It was late October and my son, Danny and I stopped at our mailbox before we went to the local diner for some food. I handed the mail to Danny and he looked through during our less than mile drive. As we arrived at the diner he discovered the envelope that held his scholarship award. He said to me, “Mom, wouldn’t it be funny if this is a full scholarship?”
At the age of twelve Danny told me a phrase that I would hear many times during the next six years, “Mom, you don’t have to worry about me, I’m going to get you a scholarship.” At the time we had one daughter in college and another one ready to start upon graduation from high school and Danny realized the financial burden it had on our family. He was athletic and knew he wanted to play a sport in college. He just needed to decide which sport - football, basketball or baseball.
We sat in the car looking at the envelope from Piedmont College, a small Division III school in Georgia approximately 600 miles away. It was at a camp that previous July that we heard of this school for the very first time. In August, as the baseball coach started to recruit Danny we went to visit the school. We were told to expect a third to a half as a scholarship offer, and yet Danny had worked hard for six years and believed he would receive a full scholarship offer.
As he carefully began to open the envelope images flashed through my mind of all the difficulties and struggles he had overcome to arrive at this point. The day he was born he was airlifted to a major hospital with a collapsed lung to dealing with Juvenile Diabetes since age eight and multiple other issues. Then there was the disappointments of not getting on the baseball team he wanted or times others laughed at him and tried to discourage him as an athlete. Through all of this he kept a positive attitude and continued to achieve and accomplish goal after goal like clockwork always staying focused on the ultimate dream. And now he was holding that dream in his hand.
As he went through the papers in the envelope, he finally arrived at the one that stated his scholarship amount. Our eyes went from the award to each other as with smiles, laughter, and hugs he had indeed accomplished the ultimate dream. All the struggles, roadblocks, health issues, disappointments were no longer important. He had given his all putting consistent action behind his dream. He had not allowed the many obstacles to deter his effort. Yes, six plus years of hard work had paid off in a big way. Yet Danny did not do anything that any other child could not also accomplish.
The difference was Danny did not give up on his dream even when he was tested multiple times during the years. Danny believed in his dream and focused on the steps that were necessary to accomplish his goal. Far too often children and adults quit too soon. The road is always going to have bumps and potholes along the way. It may appear that some have a smooth road, but I guarantee you that is not the case and certainly not the case for Danny.
Courage - The Act And Art Of Facing What Is
Danny had many times that would have discouraged many children from continuing. He had so many obstacles to and situations to overcome. He found many times that when one opportunity for achievement did not come his way as expected another better one would open.
Danny thought he knew every piece in the puzzle and when those pieces did not fall in place, I would tell him, “Danny there is a reason this happened and eventually we will find the answer.” Make life an adventure and realize that you are not in control as much as you would like to believe.
A year ago, when Danny was a freshman in college, I asked him if he liked the school he was attending. I did not want him to think that he had to stay 600 miles away from home if he was not happy. He looked at me and told me how much he liked the area and the school and then he said something that showed his wisdom. He said, “I don’t know why I am here, but I feel like there is a reason that I was brought to this school. Eventually I will discover the reason.”
There is a greater Power out there that has the answers we do not. We must trust and have faith that the result we are looking for will come even though we may be discouraged at the moment. So often when we do not get what we want it is because there is something better coming our way. The most important thing you can do is to stay focused daily on your dream and build the image of what you want. That is Your Dream Power.
Patricia Stepler
Patricia has just released her first book, Your Dream Power. She has also created a program that goes along with the study of the book that is available to individuals and schools. The program relates Your Dream Power to stories of famous people, quotes, and interjected worksheets that help children internalize the teaching of the Power Messages. Be sure to go here now and get your copy and learn more about Patricia: www.yourdreampowerbook.com
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.
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
Keeping up with all of the new tools promising to make our business lives better, more successful, easier, and do it all or less than the other guy's new thing is impossible. I Googled "new tools for business" and the G-ster returned 863,000,000 entries. Now let's say that 99% of those are not high quality offers, not from a reliable resource, or simply not a match to my needs. The remaining 1% is many thousands more than I care to read.
My search was not specific enough it's true, just like most days in the life of an entrepreneur. Most days we don't go looking for a new app or platform, but between emails from people I like suggesting their favorites, FB ads, and promotional emails from partners; stuff finds us, right?
You know how you go to a new store for one thing and you end up with a cart full of things you didn't know you "needed?"
Since part of my job is to stay on top of what makes business and marketing more effective and easier, down the rabbit holes of research I go so I can recommend and be up to date on what's worthwhile.
One of the downsides of research as you probably know is that it is a bottomless pit into which we gladly throw our time. Not only does it serve to educate and entertain us it is an important diversion from the work we don't like to do.
I wish I were kidding and you know exactly what I mean.
Back to the subject at hand. There are times when a promo for a tool or new software wasn't something we were actively looking for but does remind us of a problem we have that we've been meaning to do something about. Taking out the credit card could be warranted and a smart idea sometimes and others where you are advised to step away from the buy button.
Here are a few questions to ask before you click "buy now."
- What problem are you looking to solve?
- Is this the right tool for the job?
- Is buying a tool the right answer or is it time to hire a human?
- What is the ROI you want from your investment?
- Is it the right expense right now?
Question 1 is the most important thing to get clear on, and the trickster of retail therapy wants you to get it wrong. Let's say you get a promo for social media scheduling software and you think "This is it. I'm going to finally get out there and be consistent with my social marketing." Not so fast. Platforms like Hootsuite, Social Queue, Buffer, and the rest are only as good at getting you consistent as you are with filling the pipeline. If you aren't willing to invest an hour or two per week to load the system up, you'll be paying for something you don't use.The question of the right tool can be simplified by knowing how you like to work. I need an interface that's pleasing and easy to navigate. Drag and drop suits me fine and I need direction. (This is why I cannot for the life of me figure out Asana.) Customer service is also high on my list of requirements. Do you care if you only get email support within 48 hours, or do you at least want chat at least during business hours?
The answer to #3 might just be a person. It will probably cost you more money, but money shouldn't be the only deciding factor when you make business decisions. Is the thing you "don't have" the money for the thing that will allow you to get more clients or do something in half the time? Never make a decision only based on money.
#4 - Will investing in this tool pay you back so the expense is warranted? You have to think about your return on investment whether you are investing money or time in every aspect of running your business. If the software costs you $20 a month but it gets you 5 new leads or saves you 5 hours because you are automating, that's great ROI.
And finally, is this expense - even if it's "only" $20/month - the right one right now, or do you need to conserve cash for something down the road with a bigger impact? Resources are precious in our businesses and we can always find a way to spend them. Weigh every expense against the long-term goals you have.
There is no way to keep up with all the cool new apps, software, and platforms that promise to help us be seen. And many of them offer a free trial or don't have yearly contracts so you can test them with little out of pocket. Before you even start trying things, get clear on the problem that needs solving. There is no use playing with social scheduling software if you have a bookkeeping problem. And, no reason to play with a tool that requires time you don't have to get the desired result.
Do some homework around your pain points and plans for your business before setting off down that rabbit hole of research and I promise you'll have more time for the things you love about your business - and some left over for that stuff you don't.
Gregory Anne Cox is a free spirited entrepreneur who offers marketing in a fashion without using tired and boring content but a new fresh approach getting away from "Squishy Language" From becoming a freelance writer in NYC, to opening her own restaurant in San Diego, she is also a world renown author. Her most recent publications are "Everything is Food Journal" & "Your Genes Do Not Determine The Size of Your Jeans". Gregory now specializes in Online copy assessment, Done-For-You and Speaker and Engagement Services.
