July, 27 2011

Imagination?

On a recent Sunday morning, Dean Koontz, the author of hundreds of books, (www.deankoontz.com) was asked in an interview how he created so much written material. He said (and I may be paraphrasing slightly) that imagination was like a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. My, oh, my…that answer of his set off a loud “BOING” in my head.

Imagination – how was my imagination? More to the point, when did I last spend time imagining? I couldn’t think of a recent instance when I actually spent time that was purposely devoted to imagining. I think I have let my “imagining” muscle get a little flaccid – and that’s too bad.

About three months ago, I encouraged our writing group to write a short (about 600 words) fictional piece. I remember now that I just loved doing mine. It allowed me a freedom that I hadn’t experienced in a while – I was actually imagining!

As a child I was a wild “imaginer.” We lived in the country. None of our neighbors had children so I often walked alone through the pretty fields and gardens. My mind was always working -- I imagined. Some of my grade school playmates were of modest means and when we played in the woods, we built imaginary structures. We then used our imaginations a lot. It’s such a shame that as an adult I have given so little importance to imagination.

Assuming that Dean Koontz is correct – if we imagine more, it will increase our ability to imagine even more – it seems imperative that we take on this task. It is good for us to have strong imagination muscles, which help us think of options for our real lives – which help us think of solutions – which enhance our everyday ability to have fun.

It would probably be good if we cut back on television and allowed ourselves some “nothing” time in which we could automatically imagine.

We can pretend. (While I may no longer want to be a princess, I still have the opportunity to conjure up other images for myself.) We can focus on an item and imagine other ways to use it. I can imagine myself in faraway places. I admit it – I need work in this area because I even have trouble imagining what I could imagine.

I salute you Dean Koontz – I subscribe fully to your belief -- Imagination is like a muscle and I am convinced that the more I use it the stronger it will become. That’s a very good thing!

July, 09 2011

The effect of fear

Being afraid is costing us! We need optimism to succeed.

Television, radio and the media generally (blogs, papers, twitter, etc.) produce dread and gloom to such an extent that we lose what the reality is in any given situation.

A LOT of people have been elected to office by scaring their constituency about their opponents and their views.

We are used to being frightened.

HELP! This isn't the world I was born into (I'm 73). Even though we had a World War then and my folks lost people in the holocaust, my family enjoyed laughing. They listened to the radio and watched films in movie theaters and they were not besieged with a repeated message of continuous horror.

Let's get some perspective. Turn OFF the TV. Be judicious about what you read and listen to. Hang out with happy people. Read fiction.

Everyone needs to fend for a balanced approach to information for themselves. Believe me, right now it's hard to find many who aren't out of kilter. Work at this and it will pay dividends...

June, 08 2011

Last year was surprising great!!!

I heard the statement, "last year was surpisingly good," more frequently than you can imagine from October through December. Many businesses, which were expecting to have the worse year ever because they read the Wall Street Journal every day, did very well. Some even had their best year EVER. Their owners grinned all the way to the bank but they did little more.

Why did life seem so good for them when Giants on Wall Street were in such trouble.

It was an interesting fact that Main Street lagged behind Wall Street. Many business owners (certainly not all) just counted their blessings and kept on doing what they had been doing.

They didn't analyze where their money was coming from or why their bottom line looked so good and NOW (two years later!) -- many are experiencing very tough times.

In some cases, these businesses didn't not tighten ship when the reports came in. The owners kept on people who were not producing. They may not have paid attention to the problems that some of their clients were voicing. The list could go on but it is not unusual to see delayed reactions to the economy that was the worst recession that we have seen since the 30's.

We don't have to be doom and gloom to keep expenses down. We can be confident and prudent at the same time. The lessons are important. Take heed.

May, 11 2011

How much do you love what you do?

What would it take for you to have excitement and joy in your business or on the job?

This is no idle question.

We work for money, of course. But we need to consider our health and well being.

We need to love our lives. Yes, they will often be stressful. Yes, we will have those days. And we can notice what pleases us and how best we can utilize our brilliance.

Everyone has a uniqueness. Building on that increases our productivity and pleasure.

Joseph Campbell used to say, "Follow Your Bliss."

Just a reminder.