doug smith training

Have you ever been fooled into following what you thought was your creative muse only to discover that it was an excuse for bad behavior? There's nothing about anti-social or criminal behavior -- nothing -- that makes a person creative. It's possible to feel a sense of excitement from danger that may feel like a burst of creativity, but don't be fooled. Your true creative muse, your resident inner artist, the creator within the creator, would never do harm intentionally in the name of artistic license or creative freedom. We are all creative, we are all valuable, we must all take care to take care of each other.  Thrills, selfish inclinations, and power seeking sinfulness can all mask as a creative impulse but they are poor imitators indeed. Artists can easily differentiate these imitators from their real muse when they take the time to assess, and then apply, and then live by a set of noble values. The creative muse in not a thing, or an impulse, or even a spirit. Th...

Do you like to dance? Do you skillfully combine the carefully practiced steps that let your partner know where you are going and let you flow effortlessly with other dancers? Do you respond to dancing nuances, new leads, new ideas for leads? It takes more than a life time to master and yet your ability to execute on the physical requirements of the skill and knowledge you acquired diminishes as you age. Is that the end of your dancing? The creative muse can keep its distance, like a stranger dancing with you for the first time, scoping you out. In the more than a life time that it takes to fully actualize your creative muse your physical (and perhaps mental) abilities may slow and degrade but the dance is most decidedly not over. The true dance has just begun. Flow with the one who brought you, go as far as you can with what you still hold and then dig, dig, dig, until you've dug a new way, a new dream, a new way to dance. Build more time, energy, skills, knowledge, d...

Are you in good physical shape? Do you know how it feels when your muscles are strong, exercised, and flexible? Have you felt that way today? You play the major role in determining the fitness of your muscles. Left ignored and under-utilized, the muscles become less effective. Neglected long enough, they can even atrophy. The creative muse likes activity. It conditions, like a muscle, under exercise and nutrition. It responds with ever greater efficiency and effectiveness the more that it is exercised. Have you exercised your creative muscles today? -- doug smith

from now on do not stifle yourself dig in dig it like that jazz player so deeply immersed in the lines in the moment in the  lingo that no amount of discouragement or judgment can bump the surface or flat a note sharp is how we are born so keep that face keep that pace keep that race from detouring you and your creative muse because your creative muse already knows what you want to say so go ahead and let the creative muse play -- doug smith

Where do you look for your own creative muse? It may be there. It may sometimes hit you exactly as you expect or precisely as it has before. It may also surprise you by hiding out in the least likely places -- in your own back yard, at a volunteer community service project, at the local fire station, in your public library, in your local hardware store, on a farm, anywhere and everywhere you can think -- and catch a new spark, a new connection. You can find the creative muse communing with the unexpected. Are you ready? -- doug smith

What are your "office hours" for creativity? Are some times of the day better for you than others? Do you enjoy periods of creative peak activity when you might work creatively for extended hours? That's OK because your creative muse works overtime. No time and a half or shift differential is needed, either. Just keep your focus, keep moving on your creative impulses and your muse will tag along. No questions asked, no explanation necessary, no deposit no return. -- doug smith

Have you ever excused yourself from creating because you weren't in the mood? Have you ever talked yourself out of an important piece of work or creative activity because your mood was all wrong? How did that feel? Did it help or hinder your mood? Creativity likes all moods. The creative muse doesn't care about your mood swings. It won't run and hide from you just because you aren't feeling at your best. The creative muse can help you with that. So what if you're not in the mood to create? Create anyway. Make something. Design something. Paint, play, write, tune, dance, cut-and-paste-something -- just go ahead as if the mood were optimal and guess what? Your mood will mysteriously rise to the occasion. Do something really great -- create! -- doug smith

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're being creative, should you go for quality or quantity? That's my question today in my morning walk Creative Notion. What do you think? -- Doug Smith