Читать книгу The 12 Secrets of Highly Successful Women - Gail McMeekin - Страница 19

Describe the ideal environment for your creative process. Imagine it in all its detail. What distracts and what stimulates you? Are you alone or with others? Is there music playing? Are you outdoors? What tools do you need? Are you at home or at a quaint inn? Knowing what sparks your creative fire allows you to make that space. Lots of creative people talk about having a studio or room of their own.

Kay, a painter I know, can paint anywhere that's light enough if she has her female jazz singers serenading her in the background. Music is her cue to let go and play with her colors. Trudie, a landscape architect, built an office for herself above the garage. As she lives in the city and doesn't have a view of trees, her office walls are plastered with pictures of plants and trees and gardens, and she has silk flowers all over. her outdoor carpet spreads out like a lawn, and her desk is a table inside a rickety old trellis with strings of vines and garden tools attached to it. She keeps bags of dirt and peat moss in the corner so she can smell them and pretend she's in the garden. You know what business she's in by looking at her workspace. Even if you only have a small space, make it your own and fill it with personal catalysts.

Sometimes when you have a business problem or feel stuck on a decision, nothing seems to help. Sit quietly and ask your intuitive guide for suggestions. You can also write yourself a note requesting an answer and put it in a drawer and let go for a while. Or you can change the format of your project or question and see what happens. I often find that drawing a picture of what I'm trying to write about opens up new angles.

Other innovators try techniques like turning a project upside down or sideways, miniaturizing it, making it into a story, photographing it, or discussing it with a child. These configurations often cut through the haze. You've heard tales of inventions that were actually mistakes or the result of a hairbrained scheme. Experiment with your dilemma and watch the solution appear.

Experiment with your dilemma and watch the solution appear.

Comparisons are also helpful. For example, Barbara's intuition urged her to ponder how her decision about whether or not to cut staff was like a tree. So she bundled up in her parka and went out to look at the oak in her front yard. She finally realized that her employees were like the roots of her company; they held the tree up. Cutting an employee was like chopping off a necessary root—yet she had to cut the payroll. So she went back into the house and began to draft plans for reduced hours, part-time positions, and job-sharing. honor your intuitive messages and allow them to help you.