doug smith training

I'm not a good dancer. I used to think that I was, but then I figured out that it was my partner who was such a good dancer that she could also make me feel like a good dancer. It was wonderful. And, when I realized later, when she'd moved on to a new partner, that I was NOT such a good dancer, at first I wanted to stop dancing. It was so disappointing. It was all just an illusion. And then, I realized. It didn't matter. There are degrees of dancing. Somewhere there are people who dance even better than my former partner. Somewhere there are people who can hardly dance at all. No matter where we start, in dancing or in leading, we can always level up. Start where we are and get better. And, realize that the dance is not about us at all anyway. The dance is, and always has been, about your partners. Your creative muse likes to dance. It will open up new roads to you. It will light you up and allow blood to flow to the places that make you tingle. Listen to that muse

It's easy to get distracted. Screens call out to us everywhere. Even a once peaceful wait in a reception area is now punctuated by a wide-screen TV. Heads down, we miss opportunities. Eyes locked on a screen, we miss the people around us. That screen might spark a little creativity in you but most of the time it might also be standing in the way. Let your mind wander. Pay attention to your surroundings. Let nature spark a little creativity in you. Flow with that creativity and give it your full attention. Not just a second, not just a moment, but your full attention. Creative notions have a habit of dissipating if we don't focus on them, pay attention to them, keep them alive. The creative life is not a part-time creative swipe. The creative life is rich, deep, and full AND very jealous of screen time. It would rather have you spend time being creative. The creative life wants your full attention. How are you doing with that? Creative Actions Take a wa

Are you in charge of your creativity? Do you play with new ideas, new textures, new techniques? Your creativity is yours to manage and it's also in your hands, literally. From another angle: your hands create. Think about a sculptor at work, her hands carefully forming her art. Her mind is completely engaged, maybe even in a flow, and her hands instinctively, creatively, know what to do. That only comes after hours of practice. Think about a concert pianist: the mind is involved, the heart is involved, and the hands are doing far more than running thru the paces of mechanical memory. The hands are creating tone, inflection, articulation, emphasis, texture, stylization, and yes even emotion. The hands add what the brain hasn't even imagined until it hears it coming straight from the hands. That level of synthesis only comes after many hours of practice. Name the format and the hands are there -- not just as a set of useful tools but also as generators of inspired cre

Expand your view. Let go of preconceptions. Wiggle loose your perceptions long enough to visualize more, ever more, possibilities. Are you locked into your thinking? Is your mind made up on certain concepts, designs, beliefs? It's easy to slip into a comfortable certainty about what we believe and to then accept that as absolute truth. How would we even know if absolute truth was absolute? What if we tested our beliefs? What if we did learn about opposite points of view? What if we did explore ideas that were radically different than our own? If our own truths are truly absolute, couldn't they withstand the most probing scrutiny and the most rigorous doubts? And if our beliefs are valid beyond doubting then couldn't they emerge confident after wandering through some divergent paths? What if we let down our guard and listed openly to a new idea? What if our version of the truth is incomplete and could benefit from cranking open the windows and breathing s

When you make videos with your mobile device, how do you hold the device? Vertical (portrait) or horizontal (landscape). Here's my thought on that: I know the production values on this video are sketchy but that's not the point. It's part of a series of quick creative musings designed to get you going creatively. Now. Enjoy one wonderful creative and inspirational day! -- Doug Smith

Send your inner judge out for milk and cookies.  Is your inner judge constantly working? Do you hear your inner critic finding fault with things? We need to be able to analyze. It's useful to be able to differentiate, evaluate, and decide. But, our inner judge is such a strong voice that it sometimes drowns out everything else. When that happens, nothing looks right. When that happens, our creativity suffers. Your creative muse is not in love with your inner judge. Your creative muse would like a break, now and then, from an endless stream of criticism. Some ideas are going to be wild. Some musings will be suspicious in usefulness. Some creations might fall apart eventually. But they all need time to percolate, time to brew, time to stew, and time to form legs enough of their own to survive the inner critic in us. So give your creativity a break from your inner judge. Your ideas will thank you for it. -- Doug Smith