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Creativity

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Entrepreneurs

Top 15 Entrepreneurship Resources to Boost Your Success

The 21st century has brought great new opportunities for entrepreneurs. The digital revolution has completely changed the way we live -- and the landscape for aspiring CEOs and innovators. However, the world is also moving faster than ever, and the competition is thick, so you have to gain every advantage you can get to turn your passion or idea into a sustainable business. Entrepreneurship requires an unvanquished spirit of curiosity, an openness to learning, a letting go of OldCo so you're free to create NewCo. – Michael E. Gerber This is where this guide comes in. We've outlined the 15 best resources on entrepreneurship to help you acquire the tools and knowledge you need to start your entrepreneurial journey (and keep it going). Whether you're looking to work remotely as a freelancer or want to turn your passion into a career, the resources below will help you get there. 1. Personality Traits that Successful Entrepreneurs Value More than all Others If you want to know what the absolute most important traits and skills are to develop as an entrepreneur, look no further. If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, this will tell you everything you need to know about what makes a successful entrepreneur tick. Read here: 5 Personality Traits that Successful Entrepreneurs Value More than all Others 2. How To Find Your Passion If you haven’t yet found your calling, it’s important to do that first before venturing off into any long-term business effort. That’s not just because you shouldn’t settle for anything less than doing what you love (after all, why become an entrepreneur if you’re doing that?), but also because you’ll never be able to maintain the energy and motivation to get passed tough challenges without this passion to drive you. Read here: How To Find Your Passion 3. Dangerous Misconceptions About Entrepreneurship That You Should Know About If you’re relatively new to entrepreneurship, there are some dangerous misconceptions that can hold you and your entrepreneurial efforts back which won’t be immediately obvious. Learn what those misconceptions are and how to keep from falling victim to them by reading this. Read here: Dangerous Misconceptions About Entrepreneurship That You Should Know About 4. How to Build a Brand in the Digital Age — An Entrepreneur’s Starter Guide With social media, building a strong brand is more important than ever before. But if you don’t know anything about what it takes to build a brand, don’t worry, this will help you figure out everything you need to get started. Read here: How to Build a Brand in the Digital Age — An Entrepreneur’s Starter Guide 5. Things You Need to Know If You Want to Be an Entrepreneur If you want to be an entrepreneur, there are a few things that you really need to know. I can’t stress these points enough– if you have dreams or plans of becoming (or are already) an entrepreneur, you need to read this sooner than later. Read here: 6 Things You Need to Know If You Want to Be an Entrepreneur 6. The 3 Questions No Entrepreneur Wants to Ask (but You Must) If you want to build a long and fruitful self-employed career, there are three critically important questions you must ask yourself. This is yet another thing you really can’t put off, as it affects your entire path through entrepreneurship in several critical ways. But, the good news is, if you can be ready for these things ahead of time, you’ll be far better prepared. Read here: The 3 Questions No Entrepreneur Wants to Ask (but You Must) 7. With Grace and Grit: A Guide to Sticking it Out for Entrepreneurs If you haven’t already figured it out yet, entrepreneurship is tough -- really tough. You need to have the right amount of toughness to get through the inevitable challenges you’ll face along the way. Building resilience is key. Read here: With Grace and Grit: A Guide to Sticking it Out for Entrepreneurs 8. Why Entrepreneurship Is an Effective Path to Happiness (and How to Get Started) Aspiring business leaders have more opportunities than ever, but the path to success is also very different from what it used to be. People who might not otherwise have considered themselves entrepreneurs are now deciding to take this path because starting a business gives them the opportunity to do what they love and live on their own terms. Read here: Why Entrepreneurship Is an Effective Path to Happiness (and How to Get Started) 9. Entrepreneurship and the Architecture of Success: Setting Smart Long-Term Goals Entrepreneurship is a long-term game. If you hope to find success in your chosen endeavor, you need to have a well-defined plan and the structure to make that plan a reality. Read here: Entrepreneurship and the Architecture of Success: Setting Smart Long-Term Goals 10. Hacks Highly Successful Entrepreneurs Use to Stay Laser-Focused Are you a seasoned entrepreneur looking for some extra tips for staying focused? Making your vision a reality is hard and requires a laser focus over a very long period of time. Fortunately, there are some simple hacks that can help you keep your eyes on the prize. Read here: 5 Hacks Highly Successful Entrepreneurs Use to Stay Laser-Focused 11. The Best Free AI On The MarketThis seems to be a more brazen suggestion as there is all sorts of controversy surrounding this new TOOL that has been released. However, technology is constantly improving and just as the phone became an essential part of life, so will AI. If you want to truly level up your game you need to learn how to do the unexpected before its expected of you.Read here: How to efficiently make prompts and utilize artificial intelligence12. Trello: The Perfect OrganizerStay organized and boost productivity with Trello! Manage projects, collaborate with your team, and track tasks effortlessly. With its easy-to-use interface and powerful integrations, Trello keeps everything in one place, helping you work smarter and faster. Try it today!Read here: The main site and number one recommendation for team organization Man working his way up 13. Canva: Make Advertisement EasyCreate stunning visuals effortlessly with Canva! Design professional graphics, social media posts, presentations, and more—no design skills required. With easy-to-use templates and powerful tools, Canva helps you bring your ideas to life. Start designing today!Read here: Make Advertising Easy And Effortless14. Google Analytics: It's the perfect observer of success, see where you struggle and where you thriveUnlock powerful insights with Google Analytics! Track website performance, measure traffic, and understand user behavior to optimize your online presence. Make data-driven decisions and grow your business with ease. Start using Google Analytics today to boost your success!Read here: Google Analytics Lets You Look Into Your Weak Points And Work On Them15. Hootsuite – Manage and schedule your social media posts across multiple platforms in one place.Simplify your social media management with Hootsuite! Schedule, track, and manage posts across multiple platforms all in one place. Save time, increase engagement, and streamline your strategy with powerful analytics. Try Hootsuite today and elevate your social presence!Read here: Schedule Your Posts And Manage Your Releases, Get To The Top And Stay There

How to (Actually) Finish A Creative Project
Creativity

How to (Actually) Finish A Creative Project

The rush of a new idea is exhilarating; from the electricity of their arrival, to the waves of inspiration that carry you to the land of dreams. Ideas are fun and exciting, encoded with a sense of adventure, breadcrumbs for mind-made trails of discovery. But how often have you had a new idea, one that feels revolutionary and world-changing, only to become stale long before manifested into a reality? Bridging the gap from idea to completion is an arduous task. The majority of ideas remain as ideas, long-forgotten or never followed up in the minds of people who say, “I thought of that once, but never did anything about it.” RELATED: What Is Groupthink? How To Avoid This Common BiasThe tech guru who thought of Facebook before Facebook, the writer who had the idea for Inception but didn’t put pen to paper, the musician who hummed a tune strikingly similar to the newest pop sensation... They all have one thing in common: they had the idea but didn’t execute. The excitement, the exhilaration, and the spontaneity of creative inspiration have to be harnessed into discipline, consistency, and dedication, to make something, whether it’s a creative career or exciting side hustle. This article will provide a broad overview to show you what’s required to turn ideas into reality.Deal With Your Commitment Issues(Photo by Jordan Whitfield on Unsplash)In a previous article on creative ideas, I mentioned shiny object syndrome, the allure of new or novel ideas that distract from the tougher parts of a creative project. In the beginning, sparks fly with a specific idea. Everything is new and exciting. The possibilities feel endless. You enjoy the honeymoon period. Over time, you start to consider the idea, long-term. Cracks start to appear. What you initially envisioned starts to collide with reality. The honeymoon period ends, and reality strikes.It can be tempting to be attracted to ideas that appear less demanding and more exciting. Sitting down every day to write, learning how to code an app, letting your creative urges spill into the canvas when your work has been rejected time and time again, all take effort. Finishing a creative project requires commitment. RELATED: Open-Mindedness: 5 Practical Steps To Open Your MindNot commitment for commitment’s sake, but the determination to see it through, through the hard times and the bad — just like building a relationship with another living, breathing human. The project has to be seen and accepted in all its flaws and unmet expectations, and the deeper fulfillment of staying loyal to an idea over the long term has to replace the thrill of chasing new ideas.Develop an Ideas System(Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash)Your life will be easier if you have a system, in order to know what to do with the ideas as they arrive. This doesn’t have to be highly structured, but to operate as a protocol when new ideas arrive. I’ll use the example of a writer, as it's what I know best. When I get a new idea, I give it space, to allow myself to consider where this idea might go. Is it its own article, connected to a wider body of work (such as a book), or a fragment that will find its way somewhere, when the time is right?Such a system is needed in completing a creative project because it allows you to delegate new ideas that surface whilst in the later stages with older ideas. A classic example of this is, when researching or writing a book, discovering material that is beyond the scope of the original outline. The ability to say “enough is enough” makes all the difference.RELATED: What Is the Google Effect, How Does It Hurt Your Mind – And What Can You Do About It?Ask yourself: is this idea a distraction? Is it relevant to the project I’m working on? Can I simply let it go, or save it somewhere for another time? What format is this idea, a social media post, a course, a video? Do I need to bookmark an idea for another time?A trap many people fall into is feeling each new idea has to be actualized. The creative process operates with its own form of divine timing. When you’re committed to a project, and seeing it through, you have to say no, or ‘maybe later,’ to a whole host of ideas and new projects. A system allows you to work with this, without feeling new ideas are wasted.Learn What Projects Are Worth Pursuing(Photo by Tyler Casey on Unsplash)“The more important the project we take on, the more difficult it is to find certainty that our work will succeed before we begin. We can begin with this: If we failed, would it be worth the journey? Do you trust yourself enough to commit to engaging with a project regardless of the chances of success?” Seth Godin18 months ago, I structured, planned, recorded, edited, and created an online course on self-compassion. What started as an idea became a five-module course. It has worksheets, exercises, guided meditations, video tutorials, and an infrastructure to allow anyone, anywhere in the world, to enroll. In many ways it was a success. Yet upon launch, it felt like a failure. Few people signed up, and the project I’d put my heart and soul into didn’t meet my unconscious expectations.Whilst I wouldn’t change the process and what I learned during that time, it was a wake-up call. Part of completing a creative project means knowing what ideas are worth following and developing. Once you know which ideas are worth developing, you have to gauge when they’re worth developing, placed in the context of your life and your priorities.RELATED: Is Astrology Really Useful For Self-Development?Again, this is a highly personal process. But in my experience, the best way to determine this is to either go for what’s optimal in terms of input and results, or for what excites you the most. I use these two basic categories because, as a creative, you need both. You need the projects that are optimized, just as much as you need space to work on your passion without worrying too much (or at all) about optimization or outcome.Consider, at any given moment, what projects are best with your time, attention, and energy. What skills will you learn that can be applied elsewhere? What will you gain financially, intellectually, or spiritually by following it through? Does it conflict with other things in your life? Are there other people you could work with, to share responsibilities and offer mutual support?Plan the Project Like a Professional(Photo by Soundtrap on Unsplash)If you’re just starting out, finishing one article, or one melody, or one social media post, might feel like a project in itself. As you evolve, and your ideas along with you, the projects will expand in scope — perhaps an entire novel, album, or online course. The bigger the project, the more planning required. If you work alone, and don’t have access to a coach or mentor, you’ll have to become your own project manager. Organizations use project managers to make sure projects are complete, and their process can be used as a source of inspiration. I see this as an inner archetype to connect to, the structure to creativity’s spontaneity. The workflow of actual project managers can come in handy here. According to Coursera, there are typically four stages of any project:Initiating: the beginning stage requires a clear definition of the project. What goals will be required? What tasks will have to be carried out? Is it feasible? Planning: the nitty-gritty stage requires you to assess how the project will come to life. Execute and complete tasks: this is the process of achieving the goals and processes initially identified.Close: this includes reviewing the process, finishing any final tasks, and looking at what comes next — be it marketing a new product or integrating the lessons learned.This demonstrates the skills and tools that will be needed to complete a creative project. Harnessing your initial creative energy means finding consistent time to put in the work, setting and achieving goals, working to deadlines, and keeping on track. All of these apply, when working alone. The difference between those who complete projects, and those who don’t, is that the former approach their creativity with the same mindset as a professional.RELATED: How To Boost Your Dream Recall For Higher CreativityThat doesn’t mean this approach has to be taken by all creatives. If you’re content with the joy of the process itself, and have no desire to share with the world, monetize, or have something material, a ‘complete’ work, then all is well. But if you’re reading this article, I’ll safely assume you’ve confronted the frustration of struggling to complete your project in a way that feels satisfying.Know Perfect Is the Enemy of Good(Photo by Dusan Kipic on Unsplash)This aphorism highlights how striving for perfection becomes a hindrance, not support. It’s vital to have high-level goals. Numerous studies show that this does add motivation, even if those goals aren’t met. But perfectionism is something different. Perfectionism is unattainable. It’s always one more edit, one more draft, one more fine-tune away from the final thing. Seth Godin, one of the world’s most successful bloggers, popularized the term ‘ship it’ to describe getting a project out there.In his guide, ShipIt, he asks questions such as ‘what does perfect look like,’ and ‘what does good enough look like’? These are two highly valuable questions to ask. It’s crucial to find the sweet spot between rushing, to complete for the sake of it, and taking too much time to make the project perfect. There’s a need for discernment, to say, this is it, it’s ready, and ship it.RELATED: Bob Dylan’s Best Lyrics about Life, Love and CreativityI love Godin’s approach to creative work. He says that “Any idea withheld is an idea taken away. It’s selfish to hold back when there’s a chance you have something to offer.” In other words, if you have something you believe in, then the world needs it, even if it’s one person who benefits from what you’ve created. Completing the work — shipping it — has to be a priority.Beware of the Sunk Cost Fallacy(Photo by Gabriel Gurrola on Unsplash)I’ll end with a caveat: sometimes projects have to be canceled. Perhaps they’re too ambitious, or the timing isn't right. Perhaps it wasn't the right call to pursue. There are many reasons why a project you choose to pursue can, later down the line, turn out to be a mistake. That’s okay, it’s part of the learning curve. However, when this starts to become apparent, beware of the sunk cost fallacy.This is a cognitive bias whereby people tend to stay committed due to costs already invested, like a gambler chasing losses. Those costs can be time, money, emotions, and much more. I’ve written one book, and since then, I’ve considered what I’d like to write next. RELATED: 5 Simple Steps to Supercharge Your CreativityRecently, I had an idea for a follow-up. I spent a lot of time researching obsessively, building a theme, working on chapters, and writing. But my gut feeling was the time wasn’t right. Despite having planned to complete this year, I stopped.A few months later, it became clear why: my energy is better served elsewhere, for now. None of the work is lost — it’ll find a home. But I realized the hidden benefit of cutting losses; you actually gain. You gain all the additional time and energy you would’ve spent working on the project, which can then be better used elsewhere. There are always more projects. No project is ‘the one.’ Plenty more fish in the project sea.In Conclusion(Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash)Dare to become someone who can ideate, plan, and execute projects. This will build confidence that when you pursue ideas, they will lead somewhere. Get to know the cycles of a project, from the initial excitement to the roadblocks along the way. Know that no creative work is a breeze from beginning to end. For every brainstorm, there’s summer drought. Every creative work I make has a period of tension or difficulty, where I consider giving up, or procrastinate. Usually when I’m near the end. I used to fear this, and bemoan how it wasn’t as fun as the earlier stages. But now I’ve learned that this isn’t a bad thing, but part of the natural ebb and flow. And pushing through this stage leads to a much deeper sense of fulfillment and achievement than always starting anew.Learn how to push through, stay loyal, and ship it. Maybe someday, there will be people out there saying if only they’d followed their ideas, if they knew how to execute like you did, they would’ve beaten you to the idea that changed the world. And you’ll tell them: it wasn’t magic, I just taught myself how to complete my projects, and then the magic happened.KEEP READING:Train Your Brain to Shed Distracting Habits and Concentrate Better

A 9-Step Guide For Dealing With Creative Overwhelm And Too Many Ideas
Creativity

A 9-Step Guide For Dealing With Creative Overwhelm And Too Many Ideas

Almost anything that initially appears desirable becomes unpleasant in excess. Think of your favorite dessert, such as a chocolate brownie. Following a nice meal, you might be tempted by its sugary sweetness, the smooth texture, the feel-good hit of chemicals. But if you were forced to eat that brownie every day, you’d soon get sick of it. As British poet William Blake wrote: “you never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough.”Creative inspiration is the chocolate brownie of mental nutrition. Most people want more creativity; high-flying Silicon Valley companies look for employees who can innovate and think outside the box, the fields of philosophy or fiction crave highly creative minds, and wider society needs novel ideas and fresh perspectives to evolve.RELATED: What Is Groupthink? How To Avoid This Common BiasBut what happens when creativity gets out of control, when the ideas don’t stop, take on a life of their own, become overwhelming? Due to the nature of creative ideas, it’s easy to fall into the trap of more is more, always wanting the next insight, the next breakthrough, the next dot-joining connection. But, like all things, there is a point of more than enough.This article will guide you through the process of creative overwhelm, to offer you more structure, grounding, ease, and relief. If you’re looking to transform your high levels of creativity from a burden into a gift, read on.The Source of Creative Inspiration(Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash)Creative inspiration transcends the self. Even the etymology of the Latin genius refers to a ‘guardian deity or spirit which watches over each person from birth.’ The ancient Greeks believed creative inspiration was a bridge between the earthly and the divine. Famous philosophers and artists, from Socrates to Michelangelo and Da Vinci, all felt they were channeling from a Godlike source, beyond ordinary realms. Religious or spiritual inclinations aside, this points to the insurmountable power of creativity.As I mentioned in a recent article on dream recall and creativity, I experienced a ‘creative awakening’ a number of years ago, like a door had opened to a new world of ideas. Initially, it blew me away. It was intoxicating and life-affirming and I was carried by its waves joyously, willingly… until it became too much. The breaking point came when I realized the intensity of creative ideas was having a significant impact on my life. I questioned whether to become a full-blown recluse, but knowing I’d like a vaguely ordinary life, I knew I had to get the creative ideas under control. RELATED: Open-Mindedness: 5 Practical Steps To Open Your MindCreative ideas don’t respect your schedule, or your life beyond the inner world. When wanting to rest, or go to sleep, or socialize, or focus on something, anything, other than the idea for a book that currently stirs from the depths of your soul… It remains. And anything that has a hold over you, requires attention. Inspired by early conceptions of creativity, Carl Jung used the term daemon to describe this inner-spirit. Jung spoke of the importance of respecting this force, not ignoring it, but finding a way to channel it. In Jung’s words: “There is rarely a creative man who does not have to pay a high price for the divine spark of his greatest gifts…” Getting the flow of creative ideas under control is crucial to well-being and fulfillment. Fortunately, there are a number of practices that can temper the genius within, to allow you to integrate it, without being consumed.9 Steps to Deal With Creative Overwhelm(Photo by Dolo Iglesias on Unsplash)I don’t know whether you’ve been highly creative all of your life, or whether you’ve experienced some form of creative awakening. Either way, a good starting point is to accept that you have access to many ideas, and dialogue with your daimon, the strong creative force within. That’s a blessing, not a curse, and once respected and nurtured, it can elevate your life.Once you look at the issue of creative overwhelm from this perspective, the solution presents itself in a different way. Why? Because in a world where creativity is often scarce, it can be tempting to hold onto or materialize… Every. Single. Idea. Attempting this is exhausting, so start by releasing yourself from that obligation, and start discerning. These steps will provide an additional foundation to build upon.1. Be wary of shiny object syndromeShiny object syndrome explains how many people become attracted by new ideas, regardless of their value or usefulness. Caught in this loop, people are forever chasing new ideas, without following through with their earlier projects or plans. Ideas can be addictive, but as explained, they’ll continue to flow. Be cautious of being distracted by new ideas for newness' sake. Develop a commitment to the ideas you’re expanding upon, and be decisive with bringing them into the world. Don’t let new ideas take you off course when you’re looking to complete a project, they can become their own form of distraction.2. Know your idea-triggersIt’s taken me a while to appreciate the idea-generating capability of my brain. False modesty leads to more suffering. Self-awareness, on the other hand, has allowed me to understand what circumstances and situations set off a whole new dimension of thoughts and ideas. Some idea-triggers I’ve noticed include:Reading something related to your field of interest. Or reading anything. A blog post, a book, a new theory or discovery in psychology, a spiritual verse, all ignite new pathways of ideas. I have to be diligent. When I research and feel this urge, I pause, look the rabbit hole in the eye and say ‘not today,’ but not before making a few notes for when I revisit.Conversations with like-minded people. Creative conversations are full of ideas. I’ve found that these conversations are soul-nourishing and delightful, but still require discipline. If I start to tire, or become ‘carried away’ by ideas, I know it’s time to slow down and refocus the conversation.Idle time. Walking, relaxing, doing the laundry… These activities surface creative ideas. But if you’re already overwhelmed, when in these situations, return to being mindful when ideas start to flow. Note them down. And tell yourself: this is time to relax, not ideate.Knowing these triggers will allow you to discern when, or when not, to put yourself in a situation where you will inevitably be presented with new ideas. If already overwhelmed, or need to focus, do your best to manage them.3. Note, don’t hold onFind a journaling system that works for you. I use a mixture of physical notes and Trello to capture my ideas. I sometimes jot things down on my phone’s note-taking app if I’m out and about. It removes the exertion of holding on to, fearing they’ll disappear. RELATED: What Is the Google Effect, How Does It Hurt Your Mind – And What Can You Do About It?I used to note obsessively, including when waking up in the night, but I’ve relaxed in recent times, instead choosing to have faith in ideas that show resilience or keep coming back. And, really, if you’re overwhelmed with too many ideas, what does it matter if you lose a few? 4. Play the role of casting director, not idea generatorThis one is brief but important: learn to step into the role of casting director. When first presented with an idea, see it as an audition: does this idea have promise? Does it have a place? Does it have an energy to it that seems like it’ll be useful, at some point? Not all ideas are equal. When you start to audition them, rather than try to give everyone a leading role, you’ll save a lot of time and energy.5. Learn to structureStructuring is to the flow of creativity what the chisel to Michelangelo, the symphony to Mozart, the blueprint to Da Vinci, the branches to leaves, the skeleton to tissue, the seabed to the ocean. In other words, structure and fluidity support each other, and learning how to structurize (verb) goes some way to being in control.For every brainstorm, you need a plan, a list of goals, deadlines even. When it comes to ideas themselves, it helps to know where they belong. Do they fit a certain category? Can they be assigned somewhere? What will their final form look like? If it’s too premature to answer these questions, let it sit.What’s important is developing the ability to structure your ideas, and your routine and time management. What time will you dedicate to materializing ideas? Can you sit back and look at the bigger picture? Is there a book forming, or an album, or an Instagram post? How will you structure time to work on these ideas?6. Trust your intuition and instinctLook for ideas that astound you. Look for ideas that make your heart race and your body quiver. Look for ideas that command respect and those that seem to make life worth living, even more than it’s already worth living. Look for ideas that you’re equally terrified and obligated to share with the world because they’re too important and out-there and you’re certain the entire world, and no one, will love it.RELATED: Is Astrology Really Useful For Self-Development?In other words, appreciate that ideas aren’t governed only by the mind and intellect, but form a much bigger picture. Start to understand how ideas land; if you’ve had many of them, you’ll know they aren’t all coming from a single brain. So which ones are yours to share? Which ones come encoded with a force much greater than you, enough that the idea will carry itself?7. Create internal distanceRarely do I write an article that doesn’t mention mindfulness or meditation. Creating space from your thoughts is a necessity in order to deal with creative overwhelm. Actually, for someone like you, it’s even more important, because your ideas need additional discipline and distance to avoid becoming overly intrusive.Meditation is a practice of creating that space. It teaches me not to chase ideas, not to become overly attached, but to get out of my own way, and just witness the ideas as they come and go. That stance gives me more freedom to choose and select ideas, rather than running around in dizzying circles, berating how I can’t keep up or write fast enough.8. Let goEven if you were to write or paint or create music or dance or do whatever your creative thing is, consistently, from now until the day you die, you won’t share all of your ideas. Let that liberate you, because knowing that gives you the relief of only having to choose wisely, operating at a manageable pace.The ideas worth sharing will stick around. Many have a purpose you don’t consciously understand, surfacing in unexpected ways, like a poem you were going to write a few years ago coming back to you during a conversation with a friend, and those words being exactly what they needed to hear, at that precise moment in time.Ideas aren’t for individuals, either. Some might find their way into the world without you. I get the jealousy, I’ve been there. But again, this is a cause of liberation. The thing you don’t write, the song you don’t sing, might one day reach you, through the unique expression of someone else. How incredible is that?Oh, and let go of any expected outcome. As Elizabeth Gilbert writes in Big Magic: “to yell at your creativity, saying, ‘You must earn money for me!’ is sort of like yelling at a cat; it has no idea what you’re talking about, and all you’re doing is scaring it away, because you’re making really loud noises and your face looks weird when you do that.”In Conclusion(Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash)Charles Bukowski isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but he is a writer who was able to articulate the sometimes painful, often ‘I have no choice’ quality of creativity. I’ll close with his wisdom, or more accurately, wisdom that moved through him, from his poem this kind of fire. Bukowski talks of the fire of creativity in a way that will stir the hearts of creative people, those with many ideas:sometimes I think the godsdeliberately keep pushing meinto the firejust to hear meyelp a few goodlines.they just aren't going tolet me retiresilk scarf about neckgiving lectures at Yale.the gods need me toentertain them.they must be terriblybored with allthe othersand I am too.and now my cigarette lighterhas gone dry.I sit herehopelesslyflicking it.this kind of firethey can't giveme.When overwhelmed, remember that you have been chosen. Don’t romanticize the tortured artist or conflate suffering with creativity. Don’t lose your edge, but don’t let your edge lose you. Keep creating, but create with self-care in mind. Respect the fire, but let it burn through everything you make and pour from the depths of you. Know what fire is from the gods, and what is yours to kindle. Know when enough is enough, and rest, until next time.KEEP READING:Train Your Brain to Shed Distracting Habits and Concentrate Better

How To Boost Your Dream Recall For Higher Creativity
Creativity

How To Boost Your Dream Recall For Higher Creativity

Dreams are a natural expression of a creative force. Your subconscious mind creates worlds within worlds, characters with many faces, scenarios from the absurd to the revelatory, moments relived or imagined, combined in a momentary hallucination, all while your head rests on the pillow. Everything that happens in a dream comes from you: your mind is the scriptwriter, the cinematographer, the director, and the cast.Creativity in dreams is effortless, it happens all by itself. Conscious creativity is effortlessness, too. Enhancing creativity is down to setting the right environment for creativity’s spontaneous gifts to emerge, for dreams to enter the waking world. It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that a recent study in the Nature of Science and Sleep discovered a direct correlation between dream recall frequency and levels of creativity. People who were better able to recall dreams were more creative in waking life.RELATED: What Is Groupthink? How To Avoid This Common BiasThat could be due to an overlap of brain regions involved in both dreams and creativity. According to the study, creative thinking and dreams belong to the same “family of spontaneous-thought processes” which supports evidence from previous studies linking dream recall and problem-solving. In the words of Harvard psychologist Deirdre Barret, “dreaming is essentially our brain thinking in another neurophysiologic state – and therefore it is likely to solve some problems on which our waking minds have become stuck.”This is a chicken or egg scenario. Do creative people remember dreams more vividly? Or does recalling a dream make someone more creative? The majority of us have many dreams, we’re just not so skilled at remembering them. Fortunately, there are tips to improve dream recall frequency, and boost your creativity in the process.The Nature of Dreams(Photo by Ann Danilina on Unsplash)My relationship with creativity is one of awe and fascination. Although I’ve always been fairly creative, a few years ago I had a creative awakening that activated deeper levels of inspiration. Almost overnight, ideas started to spring from places that seemed vaguely familiar, yet otherworldly, as if I’d connected to an energy outside of myself. Interestingly, while researching and writing this article, I realized that this energy erupted in parallel to an increase in intense and vivid dreams.The only way I can describe this was as if that creative force had found a gateway through me, with greater levels of access, in a way that displaced a lot of old thinking patterns. RELATED: Open-Mindedness: 5 Practical Steps To Open Your MindFor example, while previously I’d spent a large percentage of time ruminating over anxious thoughts, such as replaying social interactions or fears of the future, my inner dialogue was replaced by article ideas related to self-development and spirituality, or general insights about myself and the wider world.I share this as a personal description of the link between the dream world, and the waking world, as potential vessels for creativity. Many monumental works of art, engineering, or scientific breakthroughs have come from dreams. It makes sense, then, that the ability to recall dreams can act like tapping into a stream of insight within, and that the higher the frequency of recall, the more likely you are to get creative breakthroughs.Unlocking the Treasures of the Dreamworld(Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash)Descartes reported that dreams he had revealed to him a new nature of philosophy that led to the modern-day scientific method. Nobel prize-winning physicist Niels Bohr saw the structure of an atom presented to him during a dream. Einstein’s theory of relativity, Larry Page’s idea for Google, and countless works of art, poetry, and fiction have been inspired by the dream world. In the recent study, the authors concluded by suggesting further study to see if “dream recall frequency enhancement methods could potentially become a creativity-enhancement method.” Improving dream recall might not lead you to create a new philosophy of science, win a Nobel Prize, or produce a movie like Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Sure, it’s possible. But more practically, dream recall allows you to improve problem-solving and creative ideas in your day-to-day life. RELATED: What Is the Google Effect, How Does It Hurt Your Mind – And What Can You Do About It?Many people seem to accept their ability to recall dreams as random. But multiple studies have found a number of different techniques to boost their frequency. Years ago, I stumbled across a popular technique of asking your subconscious a question before bed, only to wake up and find the answer. The subconscious mind works on problems in the background, and becoming more purposeful alone can improve your dream recollection.Dream research has discovered a number of scientifically-tested exercises, including keeping a dream diary, changing your attitude towards dreams, avoiding substances such as alcohol and THC, and sleeping between 7-9 hours in order to enter REM sleep, the state most associated with dreams.Starting with a positive attitudeMany of the mysteries of the dream world are outside of our conscious understanding. Setting the intention to boost dream recall is a powerful starting point. In addition, multiple studies have explored attitudes towards dreams. Studies have found that beliefs such as ‘I think that dreaming is, in general, a very interesting phenomenon’ has a much higher chance of boosting dream recall than the belief such as ‘dreams are boring.’ In other words, positive attitudes lead to higher recall.I wonder if the conventional way dreams are explained goes some way to shaping a vague disinterest. Growing up, I learned that dreams are the after-effects of the day, a way for the brain to process experiences in complete randomness, with no meaning. Following a number of mind-blowing dreams, full of vivid imagery and strong emotion, I dug deeper. I came across Carl Jung’s approach to dreams as significant forms of communication with the self — far from random — which inspired me to continue building a relationship with those worlds.Ask yourself: what is my attitude towards dreams? Do I have to let go of my preconceived worldview in order to develop a renewed sense of curiosity to the value, and hidden insight, into dreams? Have I dismissed dreams as random, overlooking their potential significance in guiding my life direction and solving problems?Using a dream diaryTiming is essential when it comes to dream recollection. Scientists have a term — contentless dreams — to describe moments upon waking, when you have a vague memory of having dreamed, without any content coming to mind. There’s still speculation as to why this is the case, although some suspect that it’s due to how quickly dreams erase from memory, in order to create space for the day ahead. This is what psychologist David Cohen calls the salience-interference hypothesis.RELATED: Is Astrology Really Useful For Self-Development?Getting a dream diary is a huge support in recollection. Not only to write down dreams as you remember them, but to leave it by the side of your bed for the times when you wake up, capturing the essence of the dream before it disappears. The more you use this technique, the more frequently you’ll be able to recall dreams, outsourcing them to a journal rather than attempting to hold onto them with the mind.An additional step is, of course, to remember to note dreams as you have them. You might want to get some form of anchor, something that will nudge you to record your dreams, such as a small object or post-it note by your bed.Maximize your time spent in REM sleepThere are four stages of sleep: awake, light, deep, and REM. The last type, REM, is most strongly associated with dreaming. It stands to reason, then, that in order to improve your ability to recall dreams, you want to enhance your time spent in REM sleep. One way to do this is to get adequate sleep, between 7-9 hours each night, the other is to avoid substances that disrupt REM sleep, mainly alcohol and THC.Other ways to improve REM sleep include having a regular sleep schedule, making sure you have an evening routine that relaxes you (avoiding screens, etc), creating the right environment for sleep (a cool room, not too many distractions, quiet), exercising throughout the day, and avoiding stimulants later in the day, such as caffeine.In Conclusion(Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash)Dreams, when seen as random and insubstantial, become missed opportunities for higher levels of creative living. I can vouch for the power of dreams in improving creativity and even supporting spiritual growth. There’s an entire dimension, waiting for you, each and every night. Remember, the source of dreams is a form of higher intelligence, the part of you that solves problems effortlessly, the part of you that knows the answer to the questions you ask, as soon as you ask them.Creativity, problem-solving, personal insights or epiphanies, are all forms of dialogue, between the conscious mind and the unconscious, a form of communication. What if your dreams could become your muse, your coach, your spiritual guide? All of this potential is waiting for you, and it begins with an intention to remember the dream once you wake up.So wake up, remember, create.KEEP READING:Train Your Brain to Shed Distracting Habits and Concentrate Better

Who Was The REAL Dr. Seuss - And Is His Legacy Positive... Or Problematic?
Creativity

Who Was The REAL Dr. Seuss - And Is His Legacy Positive... Or Problematic?

Theodor Seuss Geisel, known as Dr. Seuss, has written multiple children's books. Most notable are The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, as well as some educational ones as Dr. Seuss's ABC. His unique style of writing – which is immediately recognizable – quickly captivated both young readers and adult ones.Despite the overwhelmingly positive legacy left by the famed children’s book author known, there has been some controversy in the last couple of years with regard to the integrity of some of his works. RELATED: The Best Dr Seuss Quotes About Life, Love, Reading and Education for Children & AdultsBut, should Doctor Seuss be remembered for his heartwarming and often downright philosophical contributions to young literature be remembered irrespective of its more problematic elements... or is a deeper reading required?Is Dr. Seuss’s Legacy Positive Or Problematic?Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the organization that owns the rights to all of Dr. Seuss’s works, announced in 2021 that it will stop publishing and licensing several of his books. According to the organization, the books in question “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong” and are no longer being published due to racist and insensitive imagery. That said, Penguin made the following announcement in March 2022, "Dr. Seuss Enterprises (DSE) and Random House Children’s Books (RHCB) will launch Seuss Studios, a line of books for early readers by new and emerging authors and illustrators who will create original stories inspired by Ted Geisel’s (aka Dr. Seuss) unpublished sketches and illustrations."But the controversy remains: is Dr. Seuss’s legacy positive or problematic?Dr. Seuss’s Biography Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991), better known by his world-famous pseudonym, Dr. Seuss, was born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, the son of Henrietta Seuss and Theodor Robert Geisel. Ted Geisel, as some knew him, was an extraordinarily popular American writer and illustrator of children’s books noted for their nonsense words, playful rhymes and unusual creatures. He published more than 60 books over the span of his career, but before he became Dr. Seuss, Geisel wore a wide variety of different hats.Dr. Seuss' Early CareerWhile attending Dartmouth College, Theodor Seuss Geisel was editor of the school’s humor magazine. After graduating in 1925, Geisel attended Lincoln College, the Sorbonne, as well as Oxford University where he met his first wife Helen Palmer, who encouraged him to become a professional illustrator. RELATED: How a $50 Bet Helped Dr. Seuss Sell $600 Million Worth of BooksOnce he returned to the US, Geisel decided to pursue cartooning. He worked as a cartoonist for a variety of magazines, including LIFE and Vanity Fair.Following this, Geisel worked in Standard Oil’s advertising department for 15 years. His ad for Flit, a popular insecticide, became famous nationally.Dr. Seuss’ Introduction to Children's BooksAfter illustrating a series of humor books, Geisel decided to write a children’s book himself, which was rejected by close to 30 publishers. It was only after a chance meeting with a friend who was also an editor at Vanguard Press that his first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was finally released in 1937. He used the pen name Dr. Seuss – "Dr." was added as a tongue-in-cheek reference to his incomplete doctorate degree. Dr. Seuss: Politico & FilmmakerThroughout the 1940s, Geisel’s focus became more political. After working as an editorial cartoonist at PM magazine in New York, he served in the US Army for 4 years during WWII. RELATED: Why We Need To Talk About Eminem Getting “Canceled” on TikTokDuring this period, Geisel made a number of films too. His animated cartoon Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950) won an Academy Award.Dr. Seuss' Most Famous BooksIn 1947, Geisel returned to children’s books. He published most of his books internationally through Random House. Many were later adapted for television. Some of his most popular stories include the following beloved works of fiction:The Cat in the HatThis classic tells the tale of two siblings who are bored on a rainy day, and decide to let a cat into their house. This is no regular cat, of course. Rather, it’s the Cat in the Hat, and playful chaos seems to follow him everywhere he goes.How the Grinch Stole ChristmasThis forever classic tells the story of the grinch that lives on a hill looking over the town of Whoville. RELATED: How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ Most Memorable QuotesThe Grinch will stop at nothing to take away the Whos' Christmas joy, but he ultimately learns the true meaning of giving.Green Eggs and HamThis is the wacky story of Sam-I-Am trying to convince a man to try green eggs and ham, something he insists he doesn’t like. Ultimately, the man gives in — and it turns out he loves it. This is the best book ever for opening children’s minds to new foods.Horton Hatches the EggThis is the story of Horton the Elephant, who is tricked into sitting on a bird's egg, while its mother, Mayzie, takes a permanent vacation in Palm Beach. Horton stays put in spite of a number of challenges. Eventually, the egg hatches, revealing an elephant-bird — a creature with a blend of Mayzie's and Horton's features.Oh, the Places You’ll GoThis book has some of the best Dr. Seuss Quotes and encourages children to strive to fulfill their potential in life, while driving home the message that anything is possible if you put the effort in.RELATED: Young Avengers: 6 Kids Who Risked Their Lives to Become Inspiring Everyday Heroes“You have brains in your head, and feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose,” reads one of its most famous lines.The Dr. Seuss Controversy, ExplainedDr. Seuss is perhaps the most beloved children’s book author to come under fire (posthumously, no less) for outdated and insensitive depictions of racial, ethnic, cultural and gender differences.RELATED: Dr. Seuss’ Banned Books and Why They’re So Controversial, ExplainedHis first children’s book, for instance, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937), contains a crude racial stereotype of an Asian man with slanted lines for eyes. Similarly, in If I Ran the Zoo, the narrator declares his intention to put a “chieftain” (illustrated as a man in a turban) on display in the zoo; a pair of African characters are portrayed as monkeys; and a group of Asian characters, described as “helpers who all wear their eyes at a slant” from “countries no one can spell” carry a caged animal on their heads. Other books contain similar Orientalist caricatures.Altogether there are six banned Dr. Seuss books that the Seuss estate said it would stop selling. Dr. Seuss And "Cancel Culture"Of course, the announcement drove a surge of support for Seuss classics. The estate’s decision triggered a torrent of complaints about "cancel culture" from prominent conservatives. RELATED: 10 Quotes That Will Make You Stop Caring What Others ThinkUltimately, the estate’s decision represents a dramatic step toward updating and curating Seuss’s body of work, while acknowledging and rejecting some of his views—all while trying to protect his legacy. Their choice to go this route also raises questions about whether or not (and how) an author’s works should be posthumously curated to reflect evolving attitudes, as well as what should be preserved as part of the historical record.Reevaluating Dr. Seuss’s Legacy“It will cause people to re-evaluate the legacy of Dr. Seuss, and I think that’s a good thing,” said children’s literature scholar Philip Nel of the controversy. “There are parts of his legacy one should honor, and parts of his legacy that one should not.”“They may be motivated by the fact that racism is bad for the brand, or they may be motivated by a deeper sense of racial justice,” he added.Regardless of where the Seuss estate’s motivation truly lies, people may never agree on whether or not Dr. Seuss’s more questionable works in any way taint his legacy.The Enduring Legacy Of Theodor Seuss GeiselBy the early 21st century, more than 600 million copies of Dr. Seuss books had been sold worldwide in more than 20 languages. In 1984 Geisel received a Pulitzer Prize “for his special contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America’s children and their parents.”After Theodor Seuss Geisel died of cancer in 1991 at the age of 87, many more honors were to come.RELATED: 25 Mr. Rogers Quotes That Are Words of Wisdom for All AgesThe University of California’s library was named the Geisel Library in 1995 in honor of he and his second wife Audrey Geisel, for their devotion to improving literacy. The Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden in Springfield, Massachusetts features sculptures of Geisel and many of his characters. Not to mention, he also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Takeaway: Two Things Can Be TrueRegardless of your opinion on the integrity of the inimitable Dr. Seuss, it can’t be denied that his truest legacy is his lasting impact on the imaginations of children everywhere. After all, two things can be true at once: a) Dr. Seuss is a beloved icon, and b) he also conjured problematic images. While his legacy is largely intact, conversations around some of his past depictions are valuable as they serve to advance our understanding, even as we agree to disagree.KEEP READING:24 Most Inspirational Quotes From Your Favourite Authors

Transcending Procrastination: How to Overcome Procrastination Once and For All
Career Growth

Transcending Procrastination: How to Overcome Procrastination Once and For All

Every one of us has procrastination habits - we’re human, after all. It’s normal to occasionally put things off and complete tasks tomorrow. It doesn’t matter if you’re a student engaging in some academic procrastination, someone working from home ignoring household chores, or a CEO ignoring their own self imposed deadlines. We all do it. But problems arise when the ‘putting off’ becomes habitual and takes over our lives. Ultimately, this kind of active procrastination has negative consequences, poking at us in the back of our minds and preventing us from enjoying our free time as well as from achieving more personal growth. According to the American Psychological Association, habitual or lifestyle procrastinators represent about 20% of the population. If this includes you, your goals and responsibilities chronically take a backseat to more short-term gratification. In turn, this can send you down a spiral of negative self-talk, which compromises all further effort to break through the habits that are holding you back. Here’s the thing about procrastination: by the time you’re calling it by its name, it has probably already become somewhat of a habit, and breaking the behaviors that lock us into this time-sucking pattern can be quite challenging. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. If you want to beat procrastination and truly commit to tackling this form of addiction, your relationship with doing things on time will improve. By extension, so will your enjoyment of life in general! What is procrastination?What does it mean to procrastinate? When it comes to landing on a definition of procrastination, it helps not to beat around the bush. To engage in procrastination behavior means to have trouble persuading yourself to do the things you should do, need to do, or would like to do.Rather than working on something important, effort-intensive, time-sensitive, or even downright urgent, you find yourself deeply engaged in something else altogether. Maybe instead of writing a paper or having a tough conversation, you’re suddenly cleaning your house. Ironically, you may have needed to clean for ages, but had been killing time on social media. And that right there is the crux of the matter: killing time. If we kill it, we have none left for those so-called urgent tasks! The key, instead, is to manage our time well so that we have ample time left for other things—things we may not even have planned for. That, friends, is quality of life, and truly being able to enjoy living in the present moment. Overcoming procrastination: identifying mythsAlthough the meaning of procrastination is pretty clear, defining what procrastination is not is just as helpful in understanding our reasons for doing it. Let us dispel a few of the more common (yet persistent) misconceptions about procrastination, shall we?Myth 1: Procrastination is lazinessFrom the outside looking in, procrastination can look a bit like laziness. But there’s a significant distinction to be made between laziness and procrastination. While procrastinators might put off doing things, sometimes until the last minute, or even spend their time staring into the great void, don’t be so quick to judge this behavior as lazy. Lazy people do little or nothing and are not bothered by this lack of action. On the contrary, procrastinators really want to do something but can’t seem to kickstart the process. While laziness is passive and even apathetic, active procrastinators are active and willing—even if you’re choosing to do something other what you need to do, you are doing something. Regardless of what others may think, start by eliminating the negative feelings and thinking of yourself not as lazy. Instead, practice some semblance of self forgiveness and be more accurate: you’re a procrastinator, that’s all! Words matter. The first step on the road to better self control is a better understanding of the root of your behaviors. It’s how we begin to set about fixing them. Myth 2: procrastination is relaxationAnother common misconception about procrastination is that it’s a form of relaxation—or, put another way, relaxing is a form of procrastination. Either way, this is problematic and simply untrue. Instinctively, we all know what relaxing feels like: it renews your energy stores, leaving you feeling less tired and more capable of tackling the tasks of life. In many ways, procrastination is the exact opposite. That muted (yet nonetheless present) awareness of what you should be focusing on, coupled with the often low-level yet continual anxiety at the back of your mind can really drain your energy. Plus, unsurprisingly, it’s a vicious circle: the less energized you feel, the more vulnerable you become to stress or even depression, which, in turn, increases the likelihood that you’ll keep right on procrastinating. In a nutshell, successfully getting things done is what enables us to actually relax. Procrastinating does not accomplish this.Myth 3: You work best under pressureThis is a very common refrain—if you haven’t made this bold claim yourself, chances are you’ve heard someone else say it. The narrative at play here is that leaving things to the last minute is actually more productive, as the rush involved in making it happen without time on your side is just the kickstart you need to do a bang up job. Yet in spite of persistent notions that pressure can facilitate productivity, studies show the opposite to be true. What time-pressure facilitates is more akin to stress, guilt, and ineptitude. If you identify as a person who does, in fact, work best under pressure, you might be an exception to the rule, but the more likely explanation is that the habit of completing work last-minute may be producing a ‘high,’ or a sort of euphoria at having prevailed against all odds. After all, we humans do appreciate our dramatic flair. Why do we procrastinate?(Paula Winkler / Getty)So if it works against us, why do people procrastinate? Procrastination is driven by a range of thoughts and actions, but at its root, we delay tasks because we don’t think we’ll enjoy them, and we want to avoid unhappiness. Or we worry we won’t do them well. Or we’re intimidated by the perceived complexity of a task (i.e., filing taxes or planting a garden). Or because we’re distracted and exhausted (because, life). Or all of the above and more! Let’s break these reasons down in more detail, shall we?Time inconsistencyBehavioral economists refer to a phenomenon known as “time inconsistency” to help explain why procrastination often sucks us in despite our best intentions. Put simply, time inconsistency is our tendency to value immediate rewards over future ones. In this way, your present self and your future self often are often in contradiction or even conflict with one another. While your future self wants to be financially stable, your present self wants to enjoy your earnings because life is too short. While your future self wants to be healthy well into old age, your present self would rather binge Netflix than exercise. The thing is, the consequences of procrastination are often years away, making them seem less than ‘real.’Indecision…or paralysisIn this day and age, we are generally not at a loss for options: our modern society worships individual choice and free will, for better or worse. Although the basic underlying tenet here is that the more options we have, the happier we’ll be, people today are not happier than their predecessors.Although having an abundance of choices at our fingertips has undeniably made life easier in many ways, with more decision-making freedom comes more confusion about what should and shouldn’t be a priority; what’s essential or urgent and what’s not; and sometimes even what’s right versus what’s wrong. With this modern-day confusion comes a hefty dose of disempowerment. Actually choosing somewhere to start can feel overwhelming or even paralyzing. If we want to cultivate more positive habits, it becomes necessary, under these circumstances, to better clarify our values and personal goals.Losing touch with the value of timeThe hustle bustle of modern life can also make it easy to lose perspective and forget we are all finite, mortal beings with a limited time on this earth. In other words, time (rather than money) is our most valuable asset. While there are often ways of making or borrowing more money, time that has passed can never be retrieved. Why not let the old adage “life is short” (YOLO) inspire more careful time management rather than overwhelmed procrastination which only serves to quite literally “kill time”?Self-deceptionProcrastination can also involve a degree of self-deception. On some level, most procrastinators are aware of the fact that they’re procrastinating, as well as the consequences. But changing one’s habits actually requires an even loftier effort than completing the task at hand, so chronic procrastinators often convince themselves of certain convenient truths. For instance, you might tell yourself you work best under pressure, or that it’s a bad time to quit smoking given all the stress you’re currently dealing with. But in reality, starting will always be the first step, and there will never be a ‘perfect time.’PerfectionismContrary to dominant associations with laziness, procrastinators are often hyper perfectionists who find it less psychologically daunting to keep procrastinating than to actually tackle a job and risk not doing it perfectly. If this sounds like you, you may find yourself so worried about the perceptions and judgements of others that you instead opt to opt out. Here’s the problem: putting your dreams and goals on an indefinite hiatus because of what other people may or may not think is simply no way to do justice to your full potential.DisorganizationFinally, some of us procrastinate because we’re very disorganized, and we find the idea of getting organized excessively overwhelming. Being organized does not come naturally to everyone—this is why people hire secretaries or assistants, after all. Being disorganized can place an even bigger disconnect between you and the task at hand, since “getting organized” will always be the step that needs to be taken before you embark on the task. This can lead to procrastination around “getting organized,” while the original task (i.e., starting your own business), gets pushed further and further into some imagined future.Underlying mental health issuesFor some, procrastination is more than a frustrating habit; it can signal a serious underlying mental health issue such as ADHD, OCD, anxiety, or depression. While an underlying issue may be at the root of your procrastination, it goes both ways: your procrastination may also be fueling any mental health issues you have or even triggering new ones. Anxiety is a prime example. While anxiety may be causing you to procrastinate, your procrastination will almost certainly fuel anxiety. If you suffer from chronic or debilitating procrastination, one of the above conditions could be the culprit, and it may be time to seek the advice of a trained professional.Reasons to overcome procrastinationBy now it’s probably pretty obvious that procrastinating can have ill-effects on your overall life trajectory and your sense of momentum. Here are a few concrete reasons to resist the persistent pull of procrastination:It’s getting in the way of your goals and dreamsProcrastination is one of the main obstacles preventing you from getting out of bed, making choices that will further your goals, and ultimately living the life you’ve always dreamed of. Why not do all you can to burn brightly and live in such a way that’s aligned with your best, truest self? It’s better to regret something you did than something you didn’t doRecent studies have shown that more people regret the things they haven't done than the things they have. Not to mention, the regret and guilt we feel as a result of missed opportunities tends to stay with us much longer than negative emotions resulting from something we actually did.It takes an emotional, physical, and practical tollProcrastinators habitually get lower grades at school, produce lower-quality work at their jobs, and can also suffer from insomnia or a compromised immune system. Chronic procrastination can also compromise our relationships with others—both personal and professional. If your procrastination is triggering depression (or vice versa), there’s never any shame in seeking out a good therapist! How to stop procrastinating(Simon Winnall / Getty)Let’s face it: the world as we know it is highly conducive to procrastination. This just means that learning how to transcend procrastination is one of the most important skills we can acquire. If you know you’re happier during those rare periods of productivity and motivation, consider taking the following steps to establish productivity as more of a force at work in your life.Step 1: Acknowledge your procrastination habitsThere are many reasons we put off doing things until later. If you've briefly delayed an important task for an undeniably good reason (i.e., health concerns, or an unexpected increase in your workload), then you might not actually be procrastinating. But if you’re delaying action on an ongoing basis, or avoiding addressing something that urgently needs addressing, then what you’re doing is procrastinating and needs to be identified as such. A few more signs you’re procrastinating:You keep very busy doing low-priority tasks that don’t leave you with any real sense of accomplishment.Some items are permanent fixtures on your to-do list, in spite of their importance.You spend significant periods of time ruminating over what decision to make—without arriving at any decision.You begin an urgent task only to distract yourself with making a snack or checking social media.You often find yourself waiting for the right moment or the right energy to get something done.Step 2: Understand the reasons behind your procrastinationOnce you’ve identified procrastination as the problem, the next step is understanding the reasons behind it. Have a look at the section entitled “Why do we procrastinate?” above to gain a clearer understanding of your own personal reasons.You may be procrastinating for any of the following reasons:You’re avoiding a task because you find it boring or annoying.You’re disorganized and you don’t know how to get organized.You're organized, but still feel overwhelmed by a given task.You have doubts about your skill or expertise and are worried about doing it poorly.You’re afraid of success because you see it as a door to more challenging or tedious tasks—never-ending tasks!You just can't decide what to do, or how exactly to do it.Step 3: Create your very own anti-procrastination strategyProcrastination is deeply habit-forming, but like even the hardiest of habits, it can be broken. While you may not be able to stop procrastinating on the spot, the following anti-procrastination strategies can help you to stop succumbing to the short-term temptations of procrastination and give yourself the best possible chance of success!Step 4: Stop being so hard on yourselfIf you have a long, sordid history of procrastination, and you regularly beat yourself up about it, stop. Forgiving yourself can actually go a long way toward tempering any negative self-talk, thus reducing the likelihood that you’ll keep on procrastinating. Pay attention to the things you say to yourself, and the judgements you make. Rather than using phrases like “need to" or “have to,” which can strip you of your sense of agency and be quite disempowering, try saying, “I choose to,” to take more ownership over your work and your goals, and help you feel more in control. Remember: words are never just words—there is a thought to back every one, and in turn, every thought has weight.Step 5: Create a detailed timeline, complete with deadlinesStart by writing down the tasks you need to complete, and specify a timeframe for doing each of them. This will help you to proactively tackle your work. But—because having just one deadline can be a bit like an invitation to procrastinate (we get the impression we have more time than we do and keep putting things off), go one further and break your project down into steps.Include every step that will need to be taken to complete said project, no matter how small. You might break the steps down into monthly, weekly, and daily task lists. Then, create an overarching timeline with multiple deadlines for every task—be it big or small. This way, you have a clear understanding of what needs to get done, and by when. This, in turn, creates a needed sense of urgency to act—and to follow through. Here are more tips on setting effective deadlines.Step 6: Promise yourself a reward…or a giftIf it helps to provide yourself with palpable incentives, you might consider rewarding yourself when you complete a difficult task without delay. Whether it’s a mocha with whipped cream on top, or permission to put your feet up and watch a movie, having a self-reward system in place can be very effective. This will also serve as a regular reminder that finishing things is a highly pleasant experience! While we’re on the topic of rewards, how about a straight-up gift? Consider giving yourself the gift of unbridled productivity with one of these 16 motivational gifts.Step 7: Ask someone to hold you accountableHaving someone to hold you accountable can make all the difference in the world. This is especially true, given that we, as humans, care what other people think—for better or worse. So go ahead and ask a friend, family member, coworker, or partner to check up on you now and again. Think of it as positive peer pressure! After all, this is the fundamental idea behind many self-help groups.Step 8: Act as you goActing as you go means tackling tasks as they arise, rather than letting them build up over days, weeks, or even months. If there are tasks that you find particularly unpleasant but which can be done relatively quickly, aim to get them out of the way early in the day, so that you have the remainder of the day to focus on work you find more meaningful, or at least more pleasant. William H McRaven, a former navy SEAL who served for 34 years has shared the one simple lesson that sticks with him, even to this day: if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. The idea here is that just by virtue of making your bed, you have already accomplished your first task of the day successfully. The sense of pride this instills can actually encourage you to complete your next task—and the one after that. It’s a positive chain reaction.Step 9: Cut out distractionsIt should go without saying, but it remains difficult nonetheless: turn off your email and social media while you are doing more focused work so as to cut down on distractions and interruptions. This will help you to get down to the task at hand far more quickly—and before you know it, you’ll actually have finished a task that you thought would take a lot longer. Pleasant surprises await you when you cultivate the self-discipline to compartmentalize this way! If need be, reward yourself with a Facebook or Instagram break once you’ve finished your most pressing tasks!The bottom lineBottom line: while it’s true that procrastination can be highly addictive and is typically rooted in more deeply ingrained behaviors and outlooks, where there’s a will, transcending procrastination is entirely doable! If you do the necessary work to identify the problem, understand why you’re procrastinating to begin with, and then create a robust action plan to help you break on through to the other side, it’s only a matter of time before you begin to notice positive results at play in your life. You got this!

Jason Statham's Humble Beginnings Prove Anything Is Possible
Career Growth

Jason Statham's Humble Beginnings Prove Anything Is Possible

Tough guy Englishman Jason Statham is actually somewhat misunderstood. Jason Statham has built an entire career out of playing rough, rugged, bullheaded characters, from Frank Martin in the Transporter trilogy to Deckard Shaw in the Fast & Furious movies to Lee Christmas in The Expendables franchise. No matter the movie, you can always expect Jason to emanate a wild, aggressive, and macho energy. That’s precisely why his fans adore him. In fact, he’s been the uncompromising hardman for so long that people forget that a charming human being exists behind the steely gaze. The typecasting doesn’t take away from the fact that Jason’s beginnings were as humble and human as anyone else. While he does share a few traits with some of his mighty characters, we should also remember he is his own man and shouldn’t be defined exclusively by his body of work. Here’s what we can take away from Jason Statham’s journey:Jason Statham grew up “selling watches” on street corners and had been a competitive swimmerJason was born on July 26, 1967, to Eileen Yates and Barry Statham in Derbyshire, England. His mother danced professionally, and his father worked mainly as a street seller, peddling everything from jewelry to perfume to knock-off watches. Barry’s varied career also included stints as a house painter, coal miner, and the occasional singer. Having grown up working-class, Jason followed in his dad’s footsteps. Hawking a mishmash of off-brand items to busy pedestrians is no easy job, but Jason took it in stride and used the opportunity to develop excellent salesman skills. “He smiles wide and winks often and periodically announces, “My name is Billy, not silly,” to comic effect,” read a New York Times profile of the actor. Jason also leaned into his father’s musical background as a child and had been the drummer in their family band, with his brother as the guitarist and their dad as the lead singer. Though he dabbled in music occasionally, his true passion lied in the waters. Statham swam for his local grammar school team and demonstrated such a talent in competitive diving that he snagged himself a spot on Britain’s National Swimming Squad. He trained with the team for twelve years and was even chosen to be a part of the Great Britain contingent in the 1990 Commonwealth Games. He finished 12th in the World Championships in springboard diving. Jason said in an interview that his time as a competitive diver taught him “discipline, focus” and generally kept him out of trouble. I get motivated by the sheer fact that I don’t want to go back to the f—king street corners and start selling watches again [...] I like the job. I like what I’m doing. So if that goes away, it means I’m not motivated—I’m not working hard.Jason Statham to Men's HealthStatham achieved superstardom without having taken a single “acting lesson” in his lifeThough he excelled in competitive diving and had taken it seriously as a young man in his twenties, Jason realized that amateur sports didn’t come with a stable enough income to support him for the long haul. He went back to the streets as a vendor, “selling perfume and jewelry, and other goods that were supposedly expensive.” The father-of-one said that his time as a hawker off Oxford street sparked a love of performance. Statham's charming antics drew the attention of shoppers. For this reason, they were more likely to purchase items off his stall. One of his funny acts caught the eye of passerby Guy Ritchie, who became so entranced with Jason’s personality that he cast him in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as no one else but a street hawker. (Photo by Daniel Smith/Getty Images)The rest, as we know, is history. Jason Statham was in his early thirties when he did his first movie — a departure from the majority of working actors who dip into the scene in their late teens or early twenties. But that didn’t discourage him from embracing the new opportunities knocking on the door. He jumped into the business and took it upon himself to make a name as an action star. Jason said that he dreamed of being a stuntman as a kid; becoming a dashing, daring actor was just icing on top. I’m aware of what I can and can’t do. I don’t see myself as a character actor that spends months and months figuring out what to do. I’ve never had an acting lesson in my life. I don’t know whether that’s a good or bad thing.Jason Statham to Men’s JournalOff-camera, he’s surprisingly “fun and charismatic and energetic”Just because someone prefers a certain kind of role consistently through their career doesn’t mean that it reflects their real-life personality. Most people assume Jason Statham to be the gruff, surly, hyper-masculine figure when the cameras aren’t rolling, but his partner confirmed that he most certainly is not. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, the actor’s longtime girlfriend and the mother of his child, said that when they went on their first date in 2010, she had assumed that he would be as rough and tumble as his on-screen persona. Suffice to say; she was delighted to see him turn on the charm and offer up his romantic, fun side. I remember calling my friend the next day and just being like, 'Wow, he’s so unexpectedly not who I thought he’d be. He’s so grounded and humble, he’s really fun and charismatic and energetic.' Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to ElleShe also added that the humbleness in him hasn’t faded. Statham knows the “value of a pound” and is aware of how fortunate he is to be doing what he does. He spent the majority of his life scrambling to make ends meet; he worked as a painter-decorator, sold jewelry to busy shoppers in the heart of London, kept the peace as a bouncer of many nightclubs, even oiled up as a backup dancer for music videos — the actor knows what it’s like to truly work for a livelihood. Rosie hopes that his “groundedness” is instilled in their son as well. Your time will come as long as you maintain drive(Denise Truscello/WireImage)You never know when your big break is knocking on the door. You have to be patient and maintain the drive, knowing that the opportunities will present themselves at their own pace. And once they do, it’s up to you to take the wheel and jump. Jason Statham didn’t expect to be one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, so he kept working away at his day job and didn’t stop until something better came along. It’s never too late to pursue your interests, and it's never too late to manifest your dreams. Everyone’s lives move to a different rhythm, so you can’t compare yourself to others. All you can do is have a little faith and show a lot of ambition from time to time — your calling will reveal itself to you before you know it.

He Was Conned And Enslaved - Now He's Debt-Free And Has A Modeling Career
Creativity

He Was Conned And Enslaved - Now He's Debt-Free And Has A Modeling Career

One man's life seemed beyond hopeless until an old friend, some fabulous photos and open hearts turned things around in an unforgettable fashion. A hard knock life Yury Vetlugin of Ufa, Russia was left in front of an orphanage as a newborn. Later, he was diagnosed with a psychological disability that impaired his judgement, leading him down a dark path."he’s like a big child. But he’s a lot like us too. He has both positive and negative traits, with the only negative being that fraudsters can manipulate him"- Yuri Fillipov, childhood friendWith impaired judgement, Yury was taken for a ride when he mistook some shady characters for friends. They duped him into signing loans under his name for purchase of a house. Unable to pay back the loans, Yury was penniless.The financial con was just the beginning. In in a frightening turn, the same fraudsters forcibly took Yury to the house, located in a remote village, and enslaved him as an unpaid houseworker. To make matters worse, they routinely beat him and fed him scraps.One night, after narrowly surviving an axe attack from them, Yuri fled and found his way home.Reunited with an old friendAt home, Yury ran into childhood friend — and fashion photographer — Roman Fillipov.After hearing of his upsetting ordeal and deciding to take some snaps of his photogenic friend toiling as a yard-keeper, Fillipov got an idea."I thought to myself: ‘He is so handsome — why don’t I film him like I always do?’ So I did"- Roman Fillipov to UTV televisionHe told Yury's story through photographs and shared it online to raise money for Vetlugin, who "could be on a real GQ cover if only he had a little more luck in life.”There's beauty in every lifeThe GQ'esque photoshoot — showing Yury toiling the yards and alone at home — blew up the internet and donations poured in. In a matter of days, they raised mored than double the requested amount.Debt-free, Yury is still pinching himself. "I did not expect this to happen"- Yury VetluginFor photographer Fillipov, the story proves that friendships are more precious than gold. For Vetlugin, the moral of the story is that behind unthinkable suffering lies a beautiful story. As for Vetlugin's modelling career? Stay tuned. “I was already invited to do a shoot for a glasses commercial, but we will see what happens after that.”For news stories, use this:4 Years Ago, He Was Homeless–Today, He Bought His First HousePoor Man Who Missed Job Interview To Save A Life Had Employers Lining Up To Hire HimDomestic Abuse Survivor Marries The First Responder Who Saved Her LifeBrooklyn Landlord Cancels Rent For Hundreds Of Tenants, Setting An Unprecedented Example For Others

5 Simple Steps to Supercharge Your Creativity
Creativity

5 Simple Steps to Supercharge Your Creativity

In our world of contradiction, tension, struggle, and confusion, staying inspired and coming up with new ideas can be extremely difficult—maddening even. Though it's a special concern for those of us who must be creative for a living, but also for anyone who wants to leave their creative imprint on this world. Whether you're a writer, designer, dancer, chef, musician, comedian, or amateur mime, finding and maintaining inspiration can feel about as easy as trying not to blink or swallow while someone boldly points and laughs.Here are some ways you might consider jolting yourself from the humdrum downward spiral of panic, dread, or downright apathy that can sometimes arise when your creative juices are running low!5 steps to improving your creativity:1. PracticeCounter-intuitive though it may seem, when it comes to the concept of being creative, practice makes for (close to) perfect. Creativity is actually a skill you have hone. The act of creating entices your mind to, well, create more often. Fact: even the most fabulously creative trailblazers have to spend way more energy working at being creative than gliding along on their natural talents. Challenge yourself to put in the time and effort it takes to create every day, in whatever way works for you. Every morning or night, for an hour, or two, or whatever you’ve got to give.2. DaydreamSome of us like to continually flog ourselves for not living up to our own hyper-critical standards. But have you ever had a superior whose very presence made you less competent at what you were doing, out of sheer nervousness? Be kind and compassionate with yourself, and above all, have faith in your abilities! Show yourself you mean it by allowing yourself the time you need to zone out. Daydreaming has actually been shown to lead to creative problem-solving. When your mind is free to roam, it can access memory, emotion, and valuable stored knowledge. Should you come up with any ideas while zoning out, jot them down. A few ways to daydream with panache: walking, running, taking a bath, or going crazy on a giant trampoline.3. Switch your surroundingsHave you ever tried a new and unusual workspace, like your car? It can do wonders to feel like you’re going somewhere new rather than sitting still (although do be sure the car is parked). If you usually work in a library, try a busy cafe. You might spend a sunny day working in a charming park. In addition to switching it up, your main workspace should be a place you like spending time— where the only thing you do is create. Whether in a work or home office, make it comfortable, choose the right colors, and if clutter agitates you, keep it clutter-free.4. Reach outWhile creative people often feel they are playing a profoundly solo sport, the fact is that anti-social tendencies have their limit. Others who have undergone similar creative struggles and come out on the other side intact understand just how hard it can be. Don’t undervalue the personal connections you make as a source of real learning. If you’re not part of a community of creative thinkers, email people that inspire you and ask them out for coffee. You might be surprised by how many people would be happy to give an hour to a budding creative.5. Don’t be afraid to take risksCreating remarkable and compelling ideas others can connect with can only be achieved with some measure of confidence. It can be scary to stray wildly from what those who’ve come before you have deemed suitable, but sometimes being reckless is the only way your mind knows how to feel inspired, and if that’s the case, by all means, go with it and quit trying to fit into someone else’s preconceived notions. The late genius musician Prince is the perfect example. He broke musical industry norms, gender norms, and lifestyle norms, challenging virtually every “expert” that crossed his path. And he became a worldwide sensation, in large part because of his risk-taking.Do what you have to do to stay true, don’t doubt yourself, and the rest should fall into place!

Why You Should Harness the Therapeutic Power of Creative Writing
Creativity

Why You Should Harness the Therapeutic Power of Creative Writing

It is sometimes impossible to be objective about our feelings when we are in the thick of experiencing them. By putting them down on paper, we are turning our feelings into something tangible, something physical, and that can make accepting them or understanding them so much more manageable.Writing is a powerful tool because it allows you to open up a dialogue with yourself, without straying into the realms of anxiety or obsessiveness. Many professionals recommend journaling as a self-improvement exercise, and there is certainly a lot of merit to that proposition. Journaling is a deeply personal journey that helps us explore and dissect our feelings and emotions.After journaling, the next step toward self-improvement should be dipping your toes into the sometimes intimidating world of creative writing. Many people dismiss the idea of writing poetry or fiction because it might be too challenging, or ‘not their thing,’ or a waste of time, but in order to unlock the true therapeutic potential of writing, you should start exploring mediums like poetry or fiction.Creative writing can help enrich our relationship with the people and world around us. Of course, there is a huge difference between writing for self-improvement and therapy, and writing creatively to produce a work of art. Even a novice writer can reap the benefits of poetry - simply by exercising your mind in an unfamiliar way, or by approaching ideas and problems from a totally new angle. And if you hate your poem, feel free to burn it! Nobody ever has to see it.In many ways, the blank page is like your first trip to see a therapist.It is right there, in front of you, waiting to absorb all of your inner thoughts and concerns, both positive and negative. The blank page will never judge you or try to fix you. It will never impose its own beliefs or opinions on you. Plus, it won’t charge you 100$ for an hour-long session.Putting your thoughts and problems onto the page allows you to explore them from a different angle. We all know the difficult sensation of helplessness that appears when, no matter how much we think about a problem, we can’t seem to move any closer to a solution.The blank page, and whatever you fill with it, is a manifestation of your self. By writing, you are empowering yourself to explore every corner of your mind, perhaps even things that might be challenging to think about under normal circumstances. Writing can help you deal with difficult or traumatic events, or perhaps help you find new or hidden meanings in events that previously seemed unimportant to you.In essence, writing is an easy way to think about your problems and issues, while remaining totally in control of them, which is important since lack of control can be difficult for many people to grapple with. You are the one deciding what makes its way onto the page, how relevant or illuminating those words might be, and whether anyone else will ever get to see then. Reclaiming control over your thoughts by writing them down is an extremely rewarding experience! Literature and poetry can really help us understand many common social problems and anxieties that might be impacting us. By practicing writing, you might find that you have a new and more profound appreciation for novels and poetry. Remember, if you have felt or thought something, then somebody else has probably already written about it! There is an almost unlimited wealth of books and articles circulating in the world, just waiting to be explored.There is also something to be said for the social aspect of sharing and workshopping your writing. For some, the idea of sharing creative writing might seem ridiculous and scary. However, amazingly authentic bonds can be created between people who are willing to share their own writing and engage with the work of others. These experiences can be similar to group therapy, where important and complicated issues might be discussed, or alternatively, they can be great opportunities to learn how to better take and give criticism, and to work with people from different walks of life. In most cities, there are open writing circles that are happy to accept new members.Journaling and creative writing are both valuable tools, and one is not better or more useful than the other.In fact, a combination of the two is probably ideal. For example, a journal can be used to empty out a deluge of ideas onto the page. Stream-of-consciousness writing is a very powerful tool because it allows you to break down those mental walls that may have been put up in your mind to block out difficult thoughts. In that sense, journaling is very therapeutic in its own right.That stream-of-consciousness can then be further explored, and transformed, with practice, into beautiful lines of poetry or fiction. This process of transformation will allow you to see your thoughts and visions in a spectacular new light, and can be one of the most healing, inspiring, and peaceful experiences we can possibly hope to have.