doug smith training

What limits your creativity? We could come up with lots of answers here. You might call them excuses. There's really only one thing that limits our creativity: ourselves. You are more or less as creative as you decide to be. No one can stop you. Nothing can stand in your way. You can use your creativity to overcome any barriers TO your creativity. You are your only limitation. I am my only limitation to creativity. Let's not stand in our way! -- Doug Smith

Have you ever realized that a problem was a problem long after it started being a problem? It's easy to get used to some things. They could be minor changes. It might just slow you down. It's that construction zone on the way home that's been taking so long that you've gotten used to it and the extra five minutes it takes to arrive home. But it's there. We can't solve every problem. There's not much you can do about that construction zone. But, many of the problems we encounter can and should be solved. Especially when the problem gets in the way of achieving a goal. It may not be a problem until it gets in the way of your goal. Once it DOES get in the way of a goal, find a way thru it, find a way to get to it, find a way to solve that problem. Because you DO want to achieve that goal, don't you? -- Doug Smith

How young do you feel? Not how old are you but how young do you  feel ? How we feel about ourselves has much to do with how healthy we  are . Why not feel young? Why not feel younger than we are? Here's how I keep feeling younger - thru creativity. Making things. Writing things. Drawing things. Coming up with new solutions to old problems is creative. Finding reasons to BE happy (rather than otherwise) takes a certain level of creativity. Talking with others can even be creative. Instead of falling into a habitual pattern in your next conversation, try asking some creative and provocative questions. Questions like: What would you do if you had to trade places with your least favorite person? What are three ways you can think of to make your strongest relationship even stronger? What problems have you not thought of yet that could change your life? How many rooms should you have in your dream house? You get the idea. Keep it fun. Keep it curious. And, keep it c

Are your goals a secret? Whenever I keep a goal a secret, it gives me instant anonymous forgiveness to not achieve it. Who knows? Who cares? Whenever I TELL someone about a goal I am far more likely to achieve it. I don't ever want to explain why I didn't achieve a goal. The accountability factor multiples my efforts and increases my chance of success. Secret goals are seldom useful. Secret goals don't engage others, mobilize commitment, or bring about change with the energy of collaboration. Announce your goals. Tell people about them. Increase your chances for success. What's your goal for today? -- Doug Smith

How many goals are you working on? I'm not saying that you should have too many goals. A hundred should be plenty. (OK, you can pick yourself back up now, I don't actually expect anyone to list a hundred goals.) Creativity likes to be busy. Creativity likes idle time, too and if we're idle long enough the creative mind gets busy. Your goals stand a better chance of achievement when your creativity is cranked way up. So keep your creative mind busy and your creative impulses, ideas, notions, and results will multiply. The creative mind is always busy. We just need to pay attention. What is the creative side of your mind telling you right now? -- Doug Smith

Where do you test your best creative ideas? Not all creative ideas are the same. Some require a sort of close inspection with careful boundaries and controlled conditions, otherwise they will become impossible to work with or change into something we hadn't counted on. But not all creative ideas are like that. Some creative ideas benefit from a quick planting and careful observance to see how they're doing but are left to grow on their own. We tend to them, we remove obstacles and aberrations, but we let them grow naturally. Some creative ideas need a garden and some need a laboratory. If no one can get hurt, if you you've got lots of time, and if you want the unexpected to be welcome, plant your creative ideas in a garden like atmosphere of freedom and spontaneity. If the risks are high, the conditions are dangerous, and the talent is exposed to sudden change keep a laboratory-like grip on your creative conditions. Focus your attention on them but don't let

Have you ever had to work with someone who does not share your values? In all honesty, I think we all do that all the time. Our values are important, and we strive to live by them every day, but not everyone shares those values and yet we do need the help of people who have different values. It IS so much easier to work with people who share our values. Shared values build trust. Shared values build understanding. Shared values build collaboration. But sometimes we have to be a role model for those values and hope that our demonstration of our values in action will show their merit. By being a positive example of our values in action, we might just encourage other people to embrace those values. And by showing our willingness to work with people we disagree with we can show how we facilitate, rather than force, our way of living. It's harder to collaborate with people who don't share our values -- but not impossible. Who have you been avoiding because of their value