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May 26, 2019

Creativity and the Role it plays in Successful Organizations

What is Creativity and Why Should We Employ It?

Most children are considered creative or even highly creative. Children tend to think the world is an extravaganza and so they rise to the occasion. Their imaginations are loaded with fun filled escapades and action adventures. They believe in magic and tooth fairies and if you ask them what they want to be when they grow up they will tell you they want to be Doctors, Veterinarians and Astronauts (Fatherly, 2019). For most children, inventiveness knows no bounds. Creativity flourishes because of curiosity, courage, instinct, non-conformity and more (Schuster, 2006). The key may be that they are not afraid to be wrong or make mistakes. Children seem to be born with an innate ability to believe in the impossible (Robinson, 2017). A famous study conducted over many years by George Land (1968), concluded that it is the non-creative behavior that is learned. Land had devised an assessment test for NASA to assist in their selection of engineers and scientist that would show the most innovative among them. The test was such a success that he decided to conduct the same test on a group that consisted of sixteen hundred children. Creativity was tested at five, ten and fifteen years of age. Results showed that 5 year olds tested at 98% creativity, 10 year olds at 30%, and 15 year olds were at 12%. That same test was given to 280,000 adults and showed only 2% creativity (Ainsworth-Land & Jarman, 2000). These results are staggering. And other researchers have reached comparable results with similar tests. For instance, one study of 272,599 students found that since 1990, IQ scores have increased while the scores of creative thinking based tests fall off dramatically (Kim, 2011).

Because worldwide educational systems were created for the industrial revolution, the top of the academic hierarchy are math and language, followed by the humanities and at the very bottom is where you will find the arts. Unfortunately, this hierarchy of subjects in schools and universities predispose us to unlearning our creativity (Robinson, 2006). Children are known for taking chances but then (unfortunately), parents, peers, and education gets a hold of them. For most children the visionary spirit will dissipate with age and a little bit more with each new school year. Standardized tests, rote learning, rules and limitations stifle creative juices (Wood, 2017). How do we get back what we have lost? Is it possible? What would/does creativity look like in adulthood?

Linda Naiman, the founder of “Creativity at Work” (2019), suggests that creativity is not made up of one thing. Creativity is a multifaceted set of skills. These skills include, but are not limited to, being able to uncover concealed patterns by looking at the world in new ways, taking unrelated phenomena and finding correlations, and being solution oriented (Naiman, 2019). And according to Sir Ken Robinson, creative ideas also need to have value (2006). This suggests that a creative mind is also a resourceful, inspired and enterprising mind. This indication proposes that it (creativity) is the gateway to incredible progress in all things (personal, social and/or professional) and can be responsible for realizing successes (Khalil, R., Godde, B., & Karim, A. A., 2019).

Creativity in this Era of Economic Productivity and How to Facilitate It

Looking at the timeline, we have come so far and we have grown so much. It is the 21^stcentury; home to the rise of global economy (and downturn) and powerful private enterprise, a time of government mistrust, millennia’s and the coming of age of generation Z (Fox, 2019). It (the 21^stcentury) is also known as the digital age and to some, the creative age. Economic productivity is compelled by knowledge for the first time in history. And this attention to productivity has become a fundamental resource held by most corporations and organizations; it has permeated our manufactured goods, and has become the representation of employability among individuals (Seltzer & Bentley, 2001). To excel and prosper in a system that requires people to engage in inventive approaches of knowledge, people need to be able to think on their own and one might argue, most importantly, to think outside the box. The emergence of creativity has never been more important. Edward de Bono (1992) argued, “There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns” (Edward, 2019).

It is hopeful that creativity is not an innate talent or individual characteristic. It is the implementation of understanding and competence to attain a valued goal and the importance of establishing environments that foster creativity (Seltzer & Bentley, 2001). Evidence from case studies that can and need to be applied to the corporate environment, shows key elements that are necessary to foster and encourage the creative mind. For starters trust is an important factor because if colleagues and peers form trusting relationships they are more prone to take risks and to learn from mistakes. Being able to make real decisions and choices on how tasks are performed supports freedom of action and is crucial for creative practice. There also needs to be a balance between skills and objectives since people can only flourish if they have the right expertise to meet the challenges. One of the more important features of initiating creative environments in is the promotion of open dialogue and communication. When concepts, assessments, and analysis are perpetually exchanged, new solutions can be reached and/or found. Lastly, it has been shown that creative capacity and enthusiasm are strengthened when solution oriented based activities lead to change and genuine results (Seltzer & Bentley, 2001).

The Importance of Divergent Thinking for Interaction and Participation

In this new result driven world, skill sets become obsolete quickly and it is crucial for people, cultures and organizations to employ a growth mind-set in order to keep up with these ever changing times. People need to be prepared and well equipped to solve problems that have many feasible solutions. Even politicians and governments are not immune to the consequences of these changes. Problems of today are vast as the world becomes smaller through technology. We can only hope that the leaders of today are ready and willing to explore and set new precedence as the laws and rules of yesterday become antiquated. As technology advances and opportunism becomes common practice, everyone from business owners and corporate leaders, to individuals of every social class must seek ways to increase their value to avoid becoming defunct (Bersin, 2017). Corporate companies are not impervious to these changes and some of them, like in the retail sector actually find themselves in the front lines. Executives must constantly and relentlessly explore many possible solutions for staying relevant in the eyes of the consumer and they do this by wielding a great amount of creative thinking skills among top executives. They know that as times change it becomes even more necessary for creative leaders to be adaptable as the pressures to transform and reorganize the corporate structure becomes inevitable. Apple, for instance, is a company that encourages expansive thinking and has been at the top of the most innovative companies list for 11 years in row (Ringel, 2018). They are one of many companies meeting the changing expectations by creating “experiences” within their storefronts. Another prime example of this type of retailer to customer experience is the one created by Starbucks. They not only have seasonal beverages but they have created a space that invites prolonged visits with their alternative music and welcoming interior. Target is jumping on this consumer experience bandwagon too. The retail chain is in the process of reimaging their stores to include two separate entrances so the visitors can “choose theirown adventure.”One door leads to a grab and go adventure for food, wine and online order pickups, while the other door leads to home, electronics, fashion and beauty displays (Langly, 2017).

The theme has become clear in that this new age brings with it the dire need for innovation, ideation, and mental flexibility. Creativity must be the driving force and at the forefront of structural business models and agendas. One-dimensional intelligence has shifted and evolved so that in its place we have a great obligation to find competitive advantages that yield unprecedented results (Hunter, 2013). To approach life from a corporate structure seems relevant since outcomes are contingent on the creation and implementation of ideas, theories, and considerations. In order to grow, the capability for dissecting the issues in new and creative ways is essential to becoming solution oriented in order to solve today’s problems. “Creative problem solving” refers to “any activity during which an individual, team, or organization attempts to produce novel solutions to ill-defined problems” (Puccio, 1999. p. 171). We must be adaptive and flexible as we seek to keep pace with innovation. Studies have shown that creative people exhibit flexibility and if the problem elicits divergent thinking, then a person can come to many conclusions. This provides that this kind of adaptability gives people the capacity to manage new technologies, circumstances, developments, advances, opportunities and changes that have become a staple in modern day-to-day existence (Runco, 2014). This also shows us that in order for advancement to occur, leaders must emulate creativity to help drive productivity and change.

The Importance of Creative Leadership Across Spectrums

Innovation and creativity has been at the epicenter of business models for centuries but now a rising need for innovative and creative leadership skills has become the flagship for generating success and sustainability. While it is essential for creative leaders to inspire people to generate new ideas, they first need to be able to recruit suitable people since it is a proven model that the greatest successes stem from the initiatives of the workers. In a study conducted by Amabile and Khaire (2008) at Harvard Business, over one-hundred leaders came together over two days to discuss management creativity and in the end the common sentiment was that one doesn’t manage creativity. One managesforcreativity (Amabile & Khaire, 2008). The need for internal contribution overall among employees has replaced the old model of top down management. One of the participants, a partner at IDEO, Diego Rodriquez said, “Consider the examples of InnoCentive, of Mozilla, of Wikipedia, all are contexts that bring in lots of contributors. And the fundamental structure of such networked organizations is not centralized and top-down. People don’t do what they do because someone told them to do it. Contributing to an interdependent network is its own reward.” A Professor at Stanford University’s School of Engineering, Robert Sutton, commented that the hierarchical company structures (including the inequalities in salaries) of yesterday’s businesses do not encourage the exchange of ideas. Another of Suttons ideas was that leaders needed to define “superstars” within their organizations as those people who assist, collaborate and help others to flourish and succeed (Amabile & Khaire, 2008). Leaders of today should encourage collaboration. By bridging gaps and cultivating team efforts, creative connections are forged that can ignite momentous ideas and innovations that can and will continue to change world in new and significant ways (Johansson, 2004).

Frans Johansson, the author of The Medici Effect (2004), explores what can happen when people from diverse disciplines, cultures and industries come together. Johansson feels his theory is simple in that what can be found at the intersection of differing viewpoints can be a substantial number of exceptional new ideas. The story and origin behind the name “The Medici Effect” in and of itself, is one of great influence and inspiration. Named after a banking family in Florence, the Medici’s, they encouraged creators of all kinds by financing their relocations to Florence. They brought together philosophers, scientists, poets, financiers, painters, sculptors and architects that would go on to engage with one another and learn from each other. The cultural differences and barriers were broken down to forge a new world based on new ideas – and the impact of that time, what we know as the Renaissance period, can still be felt today (Johansson, 2004).

The Medici Effect touches upon something quite significant that our modern day leaders, politicians, universities and even individual families can learn from; creative collaboration can be the catalyst for change and positive results (Johansson, 2004). Societies, industries and companies can benefit and bring about creative discoveries by engaging people from different disciplines and cultures so that new ideas can come to life.

A survey conducted by the Forrester Consulting firm for the Adobe Corporation (2014), showed that a company’s success is measured by its creative practices, culture and perspective. Some of the key findings in this study were that companies that promote creativity reach remarkable revenue growth and that creative companies actually benefit by obtaining greater market share and win recognition for great places to work. One survey result of great significance shows that it does not matter what type of industry and/or type of business, leaders and executives should promote, finance, and cultivate programs to increase creative capability (Forrester, 2014).

This research shows, that a vital key component to success is in fact creativity as it relates to forging special bonds, attracting clients, brand building and brand recognition. Therefore companies should pursue creativity as a veritable and real business objective. Recommendations for team leaders are to encourage a creative mindset, initiate rewards, and make sure executives are committed to including creativity in the business plans, strategies and agendas (Forrester, 2014). Implementing creativity into the workplace is a pivotal course of action that should take precedence if companies hope to compete, excel and succeed in this ever-changing global economy.

References

Ainsworth-Land, G., & Jarman, B. (2000). Breakpoint and beyond. Champaign, Ill.: HarperBusiness.

Amabile, T., & Khaire, M. (2008). Creativity and the role of the leader. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2008/10/creativity-and-the-role-of-the-leader

Bersin, J. (2017). Catch the wave: The 21st-century career.Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/deloitte-review/issue-21/changing-nature-of-careers-in-21st-century.html

Edward, d. (2019). A quote by Edward de Bono. [online] Goodreads.com. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/357270-there-is-no-doubt-that-creativity-is-the-most-important [Accessed 20 May 2019].

Fatherly. (2019). The 2017 Imagination Report: What Kids Want to Be When They Grow Up. [online] Available at: https://www.fatherly.com/love-money/work-money/the-2017-imagination-report-what-kids-want-to-be-when-they-grow-up/ [Accessed 20 May 2019].

Forrester. (2014). Thought leadership whitepaper” Forrester Consulting. Retrieved from https://landing.adobe.com/dam/downloads/whitepapers/55563.en.creative-dividends.pdf

Hunter, G. (2013). Out think. San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass.

Khalil, R., Godde, B., & Karim, A. A. (2019). The Link Between Creativity, Cognition, and Creative Drives and Underlying Neural Mechanisms. Frontiers in Neural Circuits, N.PAG. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=135494899&site=eds-live&scope=site

Kier, A. and McMullen, J. (2018). Entrepreneurial Imaginativeness in New Venture Ideation. Academy of Management Journal, 61(6), pp.2265-2295.

Kim, K. (2011). The Creativity Crisis: The Decrease in Creative Thinking Scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 23(4), 285-295. doi: 10.1080/10400419.2011.627805

Landry, L. (2017). The importance of creativity in business. [online] Northeastern University Graduate Programs. Available at: https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/creativity-importance-in-business/ [Accessed 17 May 2019].

Naiman, L. (2019). What is creativity?(And why is it a crucial factor for business success?).[online] Creativity at Work. Available at: https://www.creativityatwork.com/2014/02/17/what-is-creativity/ [Accessed 20 May 2019].

Puccio, G. J. 1999. Creative problem solving preferences: Their identification and implications. Creativity and Innovation Management, 8: 171–178.

Ringel, M. (2018). Most Innovative Companies 2018: Innovation and Digital. Retrieved from https://www.bcg.com/publications/collections/most-innovative-companies-2018.aspx

Robinson, S. K.(2006). Do schools kill creativity?. [online] Ted.com. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity/discussion?referrer=playlist-re_imagining_school#t-3919 [Accessed 20 May 2019].

Runco, M. (2014). Creativity. Amsterdam [etc.]: Academic Press.

Seltzer, K. and Bentley, T. (2001). The creative age. London: Demos.

Schuster, M. (2006). [The concept of creativity–and everyday creativity]. – PubMed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17170469/ [Accessed 20 May 2019].

Wood, P. (2017). Is school ‘killing’ your child’s creativity? And does this matter?. [online] ABC News. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-15/schools-and-teaching-are-they-killing-creativity/8271362 [Accessed 20 May 2019].

Photo Source: https://wallpapersite.com/cute/girl-snail-sun-light-butterflies-landscape-dream-nature-4k-12982.html

By pcarlson Category: Abraham Lincoln, abundance, abused children, achieve, adaptation, advise, affection, anais nin, andrew carnegie, anger, answers, attraction, beliefs, benjamin franklin, Bill Gates, birds, blog, breath, calm, celebrating, comfort zone, commitment, confession, confidence, courage, cover up, create, Creativity, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurism, experiment, faith, Featured, happiness, happy, ideologies, inspiration, integrity, intention, love, manifestation, Recent Posts, self motivation, trust, Uncategorized

Feb 19, 2018

Karma Rides Again

Where do you go when you go away? And I don’t mean away on vacation or for an afternoon walk. I mean where do you go when you step away from who you thought you were?

Why do you go back to where the patterns of your past have a hold on you? It makes me wonder where I’ve been all this time.

What do you say to yourself that helps you break free? I find myself wanting to revisit what I learned to figure out if the lessons mattered.

When you’ve been away from the page as long as I have, you can be intimidated by the empty space. If you’re like me, it is all an eye opener. We all know change is scary. And I’ve been through enough changes in the last 3 years to feel upside down now.

How honest will we be with ourselves? Well I’m optimistic that with every truth I utter I will come closer to salvation. Karma rides again and I must be that much closer to 0 balance.

I hope my bright and cheery disposition wins even if sometimes behind closed doors I’m crying. I’m human. I’m not a bulldozer of strength that can withstand all the trials and tribulations I find myself in.

I have figured out there’s really good news. We are a cornacopia of resources. Just like for every physical ailment there is an emotional attachment, for every circumstance there is a lesson.

I’ve decided my best way to tackle the vast empty space is to take each line one at a time and put one word at a time in it’s place. Like a card reading, it’s time to investigate the moments in comparison to the past that created it.

Here is where we will set new intentions for the future. An experiment in trust, humility and integrity. Using the lunar new year as a celebration of life, we set our resolution. There is strength in recognition. Power in prayer. Answers in meditation. Art in doing nothing. Epiphanies in silence.

Time to get out of the thinking mind and into the doing state of existence.

What will your explorations say about you?

By pcarlson Category: abundance, achieve, adaptation, answers, awareness, behavior, beliefs, blog, celebrating, change, clarity, confession, confidence, courage, create, experiment, faith, Featured, happiness, hope, inspiration, integrity, intention, love, manifestation, patience, Recent Posts, self motivation, trust, Uncategorized

Feb 10, 2017

Getting In The Zone

You ever get lost in a good song or zone out when someone is talking to you? What happens when you’re deep in prayer? Ever arrive somewhere in your car and think “How did I get here so fast?” These are all versions of a very relaxed comfortable state of mind. This is when you are one with your impressionable mind; your subconscious. These scenarios and many more not listed here are forms of self-hypnosis and is something we all experience on a daily basis.

This state of mind is most common with athletes and can show by numerous record breaking feats how powerful it can be. Atheletes instinctively know they do their personal best when they let out a deep breath, clear their mind and proceed in a peaceful and determined fashion. This is a form of deep industrial strength self-motivation.

You ever try to do something and you get so frustrated because you just can’t get it or do it? This is you fighting with yourself. You are coming from your conscious mind and you get in your own way. You over think it as it were. We all do it. Society has bred in us that we be overachievers. We move fast to keep up with the Joneses. The more we rush the more things get overwhelming. We need to slow down. When we slow our minds we actually gain time and pick up momentum toward our goals.

This deep state of relaxation is us opening the door to our mind and all its possibilities.

The biggest obstacle we ever face is our self. These barriers present themselves in our thoughts, our habits, and our patterns. Things seem out of reach and the principles of books like The Secret seem like hogwash because they don’t work for us. It’s not that they don’t work, it’s that your mind doesn’t register the whole story. The key to success in any endeavor is getting your minds congruent with one another. Our conscious minds are logical and deep rooted in childhood patterns. Our subconscious minds hold the answers to our misconceptions. It is more powerful than any book and make no mistakes it can harm us just as much as it can work for us.

Our thoughts are all powerful and if our modern day goals and intentions don’t align with the programs and concepts we learned in childhood we will always fall short of our desires. We have to reprogram the mind to override any immature programming’s that were instilled in us as children.

It is possible for us to reprogram ourselves to become resolute in our thinking thereby setting our course for a better life and a better us. It won’t happen over night. It takes practice and engagement. This is a commitment to yourself that you are worth it and a determination to rewrite your story.

It’s never too late to change your thoughts so you can change your life. There will be a lot of repetition. Think about it. If you’re honest with yourself you will admit that you have spent your whole life doing certain things over and over. You have become habitual in your ways. You’re here because you realize these habits no longer serve you. You are getting in your own way. It’s time for you to become whole with yourself so you live the life you imagine.

Take a minute now to honor yourself. Grab a piece of paper and a pen. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths in and out relaxing yourself and your mind. Get into a place of peaceful intention. Start to get some pictures in your mind of what you are determined to achieve. Your goals are never too big or too small. It doesn’t matter how outrageous or unattainable your inner chatter tries to tell you they are. Don’t listen! Pick up your pen and start writing. Write down what your perfect life looks like.

Write in the first person and write in positive language.

Powerful vocabulary and positive self-talk will play a key role in our change. You are going to override the disparaging voice in your head that has been holding you back. Whether you write a paragraph or three pages doesn’t matter. Just write what feels amazing to you. What brings excitement to your heart and determination in your mind? Keep it close. You may want to add to it as you move forward with this experiment. Pick one positive sentence about yourself and memorize it. Any time your mind tries to get the best of you, interrupt the thoughts and say your positive I am sentence. Yell it at your inner voice if you have too. Own it. Hold the power that comes with it and keep doing it. Repetition, repetitionn, repetition.

From my experience there are two parts to the subconscious mind and getting congruent with its thoughts, habits and patterns. I think of my subconscious mind as my child self. The bratty, wounded, hurt little one that likes to act out. It part III we will learn some exercises that will help us nurture the inner child that has a hold on our subconscious. This will be a big key toward our success. The other side of this is the power the subconscious mind holds and how easy it will do our biddings when we are in a state of mind where we can plant new suggestions.

The strength, answers and change are within us. We don’t have to look outside ourselves for the answers. Our power lies within. Isn’t time to own your personal power? Can you imagine a life where everything is possible?

I leave you with this story from my favorite book and companion “The Genie Within” by Harry W. Carpenter (http://www.thegeniewithin.com).

A Parable

When he was just a boy, the old man heard a story of a woman who found a corked bottle on the beach. When she pulled the cork from the bottle, she imagined a genie had come out. The genie granted the woman all her wishes. The old man spent his life searching for his own bottle with a genie in it. He combed the beaches of every continent. Because of his obsession, he never had any lasting relationships or held a job for long. He was an unhappy man.

One day on a beach near his home, he found the bottle he had been looking for. For a reason unknown to him, he felt there was a genie inside. Corks in other bottles were hard to pull out, but this one slipped out easily. Out of nowhere a genie appeared. The genie said to the old man, “I am here to grant you whatever you want.”

”Whatever I want?”‘ replied the old man.

“Well,” said the genie, “almost anything. Since you are old and have never been in politics, it is unlikely that you would become President of the United States, nor do I think it wise to wish for a spot on the Olympic basketball team. And I do not think you want anything taken at someone else’s expense. So, no, not everything. Still, more than you have dreamed of. Certainly enough to make you happy and peaceful.”

The old man was ecstatic but then he became angry. ”Why has it taken me so long to find you? I could have accomplished so much had I found you when I was young.”

”Ah, master,” said the genie, “But l I have been with you all along. I was not in that bottle. I have been with you and granting your wishes all of your life. Remember when you were six and you wished your father would pay more attention to you? You cut your finger. That was no accident. Your father washed the cut and held you. Remember? There was the time you flunked the CPA exam. You kept telling me you were not smart enough to be a CPA and that you were not worthy to make as much money as a CPA. Remember how you froze during the exam? You got your wish.”

“Because you were not aware I was granting your wishes,” continued his genie, “Your wishes often hurt you. Sometimes the wishes were not even yours. They came from parents, teachers, friends and yes, often from TV ads. I am glad you found me. Now you will make wishes that are thoughtful and good. Now we can work together. Together we can stay healthy, find peace, and enjoy the richness of life.”

Part III

coming soon…

By pcarlson Category: achieve, adaptation, advise, affection, answers, attraction, awareness, be accountable, behavior, beliefs, benjamin franklin, blog, calm, celebrating, change, child wonderment, choices, clarity, commitment, confession, confidence, courage, create, Creativity, discovery, dreams, encouragement, endurance, energy, enlightened, Featured, intention, love, manifestation, Recent Posts, self motivation, trust, Uncategorized

Feb 9, 2017

Safety Deposit Box

~ An Introductory Guide to Conscious/Subconscious Congruency ~

Part I

Knowledge: The subconscious mind vs. the conscious mind
Acceptance: The power of taking full deep deliberate breaths
Compliance: Your willingness to get completely relaxed
Simplicity: Trance like state where you are still alert and aware
Commitment: Subconscious suggestibility
Understanding: Logical mind (conscious) vs. Feeling’s mind (subconscious)
Belief: You hold the power to change your thoughts
Growth: When your conscious actions and thoughts are congruent with your subconscious feelings

As a certified hypnotherapist and avid life lesson analyst, I get very excited when asked to talk about the subconscious mind because I’ve spent most of my adult life performing what I call experiments, always delving deeper into the psyche. As I got older, I was like wait a minute. How come I keep doing that? How come I keep saying this? It can’t be a coincidence that my last three relationships resembled one or both of my parents. And when I say relationships it doesn’t just mean intimate relationships. This philosophy extends to friends, colleagues, and even bosses. Have you ever heard the expression; you attract that which you know? We tend to surround ourselves with what is familiar and we’re not the only ones. Our parents did the same thing, as did their parents and theirs… back even further through the ancestral lineage. In my novel, The Karma Chronicles Part 1 Hadrians Seal (Balboa Press a subsidiary of Hay House Publishing, 2017), which is book one of a trilogy, I take a good look at how often-certain patterns and habits get repeated and quite possibly passed down through the ages. Tackling the realities of generational curses, the vicious cycle of bad choices, and submitting to the negative self-talk of personal demons. Today I want to talk about how we have all become experts in recreating familiar experiences. And even though we may say we want something new and different and we really mean it, we keep finding ourselves still repeating the patterns. This is because the thoughts and words that come out of our mouths are not congruent with the feelings deep within us that were formulated in childhood.

Can you imagine a life where everything is possible?

Think of the subconscious mind as your internal safety deposit box. It is literally a memory bank full of defined childhood experiences. Our deposits are made in the form of experiences, thoughts, and cognitive behaviors. As we grew up these emotional deposits became a collective of stored perceptions. And it’s these insights that developed into our very personal model of the world. The subconscious mind processes the deposits and your conscious mind makes withdrawals in the form of involuntary functions, emotions, and habits. Most of our emotional conditionings were programmed in early childhood before our mental faculties matured. These programming’s resulted arbitrarily and were influenced by parents, teachers, peers, TV and, recently, from computer games. Freud said, “Emotional reactions are learned emotionally in childhood and this is carried into adulthood. When we are children, we do not have the faculties that we do in adulthood. We do not know what we are going to need as an adult to cope with situations. Therefore, as adults we (often) react as children.” Thus, our conscious mind reacts by the collective belief system stored in our safety deposit box. And even though these are old programs they are still influencing and possibly controlling our behavior even though many are counterproductive. There is of great importance in investing the time to train your minds to work together. Getting these two parts to be congruent with each other is when your actions and reactions are aligned with your current belief system and values. This occurs when your conscious mind trusts and consolidates the wealth of information the subconscious mind has to offer and this payoff will literally change our life. This is the ultimate win-win situation and harmony in your life will prevail.

Self-hypnosis is a proven effective tool for funding your subconscious mind with new thoughts and habits that are withdrawal ready. Self-hypnosis is a natural, relaxed trance like state of focused awareness. Unlike in sleep you are alert and in control the whole time. This relaxed state is a gateway to your subconscious mind (or habitual mind) where your innate habits and patterns reside. Self-hypnosis is a state where you become receptive to positive suggestions for change. There is an unlimited power source in your mental bank and only you hold the key that will open it. Your subconscious is the source of your motivation, ambition, patterns, habits, emotions, self-talk, behaviors, and attitudes.

We hold the key to our personal power and with the right tools we can invoke permanent change. I think it’s time for some experiments and personal investigations. You in?

Part II

coming soon…

By pcarlson Category: achieve, advise, affection, anais nin, andrew carnegie, anger, answers, attraction, awareness, be accountable, behavior, beliefs, benjamin franklin, blog, breath, calm, celebrating, change, child wonderment, choices, clarity, cleaning house, coloring outside the lines, comfort zone, commitment, confession, confidence, courage, cover up, create, Creativity, crew, dance, dandelion, dating, david erickson, David Friedlander, decisions, deepak choprs, denial, discovery, donate, donation, dreams, empathy, encouragement, endurance, energy, enlightened, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurism, existence, existentialist, experiment, faith, fear, fears, Featured, flight, footprints, friendship, guided imagery, happiness, happy, manifestation

Jul 28, 2016

Your Influential Mind

Letting go isn’t falling and I have settled in nicely with the truth. Our conscious mind adopted habits and patterns that didn’t resonate with our intrinsic values. What a metaphysical mess.

The subconscious mind (also known as the unconscious mind) has been waiting patiently and silently to help us change the course of our lives.

It only takes a single thought followed by undeniable intention, backed by unequivocal determination, invoked by immediate action and timed by a specific and deliberate date. This is the difference between just a dream and a tangible goal. With the proper modality anything is possible and dreams do come true.

Life is full of gifts that you can pass on to the person next to you. Wisdom comes from experience and being grateful will set you free. Expectation leads to accomplishing the unexpected. Maybe it’s time to ask yourself some questions.

Why the hesitation? What are you here to achieve? When will you be ready?

Where will it take you? Who will it make you?

Willy Wonka tried to tell us… “if you want to view paradise, you have to simply look around and view it”. You can do this. We don’t have to subscribe to nature vs. nurture. We have to accept that “thoughts become things” [Mike Dooley]. Age really is just a number and Bob Dylan was right when he sang to us… “I was older than, I’m much younger than that now”. Serendipitous turnabouts everywhere I look and of late, a smile is my favorite accessory. That’s right. “The power of your subconscious mind” [Dr. Joseph Murphy Ph.D.] is patiently waiting your arrival. You can do this. Self empowerment was always in your hands and the stairway to heaven has you in it’s sights. You’re never alone and you don’t need to look outside yourself for happiness. You can only love someone as much as you love yourself so love yourself the most! You can do this. If you do what you always did, you will get what you’ve always got. “Everything you ever needed to know you really did learn in kindergarten” [Robert Fulghum] and you’re not where you come from. You’re not what you do and half the time you might not even be who you think you are. So don’t believe half of what you think and know that you are God’s greatest miracle. If you listen carefully you can hear the encouragement whispering in the wind and if you’re watching closely, you’ll notice every time He winks at you. [Squire Rushnell]

We’ve been given the gift of internal and innate wisdom. We just need to access it… And we hold the all access pass!

Time to take action. Ready, Set, Go. The world is waiting.

…. to be continued…

By pcarlson Category: abundance, achieve, adaptation, affection, anais nin, andrew carnegie, answers, attraction, awareness, be accountable, behavior, beliefs, benjamin franklin, Bill Gates, blog, breath, calm, celebrating, change, child wonderment, choices, clarity, cleaning house, coloring outside the lines, comfort zone, commitment, confession, confidence, courage, create, Creativity, dance, dandelion, david erickson, David Friedlander, decisions, discovery, donate, donation, dreams, empathy, encouragement, endurance, energy, enlightened, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurism, existence, existentialist, experiment, faith, fear, fears, Featured, flight, footprints, forgiveness, friends, friendship, fun, gifts, guided imagery, happiness, happy, Harry Truman, healthy choices, help, honesty, hope, hugo, humility, humor, hypnosis for change, hypnotherapy, ideologies, inspiration, integrity, intention, love, manifestation, moments, moonlight, opportunities, oprah, Recent Posts, self motivation, trust, Uncategorized, world view, your true potential

May 6, 2015

Medicine for You

A little mid-week pick me up…

Life ever after starts from within.
It starts with a smile or silly little grin.

Choose happiness and find your smile.
Have an expressive kind of style.

Be who you are and wear what you want.
Strut around like a debutante.

But remember to be nice to all that you meet.
Love and affection will make you complete.

Find the humor in all that you do.
Laughter is the best medicine for you.

Being silly starts with a grin
While life ever after starts from within.

By pcarlson Category: abundance, achieve, adaptation, affection, answers, attraction, awareness, be accountable, behavior, beliefs, benjamin franklin, Bill Gates, birds, blog, breath, calm, celebrating, change, child wonderment, confidence, create, Creativity, dance, Featured, intention, love, manifestation, Recent Posts, self motivation, trust, Uncategorized

Apr 6, 2013

There’s No Going Back

Early mornings remind me of how far we come. Don’t be fooled by what seems to happen overnight because chances are it didn’t. Anything worth having is worth waiting for. Anything worth waiting for is worth fighting for. There is significance in how much our dreams can change us. The choices we make set balls in motion. Do you follow them?

I woke up one day with no recollection of who I was supposed to be. A parents impervious inflictions that were intent on strangling me but I slipped away. I knew better. This was a battle against nature vs. nurture and I was deemed to win.

My choices find me living a different life now and I don’t regret it. Even when I get restless sometimes for my old ways or the uneasy feelings of my past come to render me awake. There’s no going back now. There’s too much at stake.

My life is taking another turn for the better, proof that our resilient natures will always help us come out on top and sometimes it’s even far more fantastic than even we could have ever imagined.

Feel privileged to be so supported but always honor the past. You never know when it might come back to surprise you.

It’s a Saturday morning on the coast and the marine layer prepares to leave. The smell of rain is in the air and the cleansing should come soon. Being the over thinker has my brain working overdrive and the off button seems to be stuck. The dryer bustles in the background and the smell of dryer sheets is instantly calming. The sound of a flute joining the piano soothes my indecisive temperament while the perilous nature of uncertainty makes it’s own assessment. Birds take flight in unison and my puppy let’s me love him. The to-do list grows a mind of it’s own and you wonder why everything takes so long. You go out of your way to make things right but the light won’t turn green and the traffic can get backed up for miles. No one can let you down if you don’t allow them to hold you up. Birthdays come and go and breakfast isn’t ready yet. The iambic pentameter tries to find me today and that’s okay. We have come a long way from pictograms and it’s just another day. The rise and fall of Empires comes again. History has a way of repeating itself if you let it in. While breaking the binds of pattern can release you from sin. A society based in what’s it all for and how far have we really come? Are you willing to join your mirror or are you still wondering where you’re from? Sometimes a self inflicted lullaby can set you free as if you were a new found miracle left out for the world to see. And you are a new found miracle.

photo courtesy of Pepper Carlson, taken in Kauai

By pcarlson Category: abundance, achieve, adaptation, advise, affection, anais nin, andrew carnegie, answers, attraction, awareness, be accountable, behavior, beliefs, blog, celebrating, change, child wonderment, choices, clarity, cleaning house, coloring outside the lines, comfort zone, confession, confidence, courage, cover up, create, Creativity, crew, dance, dandelion, dating, decisions, denial, discovery, donate, donation, dreams, empathy, encouragement, endurance, energy, enlightened, Entrepreneurism, existence, existentialist, experiment, faith, Featured, intention, love, manifestation, Recent Posts, self motivation

Apr 1, 2013

Lightness of Being

Today is a great day for a romance and for skipping no matter who is watching. Today is the first day of the rest of your life and absolutely anything is possible. Today is a day unlike any other and where it leads really is up to you.

Cast no judgements, they will only hold you back. Hold no grudges, they will only hinder your growth. Do not take part in discriminations for what you put out you will get back ten fold.

Karma is a boomerang and only you have the ability to control your own outcome. Always be accountable.

Being human brings great responsibility and responsibility is not without consequence. If Mike Dooley is right and I do think he is, then thoughts become things and we really do write our own story. Do know that every great story goes through many rewrites. We can talk ourselves out of bad decisions and we can talk ourselves right into a room.

Reminders always come in handy so keep them close. You never know when you’re going to need them…

Love yourself and you will know hope. Hope for the best and you will know faith. Have faith and you will know your truth. Your truth will release the sun from behind the darkest clouds.

Love is the light that will lead the way. Consider love your conduit to long lasting relationships. It illuminates your innate desires and feeds your passions. Loves benevolence will open windows, doors and hearts everywhere.

Hope is the light at the end of the tunnel. Consider hope your inner flashlight. You control the switch and your batteries are solar powered. It helps you keep striving, pursuing, and seeing the bigger picture.

Faith is where the light is. Consider faith your adhesive to keep you in your strength. Hold on tight and let it hold onto you. The optimism will stir your senses and motivate your aspirations.

Truth is to walk in the light. Consider it your path to freedom from the darkness. The assimilation of truth will enlighten your spirit and purify your humanity. Embracing it shall truly set you free.

Love yourself and you will know hope. Hope for the best and you will know faith. Have faith and you will know your truth. Your truth will release the sun from behind the darkest clouds.

photo courtesy of pepper carlson

By pcarlson Category: abundance, achieve, adaptation, advise, affection, awareness, be accountable, behavior, beliefs, blog, celebrating, change, choices, clarity, confidence, courage, cover up, Featured, intention, love, manifestation, Recent Posts, self motivation, trust

Aug 13, 2012

Really, Actually, Finally

The consciousness of my innate nature spoke to me in a way that I hadn’t heard before. I’ve been so busy trying to conform to the expectations of society that I forgot to listen to what my soul was trying to tell me. I’ve always known I am different. I also know that when you spend your childhood without a hug it does something to you.

I’ve kind of rebelled against the patterns that can be caused by neglect. I tend to be very affectionate and overly verbally complimentary. I love to make people laugh and my intention is always to lift peoples spirits when I can. I am a giver and it makes me feel good to give back. I’m lucky to be here and it’s a miracle that I am who I am. Aren’t we all in some way, shape or form?

In my awareness I have a simple truth, when it comes to the possibility of a relationship I can be quite awkward. Being vulnerable makes me uncomfortable so I have embraced the power of being alone and I realize, it’s when I feel the most confident. Sometimes in a room full of people is when I feel the most alone. It’s who I am and it’s time to stop trying to be something I am not. I am far from being Thoreau but I am just not that social anymore. I used to have 100 friends and went out every night. Now I have 5 friends that I see on the occasional outing and it’s usually during the day. Times change and you have to join your life during the adaptations of existence.

I spent time with a friend on Saturday night that is very unhappy with his current state of affairs. It was hard to hear one of my oldest friends be in this much pain over certain decisions he has made. In the end I came home to sit on my patio, staring out into the night sky and accessed my own situation.

I am so lucky and fortunate to have a great career. I am 20 pages away from my first novel. I am on the brink of launching an amazing new company and I am in the best shape I have been in a very long time. That’s a lot to be grateful for!

But I’ve also been trying to hard. I have been pursuing a means to an end based on an idea that doesn’t always exist. Most of my friends are either in relationships or engaged or married. So in my head, the pressure was on. Well, until now.

I met someone I really liked and in my excitement, I got pretty overbearing and wanted to control the situation. I found myself with walls down and no boundaries and wanted to hang out with this person all the time. The feelings weren’t mutual but my ego wouldn’t heed the flags on the play. I kept knowingly setting myself up for rejection. But here’s the interesting thing. Along the short journey of exchanges I did exactly what I knew would push him away. My own version of How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days and it worked like clockwork. My relationship vibrational level is askew and I recognize it now.

I have finally become the woman I always knew I was supposed to be and in my strength I found a way to let go.

The more you feel good the more you want to feel good. And if you’re going to be strong you will want strong people around you. God is protecting you and the Universe is keeping you on your course.

My friend said the other night, “When we meet our perfect matches, we won’t push them away and anything that happens to us in between is simply the experience it’s supposed to be”.

Well, why does it have to be that deep? Why can’t people just be friends and hang out for free. Why do we have to put so much pressure on everything? Why can’t we be honest about it all?

Yeah, exactly.

I have had some amazing relationships in my life and I have known love. And now I realize that I love myself the most and in this I really can’t settle. And actually, this is what makes me the happiest and that’s okay.

May we all find our happy and may we always stay true to ourselves. Don’t conform to society because it’s expected. Step out into your life of the unexpected and be miraculous. Finally.

. photo courtesy of http://www.1freewallpaper.com/landscape-wallpaper/

By pcarlson Category: abundance, achieve, adaptation, advise, affection, blog, celebrating, change, confidence, courage, discovery, Featured, intention, love, manifestation, Recent Posts, self motivation, trust

May 11, 2012

Love Bubble

Let’s face it. Sometimes we get a little insecure. It happens to the best of us and most of the time it is strictly unwarranted. We are all beautiful in our own way, we are all blessings in our own right and we are all perfect in the eyes of the Divine. And it would do us well to remember it!

But why is it so easy to forget? Why do we get jaded or bitter and fall from grace? Why is it easier to believe the worst than it is to accept a compliment?

Because somewhere along the way we let the world at large get the best of us. We got captivated by the negativity on the news, or we let our parents judgements become our own, or we let our neighbors influence our decisions. It’s all ignorant and it’s all stoppable.

There is no way of really knowing why some people stop loving. Maybe their version of love was battered and bruised. Maybe love to them was lost. Maybe love to them came in the form of an accusatory loud voice. Maybe they never knew love at all.

It doesn’t matter. It’s time to be in love with every single moment of every single breath you take.

This is a reminder that one person really can make a difference and so it must start with you. We must raise ourselves up to the higher frequency level of love.

Can you imagine what it would be like if we are all in a place of love and never again spoke ill of anyone, or judged them, or cast them out for their differences, or shunned them because you didn’t understand them, or made fun of them because of how they dressed or talked?

I can. So it’s time to step out of your I syndrome and into the your love bubble. Here’s how.

Start with an image or memory of when you felt unconditionally loved. Cradle that image in your arms in front of your chest, “see” it in front of you, and also visualize your heart as a golden sphere.

Then connect to the Divine Universe’s infinite Love and support, either through the top of your head or through your back (think: “The Universe has my back”). That support is tangible and warm. Breathe it in to your heart space on the in-breath.

On the out-breath, blow the air out through your mouth, as if you were inflating a balloon. See the golden sphere of your heart grow as if it were a bubble or balloon!

Rinse and repeat until your Love Bubble is big enough for you to move around freely in. Remember to start each breath cycle with connecting first to your memory of unconditional love in the 3-D world (often dogs or newborns are great for this), and then connecting with the unlimited Love and support of the Universe. Pull that Love into your center, then blow up the bubble

By the time your Love Bubble is fully inflated, it’s no longer the deep gold it started out as, but a lovely opalescent pink, much like the bubble Glinda the Good Witch rides in on in The Wizard of Oz. Just like a regular balloon that starts dark and ends up lighter as it inflates.

Because you are pulling in pure Love, by a few breaths in you should be smiling! Also, each cell in your body will be full of Love + Light—and therefore smiling—by the end.

This bubble will keep you in a Love frequency until it deflates. No negativity from the outside can reach you (cool!). But, because we’re all still human, we will occasionally have a fearful thought, and that’s how the bubble springs a leak. Never fear! All you need to do when you notice it’s a little deflated is to take a few breaths to get it back into place! Be careful not to beat yourself up when this happens, because it will happen, and quite a bit at first. With practice, soon you’ll have many fewer of these deflation episodes!

You’ll know that your Bubble is deflated if your have a fearful, angry, anxious, or judgmental thought, or if you experience pain.

This Bubble protects your from negativity, keeps you in the space of Love + Abundance, and helps to pull the mood of those around you from fearful to Loving as well.

Thank you to my Intuitive Entrepreneur Coach, Elizabeth Locey for teaching me this amazing exercise. I am grateful to be apart of the process and reaching higher levels of consciousness in business and in life. You are so very appreciated.

And now a little sing a long to start the day… click to listen… 1-18 All You Need Is Love

The Beatles

Lennon/McCartney

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy.
There's nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you
in time - It's easy.

All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
There's nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.
All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
All you need is love (all together now)
All you need is love (everybody)
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

photo courtesy of http://www.scenicreflections.com/media/251187/love_bubbles_Wallpaper/

By pcarlson Category: abundance, abused children, achieve, adaptation, advise, affection, answers, attraction, awareness, be accountable, behavior, beliefs, breath, calm, celebrating, change, child wonderment, clarity, cleaning house, confidence, courage, create, Creativity, Featured, intention, love, manifestation, Recent Posts, self motivation, trust

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Life With One Eye Open