look for new ways to put it to work, new ways to share it, unusual ways to approach it.

As Sebastian settles down for his morning nap there is a message there to. A tail by any other name is another tale all together. And that’s what Sebastian taught me today.

What is Your Legacy?

January 7, 2010 By Cara Lumen

My daughter uncovered some family photos in her basement recently and as I looked through them I thought about the people I never knew who are part of who I am. The great grandfather who at 17 was orphaned in the harsh Des Moines winter and drove his sister to Utah in the second surge of Mormon wagon trains and later became the first Senator from that state. I feel that pioneer spirit in many of my life choices.

The grandfather whose first job was hauling produce who went on to establish a string of produce companies in mid-Missouri. He served as Mayor of his small town of California. I have some of his organizing ability – when my children were young I was instrumental in popularizing a Picture Lady Program in my school district so that it was picked up by the Nelson Gallery of Art in Kansas City and made available to school children all over the Greater Kansas City area.

There are lots of writers on my Mother’s side and that’s being passed on to my grandchildren.

I don’t know much about the people beyond my great grandparents. I don’t know their stories or where they were from or how they lived their lives, but if it weren’t for some of their choices I wouldn’t be here. And if it weren’t for some of my choices my four children and their nine offspring wouldn’t be putting their stamp on the world. We do leave our legacy – consciously and unconsciously.

It’s hard to see exactly what legacy we are leaving. We never know whether a smile or a kind word or a passing kindness has made a difference in the life of someone else. We don’t know if the idea we gave to one of our clients was a turning point in their business. We don’t know if our choice to learn something new was important to the next person we taught it to.

One of my favorite legacy stories is from a teleclass I gave eight years ago. There was a very small segment on forgiveness in the class – maybe five minutes worth. But I later got an email from one of the participants saying she really resonated with that section and although she had not spoken to her father for many years, she felt inspired to write him a note to begin the healing process. He had called her in tears and they began their journey back to each other.

If she hadn’t told me, I would never have known.

I have begun to be very aware of other people – what they need, how I might make a difference in their experience of the moment. If I listen well, move from my agenda to their agenda, offer advice only when it is asked, be present and fully engaged, I’ll contribute more.

As for actively working on leaving an inspirational legacy, I have always loved to help people who were out to make a difference in their world and when I help them they are able to reach more people and touch more lives. I’ll keep doing that.

What is your legacy? How are you helping others have a different life experience? Are your actions inspirational to others? Is your enthusiasm motivating? Is your quiet acceptance uplifting? As Mother Teresa said, “Go out into the world today and love the people you meet. Let your presence light new light in the hearts of people.”

That’s how you can leave your legacy.

12 Tips for Better Time Management When the Ideas Keep Coming In

December 28, 2009 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

You are flooded with exciting ideas and don’t know which to choose and how to even begin to do them all. Well you can’t do them all and you do have to choose but once you have chosen you have to make it happen. Here are some ways to get more out of the time you spend being creative.

Be aware of your most creative time. Are you a first thing in the morning writer or a last thing at night creative? Do you just get hit with creativity unexpectedly and feel the need to answer the muse? If you are a morning person but have a family who needs you, try getting up earlier than everyone else and get in some good solid private creative time.

Use waiting time. You’ll be amazed at what you can do if you are prepared with a small notebook for writing down ideas, or organizing a project. Use a tape recorder to record the main points of the talk you are preparing and use that to keep you on track as you go for your daily walk and practice out loud as you go. Use a thumb drive if you are going to be away from your computer so you can work on projects during your down time on someone else’s computer. There are recorders that you can use that will translate into Dragon Speak Naturally. At the very least keep a notebook handy for brainstorming while you wait.

Keep your eyes open for inspiration. I have started work on a new telecourse and now that I am thinking about the topic and looking for information it is showing up by the carloads. The funny thing is, if you know you need something and simply keep your eyes open, it will show up.

Plan your day the night before. This is an old office trick. Spend the last 15 minutes of your day preparing for the next day. Organize your desk, Set up your lists and prioritize them, look up phone numbers you may need, get the materials together you need to complete what you have assigned yourself for the next day. Easy to do and a great boost in the morning.

Put off email. If you are your most creative first thing, then write for two hours and then answer your email. Its way too easy to be pulled away from your intention by an email you need to answer or a blog post you need to read. Look at your email every two hours – not every 15 minutes.

Pre-prepare healthy snacks. That seems odd for time management, but my son works out of his home and mentioned how he keeps grabbing pretzels because he doesn’t have time to stop to eat. If that sounds familiar, get some sunflower seed butter and Wassa crackers to keep on hand, or celery and almond butter, or make some granola that even tastes good dry. And don’t forget hard boiled eggs – sweet-sour mustard and dill make you think you are on a picnic. Easy, fast and protein.

Pay attention to your attention. That’s particularly important for creatives. Keep that brainstorming list open on your computer so if a random creative idea comes in you can quickly capture it and move back to what you are doing. If you have to spend five minutes capturing some of the details of the idea fine, but try to keep on target with the task you set for yourself.

Be sure and set deadlines for yourself whenever possible and reward yourself when you get things done as you had planned, especially the important ones. You might want to start an acknowledgement file for yourself where every night before ending your work you write down what you have accomplished. At the end of the week you can really see and acknowledge your progress. I use my Magnetic Marketing Momentum Builder for my own personalized cheering section.

Do just one more thing. Before going to bed, try to do just one more thing to make the day more complete, and eliminate one task for the next day.

Honor your own rhythm. When you need a break take one. When you have to stop thinking, turn on some music and dance, or go for a walk, or call up a friend to chat, or make some tea and watch The View. Move your body every 20 minutes or so. Look out the window, move your shoulders and neck. Take deep five breaths and release tension on every exhale.

Concentrate on one thing at a time. Start with difficult or boring tasks first while you are still fresh and get this "chore" out of the way to make the rest of the day easier for yourself. Be active in what you are doing at any given time.

Be realistic in your expectations of yourself. Go back to the idea of writing down how long each item will take and make a realistic schedule. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t keep the schedule but learn to truly understand what you can get done in a certain time period.

The Push And Pull Of Creativity, How To Stay On Track And Get It All Done

December 28, 2009 By Cara Lumen

Passionately On Purpose Radio with Cara Lumen, Your Idea Optimizer, who keeps you passionately on purpose while you make a difference in your world. As a Business Coach, Content Developer and Educator she talks about how to uncover your passion, define your purpose, identify your path, make money from what you already know and attract the people you are meant to serve. But most of all, she’ll help you believe you can!!! Join her Mondays on www.blogtalkradio.com/passionatelyonpurpose

This Show You are loaded with new idea for the new year, complete with resolutions but now what? You are buffeted by the push and pull of creativity and don’t know where to start. Let’s talk about how to stay on track and get it all done.

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Purposeful Acts of Kindness

December 10, 2009 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

Her co-worker had just separated from his wife. She went with him to the doctor and then offered her home for his recuperation because he had no place else to go. Her husband went with that co-worker when he had his surgery and spent the night at the hospital with him so he would have an advocate there. Those are not random acts of kindness that’s purposeful kindness, the kindness I find myself surrounded with here in the mid-west.

At the store I was looking at a 40 pound box of cat litter wondering how to get it in my cart when a young woman stopped to help me. I hadn’t asked. She just saw my need and addressed it. At the grocery store I asked the Sara Lee delivery man for a product that turned out his company didn’t make. He even went over to the racks to help me look. It wasn’t there. So I just continued down the next aisle. A few minutes later there he was with two varieties of the product in his hand. I was totally touched by his kindness and we semi-hugged. I think he was touched by my being touched. A young man in my building helped me get my laundry up the stairs. And my niece who unexpectedly helped me find a government building I was having a hard time locating and it took a lot of pressure off of me. I have never before been so surrounded with purposeful acts of kindness – organic acts of kindness.

It has made me stop to see how I measure up in thoughtfulness. I may no longer be able to step in and lift something, or tall enough to reach a high shelf for someone, but there are other things. I can write these posts and hope they inspire someosne. I can write thoughtful comments and acknowledgements to people I interact with. I did recently rescue a mother cat and four black kittens that someone left in a box on the second floor landing outside of my apartment. I was new in town and had to go find the humane society to help them be safe. Sometimes it may be as small a kindness as a cheery word on a gloomy day, or a sincere thank you to the checkout clerk.

I have added something new to my coaching sessions. I have always asked, at the end of my classes and my coaching sessions, what the participants are taking away with them. It’s a good way to help them realize what they have gained and for me to see what was meaningful for them. But recently, I’ve been telling both the participants in my courses and my coaching clients what I’m taking away from our time together and it often ends up with an acknowledgement of the progress the client made, or the collaboration the class shared, or how they have touched my heart. It feels good for both the receiver and especially for me, the giver.

How can you increase your purposeful acts of kindness? One thoughtful act a day. Or two? Kindness is definitely contagious.

I’ve caught the kindness feeling. I’m more aware of what I can do for others. It’s my turn to see how thoughtful I can be. They say you are like who you hang out with and I’m hanging out with some really great people. Purposeful act of kindness, here I come!

Creativity

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