How to Make a New Friend

How to make a new friend View this email in your browser

How to make a new Friend This week I had to get picked up at the airport for an event that was about two hours away. I admit I was a little worried about being in a car with a driver I didn’t know for two hours – would he be talkative? Would she be quiet?  It would be rush hour when we left the airport, was this person going to be bugged by the traffic? I caught myself going wacky in my head and took that ball of worries and threw them out the window. Then I decided in advance I was about to have the most amazing experience. Then of course I did. My driver Tony wasn’t ruffled by the traffic, and I found out he and I shared a passion for cooking and food. We swapped recipes and favorite meals, then we moved on to share secret vacation spots and stories of jobs we’d had. And we got down into some nitty gritty stuff too – wonderment over human kindness or lack thereof. He confessed he had Googled me before picking me up and watched my Draw Your Future video, then he softly shared his dream for his own life.  It was lovely. AND it was the shortest two-hour drive I have ever experienced. That’s how amazing the world is and all it asked of me was to be open. To rid myself of my worry or preconceived notions and just show up - fully present. In exchange I got a contact for vacation homes in a beach city I’d never been to. I learned a new way to make lasagna that I am definitely going to try.  And I got to hear someone’s story – how he had immigrated to the USA from Brazil and started off working as a dishwasher, desperately trying to learn English. Not too long afterwards, he had worked his way into knowing anything and everything about the kitchen and became the main support for the restaurant’s  head chef. When we parted company he looked me right in the eyes and said, “It’s been a pleasure.” I agreed. While I may never see Tony again, in our “chance” (hah!) meeting, I made a new friend. We may or may not connect later on Facebook or swap food photos on Instagram, but we connected on our drive together and I know I left that experience better for it.  This week, look for opportunities in your interactions, be present and be open to making a new friend of your own. Your conversation might not go very deep (in fact, it really doesn't need to be!), but you too may enjoy that feeling of the world getting that little bit smaller.  Go out, look for the good and let yourself be surprised by who and what you find out there, CreativeGeniusYOU. Tip of the Week   Stick your toes in the water If you want to #makechange, you gotta put your toes in the water and get your feet wet (Even if it's uncomfortable!) Watch More #CreativeGenius Fuel Ever find yourself reaching for a cup of coffee when #CreativeGeniusYOU starts to falter? We love coffee so much that we created the perfect #CreativeGenius blend. This dark roast combination will put some activator essentials in your day! Buy Now

Stay Involved: The Next 100 Days

Stay Involved: The Next 100 Days View this email in your browser

What to Do in the Next 100 Days So many people showed up to march on January 21stin cities around the world! (3.3 million in the US alone!) In our city, and in many other, it was the biggest march in history. Wow. What a powerful day. I admit I recorded the televised section of the march in DC so I could go back and watch it again and again. (Especially the Alicia Keys performance!) WE ARE ON FIRE. It was a great reminder to all of us of how powerful our voice can be. When we are at work, or in relationship, or in our communities, we sometimes forget that our voice matters. I was talking to one of my collaborators at a big company here in PDX yesterday. She’s internal and I’m coming in to help with a change initiative. We discussed what happens to people in massive organizations like this, how easy it is to stop hearing and sharing the voice of your creative genius. She said, “Their ideas get beat down so much that they aren’t willing to put it out there anymore.”  Embittered, they shut down and just do the work. Fear is a great catalyst for silence. Governments and employers have all kinds of tactics to help you lose your voice. A recent article in Fast Company looked into whether it was better to try to stand out or fit in.  Research shows that success comes with a little but of both - being a part of the culture, but not getting lost in that network. Being connected but remaining strong and innovative are the best tactics. Women are relators. We are wired to work together, but we know this strategy doesn’t always create movement for ourselves. Sometimes we need to stand apart. We need to stand up for our ideas or leave some of our work environments.  The number of small businesses by women and particularly women of color is growing at an astounding rate. These women are not afraid to be independent, but also understand the importance of being connected. It's a fine line, but if anyone can tread it, we can. Let's be a part of one another's cultures, whether they be female, LGTB, Muslim, African American or other. Let's hold one another up because we are #strongertogether. Let's not get swayed by rhetoric, fear, and misinformation. Let's not allow our ideas to be beaten down. Let's remain curious, critical and innovative. Let's stand apart but remain open, cooperative and kind. Whether your work happens in the office, the great outdoors, or with your babes at home, your voice matters. So don’t let it stop with the march. The organizers of the women's march are still organizing. They've come up with a list of 10 actions for the next 100 days. Check out the link, and get involved. Make it fun! Some friends of mine are hosting parties for each action. See what you can do to get people working together in your community. The world needs Creative Genius You, so stay involved and I’ll be standing right beside you! P.S If you're finding this week to be too draining, check out this awesome article on some self-care actions you can take to avoid burnout. Tip of the Week Get involved If ever there was a time to get active, it's now! Get out there, make your voice heard, and stand in solidarity with your brothers and sisters who need your support. #CreativeGenius Fuel Ever find yourself reaching for a cup of coffee when #CreativeGeniusYOU starts to falter? We love coffee so much that we teamed up with coffee expert, Dawn Pinaud to create the perfect #CreativeGenius blend. Buy Now

Weather Wondering

Weather Wondering   View this email in your browser

Weather Wondering It’s fall and when the weather starts to change here in the PNW, I notice a few people around me commenting about the feeling of melancholy. While SAD (seasonal affective disorder) doesn’t affect everyone (especially you Virgo/Libras whose birthdays are coming up) other people are affected, and find themselves eating more bad food and carrying around a deepening sense of gloom. So how does this happen to us? Is there some brain reaction to the change in weather? I did a little digging... A little brain backstory…there are two parts to the autonomic nervous system, which work together to control bodily functions. The sympathetic system stimulates body processes, while the parasympathetic system inhibits them. According to George Wilson of the University of Tasmania in Hobart, SAD could be a "programmed reaction to shorter daylight hours in winter." Before an animal hibernates, their parasympathetic system works to decrease body processes like temperature and metabolic rate. A colleague of Wilson - Margaret Austen - looked at SAD in humans, and found a similar response. "Animals prepare for winter by fattening up and then sleeping though it," says Austen. 'In humans that is not practical." Instead of hibernating, we #CreativeGenius humans gain weight and move less in winter - it's part of a natural adaptive mechanism that conserves precious energy.  This watered-down form of hibernation is part of our genetic encoding, and it’s natural to feel its affects, so why not embrace it? Sleep deprivation is becoming a bigger and bigger problem in society, so why not use this natural process to nudge you in the direction of more naps?  Here’s a few hibernation to dos: Get ready to get some sleep!  Make some new pillows or find a deal on new sheets for your bed – if you are going to sleep more, make sure it’s comfy cozy!  Then organize a “sleep in” date with yourself to get more than the usual shuteye. Woohoo! Refresh your winter stores with quick, healthy, satisfying options. Make it easy for yourself to resist the temptation to order more Domino's! Germinate some of those good ideas. When visiting a friend who is working on a new book, he mentioned he was going to put it away for the winter and look at it in the spring.  This might seem illogical to some people, but sleeping on your ideas can give you excellent insight! Why not embrace the fall? Go pick up leaves and press them into books, or use them to decorate a space in your house. Pick out some pumpkins and litter your porch with them. Light some candles, pull out your warmest, most snuggly blankets and prepare your space for that long winter’s nap. You earned it #creativegenius! *SIDENOTE: Have some extra blankets, coats, towels or canned food you need to clear out? Skip the trash can and donate them to a shelter! Both human and animal shelters need just this kind of thing in the Fall. Have a Google around to find your closest drop-off point. Everyone deserves to be warm and well-fed this winter.

5 Simple Ways to Up Creative Genius in Your Day (and Night)

5 Simple Ways to Up Creative Genius in Your Day (and Night)   Step it up.  It’s hard to step it up all the time. You’ve got this great job and it requires something of you or you’re a single parent and your kid wants your attention when you get home. Step it UP. Remember why you are here, be grateful for what you’ve got and do one more act of love and service. Sleep on it. People want to make us move at the speed of light. Okay, but why?  Why.  When we succumb to this instantaneous decision-making it doesn’t allow us to reflect and return with a better sense of the whole picture. What’s one day in a decision to purchase something?  Sleeping on it allows you to integrate it with the subconscious self, integrate it into the essence of you and ask for a deeper sign. How will it play out, is it truly something you need to buy, or need to do?  Sleep on it and let your truth sift up to the surface. Intermittent fasting/Mindful Eating There’s emerging research on how it can be beneficial to fast intermittently, which means take a day/half-day off from eating food. This is a strategy that only works for some people. If you think it might be you, give it a go! If you have a health issue that prevents it, or get shaky/weak when you fast then don’t stop eating, but become conscious and grateful for everything you put into your mouth. Stop eating lunch at your desk, or while you browse Facebook. Shift the pattern.  Really listen. Listen to people until they are finished speaking, not just until it’s your turn to speak. Listening is in fact an art form. In ancient Rome, listening was revered.  Listening deeply means you are giving your full attention to someone and their world.  You can do this, it’s so awesome and you will absolutely love it.  Let yourself listen. Listen fully and broadly. Disrupt yourself.  Ho hum the day drolls on and you’re sleeping while walking. This meeting, that meeting, this conversation or that.  BREAK IT UP. Before  you enter a room, set your intent to be fully present. A lot of us love patterns but that’s not how we expand ourselves. We build new neural pathways when we learn something new or push our limits.  DISRUPTION creates the space for new, and new = access to creative genius you.  We need all of your great ideas to help shift the current state.  Bring it on Creative Genius. Tip of the Week   Get Active Walking around in sweatpants is SO SUPER COMFY, but why not take advantage of your attire to get active? Get energized, jump around the room, run up the stairs and get your #CreativeGenius body moving ;) View More

Remembering Your Creative Genius

Remembering your Creative Genius If you've been following us on Twitter lately, you might have noticed that we post a lot about creativity, and everyone's capacity for it. Creativity has traditionally been thought of as an inherent gift - some people are born creative, and some are not. Those born without this "Gift" get to watch enviously as the Creatives innovate the world. And although it may be true that certain people are born with special talents, their abundance of creative genius does not mean you have any less. You were born a Creative Genius. I promise. Think about it this way. Did you come out of the womb knowing how to ride a bike? No. Did you watch all the other kids riding bikes, and think to yourself "I can't do that." Maybe, but if you did I'll bet someone pulled you up off your chair, sat you on a bike, and taught you the ropes. Bike-riding is a skill. Practice enough and you'll feel like you were born doing it. Creativity is no different. Creativity takes practice. If you've spent your adult life focused on analytical, intellectual tasks, you can bet your bottom dollar those creative skills are rusty, but they're there. They're just waiting for you to exercies them. And that brings me to another point. Creativity is an incredibly broad subject, and you can have many talents and proficiencies within it. Did you try painting, coloring, sketching, clay modelling, graphic design, dance, music, drama, comedy, poetry, prose, calligraphy, and find yourself drawn to none of them? They are only a tiny, tiny fraction of what it means to be creative. The arts do not have a patent on creativity. Creativity can mean problem-solving, innovating, imagining, bringing together, breaking apart, fierce curiosity, and more. Notice how I didn't ask if you were "Good" at any of the above definitions of creativity. I simply asked if you were "Drawn" to them. There are a handful of people who can pick up a paintbrush for the first time and be 'Good' at it. For the rest of us, being 'Good' only comes with practice. If you feel drawn to a subject or mode of thinking, that is all you need to get your creative genius flowing. With practice will come the skills you need to execute what's in your perfect mind.  So the next time you hear somebody talk about "Creatives", allow a little thrill of recognition to run through you. YOU are a Creative Genius, through and through. Share Tweet Forward Creative Genius YOU Medallions   Are you, or someone you love, having trouble remembering what an AWESOME Creative Genius you are? These hand-crafted sterling silver medallions were created in collaboration with artist Sandra Lewis as a talisman, reminding you of your true capabilities. Keep it close, and let your hand reach for it whenever you doubt yourself. Take strength from it, and remember what a beautiful, elegant, capable, and creative genius you are. These medallions come in a variety of styles, and are now on sale in the store, and are the perfect gift for yourself or others! Get Yours Tip of the Week   Bring Your Best Self This weeks we have an on-the-road tip! I'm travelling and working with all kinds of awesome groups, and these Creative Geniuses wanted you remind YOU to bring your best self to the table.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Website Email Copyright © 2015 Up your Creative Genius, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you joined at our website! Our mailing address is: Up your Creative Genius PO Box 82826 Portland, OR  97282 Add us to your address book

Obsessive Passion for Anything

Obsessive Passion for Anything If you have ever been to or through Sturgis during the Harley Davidson rally week, you have witnessed true obsession.  Loud obsession.  Big, gaudy and well, highly creative metal, chrome, paint and leather obsession. What do you do with an unknown obsession and its related species? You could compare and contrast with what you already know.  But to what end? That kind of ridiculousness won’t help you gain understanding.  What’s the best way to expand your awareness?  Get into it and pretend it’s your obsession. Dress up in Harley gear – leather and do-rags and boots and ripped jeans. Eat weird food – for at least a meal or two.  Observe strange behavior – full body paint or barely clad car washers.  My sister in law even bought me some lime green tassels that lit up.  Oooh cool. I didn’t wear them but I like them ;-) You can sit on any corner and watch pelaton after pelaton of Harleys in all shapes, sizes, colors, and decibel levels go by. All the while I kept reminding myself how obsessive I was with things that I’m sure seem quite foreign to many people.  Like wearing tight spandex and then racing my bike in circles or putting butter in my coffee or dyeing my hair blue. After about 3 days of my adventure, I had spoken to dozens of new people, seen thousands of Harleys, hung on for dear life over numerous mountain passes AND I did feel expanded. (And not just by a few pounds ;-) I was more open, more tolerant, and more interested in the lives of those around me. How they got into Harley’s and what, for them, was their passion about? Then, in celebration, I jumped on my bicycle, hopped on the Mickelson Trail and rode myself back into my own, newly leathered from sun and wind, skin. It felt delicious. Go out and try on someone else’s obsession this week. Stretch into someone else’s skin and see what you find out.  It’s a big world and there are so many, many different and unique people in it. Go meet them and surprise yourself! Send us your photos, here's mine!  Tip of the Week Protect Your Creative Genius Head! Watch More Snapshot of the Big Picture Snag your digital Snapshot of the Big Picture toolkit today for just $99!  Reinvigorate your strategy or your team, align your focus and direction, and succeed it setting and reaching your goals. Download Now Build a Dynamic Workshop Toolkit number two is almost here! This digital kit will raise your leadership team's acumen in developing highly engaging meetings by guiding you step-by-step in creating amazing, hands-on workshops that will leave your participants wanting more. Pre-order now and receive 50% off! Pre-order Now

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Website Email