doug smith training

Creative performance keeps the performer AND the performance fresh and fascinating. Stay creative! -- Doug Smith

What have you done lately to encourage someone else' creativity? Is that up to you? Maybe. What if there were someone in your life who was stuck and needed just enough encouragement to get creative enough to become unstuck? I'm sure that person exists. Someone, somewhere, needs just a little nudge from you to be more creative. Maybe it's seeing you draw. Maybe it's hearing about a creative project you're working on. Maybe you could sing together. Supporting someone else's creativity will boost your own. When we share creatively, our creativity grows. And that's a wonderful thing. Who do you know who needs some positive feedback on staying creative? Why not elevate their day? -- Doug Smith

What have you do creative today? Did you try a new breakfast? Did you draw something wild and beautiful? Did you write in your journal? Creativity thrives when we practice our creativity. We must stay busy in our creative world to keep our creative edge sharp. Any musician knows this. Any writer knows that when we write everyday we stand a much better chance of creating something remarkable. There is no substitute for practice. Your creative muse expects you to practice every day. Inspiration must be fed. Inspiration must be nurtured. Do you want to do amazingly creative things? Then do something creative every day. What's your next creative step today? -- 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

How extreme is your creativity? It can be hard to be a little creative. Once the creativity flows we tend to let it fly - full tilt, unhindered, unmasked, extreme. That can cause problems. Still we must remain creative. To achieve our goals, to solve our problems, we must remain creative. Extreme creativity is often misunderstood. "Why did you paint it THAT color?" "What on earth were you thinking?" "Did you know that would happen?" We can create something so new that people do not understand it. We can also create something that is distinctive yet flawed. I have at times created something that I loved so much that I failed to see its flaws. That's one reason I advocate collaborating in our creativity. Get help. Build a team. Work together. Our strengths left unchecked turn into weaknesses. Working creatively with other people frees us up while holding us up as well. We might need help seeing boundaries that are there for a reason. C

How bold is your creative challenge? Do you challenge yourself creatively, to do more, innovate more, surprise more, invent more? When we challenge ourselves first it makes it easier, and more credible, to challenge others. We all need more creative challenge. The world needs our creativity to fix its problems, change its sad story, bring peaceful relationships out and harmonize with more beauty and love. Does that sound too mushy? What world would you create? What would you like to see more of in the world? Create boldly. Challenge boldly. And, do it with peace and love. That's a tall order AND we can do it. It involves choices. Breathe before that next choice and choose peace and love. It's possible. Bold creativity challenges people without harming them. We can stretch. We must grow. Creativity keeps it all going. -- Doug Smith

How many strings are on a 12-string guitar? No, it's not a trick question, but if you're in my house on the right day, the answer could be eleven. That's not the right answer, but it is the true answer. Why? It's not intentional. The strings come in various gauges, simplified on the container as Light, Medium, and Extra Light (an interesting logic of its own) and the mediums are hard to find. Using light gauge strings on a 12-string guitar means that the thinnest string is so thin (.08 cm) that it's very easily broken. Sometimes, I can break a string while I'm tuning it, that's how easy they are to break. When that happens, it's eleven-string time until the next trip to the music store. If you don't tell anyone, an eleven-string guitar could go undetected for weeks (I've done it). The sound is pretty much the same and the strings are so close together to begin with that you'd need to really get close to see the gap. It's not ide

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

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

Do all the problems of the world sometimes seem overwhelming? What on earth can we do? What we can't do as individuals is solve them all. It's too much. I get tired just thinking about it. But, there is still much that we can do. There are problems that we can help solve. We can work together and focus on what matters most to us and set noble goals. Then, centered and creative we can achieve those goals. Once we realize it's not our job to solve every problem it becomes easier to solve the problems we are ready to solve. What problem are you ready to solve? -- Doug Smith doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals Front Range Leadership:  Training Supervisors for Success What have you learned today?

Do you enjoy thinking? I do: really deep, sometimes troubling, always exploring thinking about new ideas, new concepts, and ultimate changes. Not all the time (there IS work to be done!) but whenever possible. Those long moments waiting in line at the airport. That time between ordering a meal and having it arrive. Driving across Wyoming or Minnesota. Thinking. It's good for me and I'd like to think it's good for you, too. Think in different ways. Think without judging. Think creatively so that whatever emerges you are open to the difference. Think individually. Think collectively. Think expansively. Think. There are some great answers to be found there. What do you think? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  Training Supervisors for Success  doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

Is your mind truly open? I like to think that mine is but I know full well that there are times when it is closed. There are times when I'm not that interested in one more idea because the idea I hold seems complete and optimal. How do you know when the answer is complete? Maybe the answer is always forming. Maybe the solution is always evolving. Maybe the changing nature of the universe we know is constantly growing no matter how firm our boundaries seem to be. What do you think? Where do brilliant ideas come from? Imagine your best idea ever -- it was so good that you are still getting benefits from it. One of my best ideas ever was moving to Colorado. The circumstances have changed since, and there are days when I miss Pennsylvania (or New Jersey or Chicago, other places I've lived) but on the whole, taking the risk of moving to the Rocky Mountain State have greatly increased my possibilities. What's your next big risk? Is your mind open to it? Are you willin

Wouldn't it be great if there were one absolute answer to every problem? What if there were one universal tool that would always serve us, one magnificent process to problem solving forever and for always? There are many great problem solving processes. There are many great approaches to leadership. Styles change, tools grow, people evolve. One single answer seldom does the trick. That unsolved problem just might need a combination of solutions. Dig them up. Look them over. Try them again. Put them together like the pieces of an elaborate puzzle or the moves in an intricate game. There is an answer there. You just might have to fuse a few together. -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  Training Supervisors for Success  doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals

What do you do with your crazy ideas? When things are going their best I find that I let my crazy ideas in for a visit. I let them rise to the occasion. Instead of dismissing them as crazy (and some truly are and when they are can go harmlessly away) I entertain them. Give them tea and biscuits. Find a way to let them stay. Crazy ideas like: what if I could solve that silly problem by sharing it with my biggest competition? what if that collage became a picture to inspire my logo? what if my closest friend was actually standing in my way? what if my greatest fear was my biggest opportunity? What crazy ideas occur to you on a recurring basis? Could they be worth some more attention? A useful idea may sound crazy at first. Give it some room to breathe. Give it some space to grow. Entertain those crazy ideas for long enough to know if they really are crazy - or perhaps just plain creative enough to make a positive difference. What's your crazy idea of the day

Are you truly ready to achieve your goals? Do you have the resources, the team, the initiative, the energy to achieve even your toughest of goals? Or, are there problems standing in the way? Problems are not a bad thing. Yes, they are annoying. Yes, they can be energy draining. Yes, they get in our way. But they are paths to creativity. They are reasons for compassion. They are motivators for courage. And they are barometers for clarity. Figure out what you need to solve and then get started. If the goal is important, the problem is just a way to get there creatively. Sometimes we need to solve our problems before we can achieve our goals. Maybe today's one of those days... -- Doug Smith doug smith training:  how to achieve your goals Front Range Leadership:  Training Supervisors for Success