Organic Hat

Creativity Is Easy and Not Easy To Find

 

Creativity is often one of those words meaning everything and nothing at the same time depending on your relationship to it the moment it pops into your head or you see it staring at you from a webpage. If you’re moving forward on a project it might mean you are in a creative flow, on the other hand if you find yourself stuck and have no idea on how to proceed creativity may feel like a noose around your mind, becoming tighter and tighter.

 

Creativity of course means whatever we want it to mean, it’s personal for each of us, we decide how we understand it and how we either embrace or discard what others offer us as a definition. We also decide as we read or listen about how to tease out more creativity in our work whether there is anything worthwhile being shared. And it’s this very meaning-meaninglessness that makes creativity so powerful. Creativity is what we make or don’t make of it.

 

In a flash creativity is conceived with intention and birthed with attention. And once formed it can just as quickly disperse in a gray cloud of despair and disbelief. The only thing creativity demands of us is openness to the moment, give it that and you may catch it as the next moment rolls around

 

Open yourself to the moment and #Creativity will show itself Click To Tweet

 

I came across the this brickwork of an article a couple of days ago, it’s made up of paragraphs each from a different article. That’s right, each excerpt below was taken from an original source to create something different yet not different. I applaud Tanner Christensen for the work and invite you to read the short excerpt I’ve pasted below and maybe view it in its entirety.

 

• Creativity is not the lone genius myth, it is actually the result of connectedness. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.
• It is about knowing what and how to observe and directing your attention accordingly: what details do you focus on? What details do you omit? And how do you take in and capture those details that you do choose to zoom in on? In other words, how do you maximize your brain attic’s potential? …Everything we choose to notice has the potential to become a future furnishing of our attics.
• Catch the drifting as it happens, refocus, then repeat as necessary. That’s it.
• “Your ability to recognize what your mind is engaging with, and control that, is really a core

…

Online Creative Work Is As Close As Your Imagination

 

You hear it all the time, try freelance writing work out of your home, but these dry as dust non fiction jobs hold no interest for you. You’re a creative bent and you would like to use those skills in some sort of online creative work. Could you really make great money from freelance creative writing jobs? It’s possible, but not simple. The internet is replete with web blogging, copy and article writing job listings – excellent resources if you need to make a living from your writing ability. but most of these opportunities offer little in the way of what me considered an online creative challenge.

 

Openings for creative writing appear to be few and far between, at least on first look. There are various opportunities available for creative freelancers though. Remember that if all else fails, it is also possible to allow your imagination to transform the most sedate and dry matters into something you’ve not yet thought of. Many authors do manage to make a great living from freelance writing while staying true to their innovative side. The first step is to look at the different niche markets for your type of creative writing. There are various publications, both online as well as offline that buy essays, fiction, and poetry.

 

Locate these and look for means to work out of your home as a freelance author for them. There are various popular magazines, both print and on-line publications that buy creative pieces from freelancers. Examine versions of magazines like The New Yorker to get a notion of the type of articles in demand. There are various greeting card companies that purchase poetry for their cards covering a broad variety of occasions. Whether you’ve a nack for that kind of writing, this can be just the right option for you. This could prove very lucrative for all those gifted few who may deliver quality verse.

 

The demand isn’t seasonal, as anniversaries, special events, festive seasons and birthdays wind up addressing the whole year. The industry isn’t impacted by downs and ups in the economy. While this might initially appear to be just the opposite of the type of work an innovative author is searching for, the marketplace can offer a lot of space to loosen the reins on your creativity. Good writers understand that it’s quite possible to blend creative writing ability with the accounts to add more curiosity and depth to the piece. There are various other possibilities that permit you to display your creative writing ability.

 

Here is a place to start researching what’s available, Indeed.om and dozens more of quality listings are but a search away… Good Luck…

An idea can appear as if from nowhere
when we quiet and open our minds.

 

How often have you wondered if there might be an easy way to get to all the ideas popping in and out of your consciousness. You know your mind is full of good ideas, yet they seem out of reach when you need them the most. Maybe you’ve tried hitting your skull with a Nerf bat or maybe you’ve drank a quadruple latte with 5 sugars, yet nothing usable has made itself available to you.

 

What can you do to loosen the fruit from the tree? How does someone meet a deadline when An Idea Can Appear From Nowhere in its own sweet time?

 

One of the keys is to spend more time in the flow of ideas and to train yourself and your mind in the art of the flow. Spend more time being quiet and open to all the chatter constantly making itself known in your consciousness. Try meditating or maybe reading more will aid you in getting more in touch with your mind’s flow.

 

One of my favorite ways to have a better functioning mind is to Walk everyday – Creative thinkers who walked nearly everyday day have included Beethoven, Virginia Woolf. Steve Jobs, Charles Dickens and Aristotle. These walkers were not getting outdoors for the sole purpose of walking fast and getting it done, no they would wander sometimes for hours taking in the sights and sounds of the trails and cities as they walked. Steve Jobs like to hold important meeting with his team while they walked. Of course walking for hours is not always practical, but 20+ minutes each day can fit everyone’s schedule.

 

Walking can almost effortlessly create an environment where an idea can appear from nowhere. Who knows out of nowhere might become a bountiful place you’ll want to spend time visiting more and more. Always remember, Ideas Are Waiting for you to find them.

 

And here’s an article from Stanford that found walking improves creativity, it’s short and a good read. If you see me on my daily walk give me a wave… 🙂…

Employees engage with employers and brands
when they’re treated as humans worthy of respect.

Meghan Biro

 

One thing that will remain true till infinity is; an employee who is treated well will go the extra mile for your business. Think about that for a moment, and also think about how great it would be if each of your employees used some of that extra mile enthusiasm to promote your business outside of work by talking about it on social media. If you’re anything like me that thought will make you sleep well tonight.

 

Making the effort to engage your employees is neither time consuming nor expensive it mostly requires you to make a commitment to interact with and treat each employee as a valuable person as well as an asset to your business.

 

Start off by encouraging your employees to post news about the company they find exciting and news worthy. When posting they need to do more than upload an image, they need to write some text and possibly add a link to a larger story or resource. Perhaps something like; “I’m excited about a new product or service we just rolled out and wanted to share it with everyone.”

 

If the words posted are not authentic people will pick up on that and treat the announcement as nothing but another advertisement. Inauthentic is no way to grab the interest of customers nor is it a good way to engage your employees. Have a 30 minute workshop on how employees can relate online.

 

Reward both employees and customers with discounts, mentions in the newsletter or even extra entries into an in house contest. those who are getting lots of notices and results online deserve recognition, be creative in your approach.

 

Another approach is to create in house teams that can be sent to events and trade shows wearing company gear. Start an group ambassador program and of course cover the events costs generously. Having 4 or 5 employees wandering the halls of a trade show asking questions and handing out info will make a huge impression and it will engage your employees.

 

I picked a good number of articles with lots of fresh and interesting ideas for you to use to engage your employees. Take a look below and please take a moment to give the most helpful ones a couple of thumbs up… Thanks

 

 

Dispirited, unmotivated, unappreciated workers
cannot compete in a highly competitive world.

Francis Hesselbein

 

 …

We’ve all spent more time than we care to remember visiting those desolate islands deep within our mind, the places where ideas cease to bloom where new ideas are devoured by shadows, and inspiration is snuffed out like a match in a dirty puddle.

You, me, and everyone who’s ever written or typed a few lines with the hope of making a difference in a reader’s life have all been drawn into that dark place from time to time. I call it the desert, I’ve heard it called other names including Tar Pit and Anxiety Hotel. My favorite is, No Exit, an arid place no one is eager to revisit anytime soon.

But the good news is, each of us has made it back ( I hope ) or nearly back with new ideas and mental outlines as to what we’ll write next.

There are many avenues to travel to lead ourselves out of the these idea wastelands but I’ve found it’s easier to avoid visiting them in the first place, rather than digging one’s way out.

“Don’t let your people fall into a rut. Keep leading them along new paths, blazing new trails. Give them a sense of adventurous pioneering.” David Ogilvy

The big culprit turns out to be the constant distractions that have become part of our daily lives. Social Media, Cell Phones, Notifications and Steaming have collectively added up to a wall of noise wrapping itself around our most prized possession, our ability to be attentive to the task at hand. It’s as if technology has become a ravenous horde screaming at us for our attention.

And these distractions and noises not only degrade our abilities to find and create new ideas and unique visions for articles and blog posts, these distractions degrade the quality of the content we do manage to create.

Our readers are equally distracted by the constant stream of distractions and noise. making it even harder for us to communicate and engage with them.

It’s necessary that each of us create content that will grab and hold their attention, filling pages and tweeting everyday is no longer good enough.

Take Back Your Own Attention

Before we can grab our readers attention we need to corral our own attention so we can turn down the noise and ignore the distractions. How important is this? Recent studies have shown that when we become distracted it can take up to 20 minutes to regain focus.(Brain Interrupted) Three or four distractions every hour results in our never fully gaining our best focus, never fully doing our best content creation.

• Refocus on the moment. When you get the urge to check social media or you hear an interesting conversation between co-workers tell yourself “Focus” and inhale – exhale slowly 3 or 4 times reminding yourself to make the most out of this moment and what you’re doing. The more often you pull yourself back the easier it will become to focus.
• Keep some type of journal. Chronicle the

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In the late 1960’s early 1970’s upon a mountain ridge in the very small town of Chelsea Vermont a few people built a Wind-Harp of 50 stainless steel strings standing nearly 20 feet in the air. To listen to the weird wonderful melodies you had to climb the mountain and hope the wind was cooperating, it usually was. Here’s slice of a recording Wind Harp Song on YouTube.

The first Wind Harp itself was created atop a mountain in some spot on earth long ago forgotten, but even though it is not an uncommon creation down through history each one is a creative rebirth of the original one. Possibly more important than the Wind Harp itself is how it touches each of those lucky enough to make the trek to sit and listen to the mysterious music emanating from it. Wind Harp Links

I was lucky enough to make the trek to the Wind Harp in Chelsea Vermont while it was still there, and it was the thought of that trek and the resulting experience that flooded back into my conscious memory while I gazed out my office window wondering how I would construct this blog post on Creative Blogging.

It’s not hard to connect the two seemingly disparate subjects of Wind Harps and Creative Blogging when you give it a little thought. Each in its own way gives to the reader or listener a combination of inspiration and engagement of the mind, leaving them with something they can use in their lives. That’s the hope of course not necessarily the reality.

So creative blogging, wind harps and anything else we put time, imagination, and sweat into result in something that will inspire those who make the effort to trek up a mountain trail or gaze upon a glowing screen in hopes of expanding some part of their life’s experience and knowledge.

If we want those who read our work to come away with something of lasting value we must tune into a deeper creativity than what our competitors and peers are tuning into. But in the end, our only real competition is with ourselves.

5 Additions To Energize Your Creative Blogging

ONE: A great place to get a head start is with Doodling. It doesn’t matter if you can draw, the important thing is jumping in and taking a risk. Tablets make combining doodles with pictures and icons wonderfully easy, but having the ability to quickly scan a few scribbles into your computer works as well.

Start off by choosing a few black and white icons that relate to what your blog post is about and draw a few additions on paper or screen that look good with the icons. Your doodle might be a couple of trees, a street sign, stick figures or even a city space as a background for your icons. Using words that are hand printed can add some very interesting feel to your post.

The trick is to start slow and use your doodling …

If you have a business that runs online-only or you have a mortar or brick business together with a sales website, you will need to add an e-commerce website. Though the major goal of the website is to improve the product’s traffic, there are many other reasons which make people add blogs to e-commerce sites. The importance of adding a blog to the e-commerce site include:

 

Engine Optimization Search

You must be looking towards investing resources and time to acquire more traffic in your e-commerce related website. With a blog, you will have an effective way and a method that is free for you to engage in the process. When you have a lot of content, the website is likely to index even more. There are different kinds of prospective clients you will come across as you form the website. For you to come up with great results, get to infuse the different blog posts with the end of trending keywords.

 

Branded as Industry Experts

Many kinds of e-commerce websites as seen in proofwearable.com get to utilize their blogs as an industry expert brand. Also, the blog posts come with tricks and tips which target the audience involved in the search of different tutorials with the current one being the breaking industry news. As you add the blog posts with sales information for purposes of branding, one should focus more on the customer’s value addition.

Engagement of Customers

Rather than having a website that is visited by clients as they buy products only, have a blog that guides customers on what is taking place in different instances. You will achieve this in different ways. As you sell the products involved in weight loss, it is best to share stories that are client-related. The kind of story you offer may be inspirational and the nature in which a given business came into existence. Also, ensure videos and photos in the ecommerce site comes with product images that a person sells from time to time. The blog as well offers an additional place that gives the best utilization of visuals which are useful in the client engagement process.

 

Helps Make Announcements

Though you may be making announcements on the opt-in email marketing and e-commerce website, the new blog as well offers customers an excellent place to make an announcement. From this place, the clients will get to learn about the latest updates and news. These announcements may be information on the new products in the market or answer to the questions which are frequently asked. Also, you may have announcements on what the company wishes to share and seasonal promotions and company-related information.

 

Gives a Boost on Conversion Rates

With the aid of an e-commerce blog, you will get the chance of attracting more traffic to the website. At the same time, the e-commerce blog will ensure you increase the conversations. With the blog, you will certainly feel much more relatable and credible. This way, you will offer …