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Chapter 9: Get creative

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.

—Danny Kaye

What is creativity? It is the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness. Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed, such as an idea, theory, invention, a literary work, or a painting. The word itself means ‘to create’. Here’s how you can start to develop your creative mind. Allow yourself to relax and think outside the box. Stimulate creativity by setting aside time to brainstorm, breaking up your routine, and seeking inspiration from people and places around you. Travel, meditation, and positive thinking can do wonders.

One of the best ways to open up your creativity is by mediation. By practicing mindful meditation, you can help relax, improve your awareness, and inspire self-reflection. With time and practice, meditation will help you open up your creative juices and make you become clear about what creative endeavours you should pursue.

Another way to strengthen and develop creativity within yourself is to change your daily routine to expand your thought process. Routine can be the enemy of creativity because it removes the need for quick thinking and new ideas. New stimuli will keep you on your toes and open up your mind creatively. Try to shake up your everyday life with a few small changes.

Other great ways to expand your creativity include the following:

• Positive thinking
• Going for walks outdoors to encourage creative thought
• Hanging out in different spots to expose yourself to new stimuli
• Trying new hobbies to expand your life experiences and gain new talents
• Getting up earlier in the morning to make the most of your time
• Surrounding yourself with other creative people to get inspired
• Reading as much as possible to discover new ideas and themes
• Travelling whenever you can to gain new experiences
• Listening to TED talks or other inspiring lectures

What can you create?

What do you love creating? What talents are you gifted with? Putting together your passions and talents, what is it that you and you alone can create to contribute positively to the world? Is it a book, a song, a business, a great family, a piece of art, a product, an experience, an environment, a life? What do you want to create? Make a short list of things you want to create in your life.

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Remember

• Stimulate creativity by setting aside time to brainstorm and meditate.

• Being alone is the secret to creativity and great ideas.

• You can create something to contribute positively to the world.

• Creativity is finding answers to present challenges.
• Humans are at the top of the food chain because we can create.

Chapter 10: Come up with ideas

Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.

—Oliver Wendell Holmes

What is an idea? An idea is a thought that is generated in the mind. An idea can be generated with intent but can also be created unintentionally, hence the saying ‘The idea just popped in my mind’. Ideas are a form of magic, an invisible mysterious thought that comes out of nowhere that has the potential to make itself visible through the application of action. Most actions precede thoughts, and most thoughts precede an idea first generated by the mind: your invisible factory that creates your reality.

Ideas come out of the blue anytime and anywhere. The problem is that 99% of the ideas you have don’t make it out of your head. To overcome this, I recommend you use your note taking app on your phone to capture the ideas that come to you, and then convert these notes into your daily journal. By starting this new habit of idea capturing, you will be surprised by how many ideas come to you that if acted upon would change your life for the better. Build an idea list in your journal so you add all ideas that come to you, then later on you can take the time to study the list and see what is worth acting upon and what isn’t. With the passing of time, looking back at your old ideas with present-day knowledge, you will clearly see which ideas were good and not so good.

Ideas to goals

Once you have established the new habit of idea capturing and using a journal to make your idea list, it’s time to see what ideas you should pursue. Only a small percentage of the ideas on your list will be worth pursuing further with time and action. Weigh the ideas and thoroughly think about which ideas you would like to manifest and turn them into goals. All goals are thoughts first, and ideas are just thoughts passing by in the mind. It’s the ideas that you capture, keep, nurture, nourish, and take action on that really count. I can tell you from experience that only a handful of the hundreds of ideas I have had over time have really counted because of the time, energy, and action I have put into them. You only have a set amount of time and energy you can dedicate to ideas, so you better take the time to decide which ideas you want to turn into goals and manifest into reality.

Imagine if . . .

Imagine if all your ideas came true in your life. What would you think of? What would you dream of? What would you do? Whom would you be? What would you see? Imagine if all you wanted came true in your life. The reason I ask you these questions is to get your imagination working. Your mind is a muscle that pumps out ideas when in use. Building the muscle requires work, repetition, and time just like most things in life. The same goes for the idea factory you own between your ears, the mind. Learn to stimulate and feed the mind to generate new ideas and new thoughts. Start using your imagination to create the future you dream about, and imagine yourself living the life you desire. Let your imagination run wild and imagine if . . .

Nothing in this world is so powerful as an idea whose time has come.

—Victor Hugo

Remember

• Get your ideas out of your head so you can analyse their worth later.

• Establish the habit of idea capturing using a journal and see what ideas you should pursue.

• Only by action do ideas become real.

• It’s the ideas that you capture, keep, nurture, nourish, and take action on that really count.
• All the best things first start out as ideas.
• Ideas only become worth something when the market gives you money for their value.

Chapter 11: Use your mind

It is the mind that maketh good or ill, that maketh wretch or happy, rich or poor.

—Edmund Spenser

The mind is the seat of consciousness, the essence of your being. A formless continuum that functions to perceive the world, to think, and to feel. This nonphysical wonder we call the mind is the greatest tool we possess in our human toolbox. It can be used to create or to destroy. To love or hurt. To uplift or put down. It can be peaceful or vengeful. A tool for positivity or negativity. A magical invisible tool that is held by everyone and is activated by choice and free will. Your mind is an awesome quantum computer, and you are the programmer. You can program your mind, or your mind can program you. You can direct your thoughts or have your thoughts direct you. You can master your mind or have your mind master you. It’s all up to you.

Software and hardware

You cannot change the size of your brain (hardware) but you can change the software (mind). Changing your mind, pun intended, is the one thing you can do by changing the software you install. We all have very similar brains as a species, but what makes us different individually is the software we have downloaded into our minds and how we are wired. The experiences you have had have formed your current way of thinking and understanding, and your future experiences will form your future thoughts and understanding. It’s all binary and math, input equals output. After a certain age, you are in charge of recoding and updating your software. Don’t let other people program you – program yourself.

Rule your mind or it will rule you.

—Horace

Feed your mind

If you don’t plant flowers in the garden of the mind, then you’ll forever be pulling weeds.

—John Demartini

You have the power to program your mind with the information you consume. Initially, the quality of output (action) is largely determined by the quality of input (information) we take into our mind. If you are not deliberately programming positive information into your mind, I can bet you are being fed a mental diet of negativity. If you can start to control and program your mind, your chances of manifesting your dreams and achieving success are just a matter of time.

Feed your mind constantly with the best information just like an athlete would consume the best nutrition for their body; you want to consume the best information for your mind. Garbage in, garbage out; quality in, quality out. Read the best books on the planet. Listen to the most successful and motivational people in the world. Listen to the best audiobooks and follow the best podcast shows. Follow the best YouTube channels and learn from people more educated on subjects than you. Attend the best seminars and workshops to develop your mind, and network with people who will take you to the next level.

Your mind is a dry sponge, always ready to soak up anything you give it. The mind will produce whatever ingredients you pour into it. Feed it with the best, and you will become the best version of yourself. Feed it with the average, and you will become an average version of yourself. It’s all on you to determine what you feed yourself mentally. If you take great care of your mind, your mind will take great care of you, and you will be rewarded with peace of mind – the ultimate prize.

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

Recap so far

To recap the previous chapters, I want you to be clear about what we have covered and what we will be covering in the upcoming chapters. We started the journey of success in 50 steps by taking the first step, realising your dreams, uncovering your passions, and making a list of your desires. We found your purpose and turned your dreams, passions, and desires into meaningful goals. We then mapped out your goals with the power of planning and time. We explored knowledge and how creativity and ideas shape our lives, as well as explored the power of the mind.

In the upcoming chapters, we take a look at thoughts and the power of faith. Understand how we are shaped by the beliefs we hold and our attitude about life itself. We learn the secrets of gratitude and giving, living in a state of abundance and prosperity. Then understand the secret law of attraction – how to manifest your dreams into reality through action.

Remember

• The mind is the greatest tool we possess in our human toolbox.
• Your mind is an awesome quantum computer, and you are the programmer.
• You can program your mind, or your mind can program you.
• Change your mind by changing the software you install.
• Feed your mind constantly with the best information just like an athlete would consume the best nutrition for their body.
• Your mind will produce whatever ingredients you pour into it.