We all want to be more creative in our daily pursuits, but the demands of everyday life often zap creativity. Overbooked schedules, information overload, fast food diets, noise, pollution, and stress all contribute to make people feel uncreative, burned out, and empty. As a life coach to many of Hollywood's elite and high profile CEOs, I hear these sentiments every day. In my work, though, I have also learned that when you take the time to blaze your creativity, you tap into ideas, thoughts, and goals you never knew you had and that's when real success occurs.
What exactly is creativity? Dictionary.com defines creativity as The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.I define creativity as a force within us all that enables us to think, act, and be in accordance with our authentic soul. The more you can connect to that authentic part of yourself, the more happiness and success you will experience in all aspects of life.
How I Blazed My Own Creativity
Everyone needs to boost their creativity from time to time. For example, years ago, I decided to write my first screenplay. I was in Los Angeles and writing it sporadically in between my daily commitments. Then one day while MCing an open-mic show, I met a French man. We slowly became friends and I learned that he lived across the street from me.
I shared with him that I was in the process of writing my first screenplay but was having difficulty staying focused and tapping into my creativity. He then offered me a trip to Tahiti. His father lived there and was getting married in three weeks. My new friend, Pierre, grew up there. So he asked me if I wanted to be his date for the wedding.
After a few days thinking about it, I agreed. Tahiti was a magical place that helped unleash my creative spirit. We stayed on the island of Moorea and wrote together from dawn until dusk under a Wisteria tree on the beach. We had a workbook called, How to Write a Screenplay in 21 days.In Tahiti, with all the inspiration and little distractions, it only took us 14 days to complete it. We returned to Los Angeles and within a few months sold the script.
I realize that not everyone can hop a plane to Tahiti, but Tahiti was just my way of blazing and unleashing my creativity. If you cant make it to Tahiti or another idyllic place that would inspire you, start to feed your creativity by de-cluttering your current space and creating an area of inspiration right in your own home.
Create Your Own Creative Space
Following are some tips for making your own creative space no matter where you are so you can unleash your creativity and create the life of your dreams.
Clear the clutter.
Get rid of everything you are not using. The best way to do this is go from room to room and “move out of the room. Then move back in with only the things that are important. As you sort through each item in the room, look at each piece of paper, book, art, furniture and ask yourself the following questions:
o Does this really have meaning to me?
o Does this item have a purpose or is it setting me back?
o If I didn't have this item, whats the worst thing that would happen?
When you organize with the intention of bettering your life and moving forward, you will be able to answer these questions and make tough decisions to let go of things you aren't using anymore.
Get your ducks in a row as best you can.
The easiest way to organize and de-clutter your intangible items (schedule, appointments, commitments, priorities, etc.) is by calendaring everything in ONE central calendar. The calendar can be in your phone, on your computer, or on paper. The exact system you use doesn't matter. The key is to do it.
Remember that if something is not written down, it most likely wont get done. So do a mind-dump on paper. Write everything down that is important to you. Then, put the urgent and immediate things in your calendar right now. Fill in the remaining areas with whatever is left. Calendar everything, no matter how silly it may seem. If its important to you, it must be in your calendar. When you are no longer wondering where you have to be when or if there's something you forgot to do today, you can be more creative in all areas of life.
Nurture your soul.
Another way to blaze your creativity is to get in touch with your authentic soul and create from that deep, magical place. Some things that can help you tap into this part of yourself include:
o Listening to classical music
o Reading poetry, a spiritual story, or something positive
o Meditating
o Thinking with lighted, scented candles around you
o Lighting incense
Doing one or more of these rituals can help you tap into the creativity we all have inside.
Put Your New found Creativity to Use
What do you do with all the new, creative thoughts that erupt as a result of these steps? Here is an exercise I have used with my clients and myself, with great success.
Once you have a clear space and a clear mind, think about who you want to be. Do you want to be an Academy Award Winning actor? A CEO of a big company? A sought-after speaker? The winner of a marathon? Whatever it is, imagine yourself stepping into that vision as-if its happening right now.
How does this image make you feel? Think about it for a while. Then, from this moment on, live each day as-if you are that person right now. How would that person live from dusk until dawn? How would that person dress? What would he or she eat? What skills and talents would that person strive to develop each day?
If you do this exercise every day, your dream or goal will come true. As long as what you want is within reason, if you can imagine it, you can become it.
Does doing all this take time? Of course it does. Nothing worthwhile ever happens overnight. But the more time you commit to these steps, the more creativity you will discover within yourself, which will ultimately connect you to your authentic soul and your true purpose in life.
