Creative Courage Workshop video

A bird's eye view

A bird flies over a forest and identifies a safe place to begin nesting. Once it's found its location, the bird gathers twigs and leaves and starts weaving a nest that becomes a resting place for its eggs. But that's just the beginning of the process. With a bit of nurturing and love, within a few weeks, the eggs hatch and you have new birds that will one day do the same. Do you see the metaphor yet?

Answers come best when you start looking at it holistically. Look at the issue from a bird's eye view and zero in on your concept. Gather ideas and weave a solution. Once you have a solution in place, there is one more step to take, one that we often forget: nurture it and watch it grow on its own. The success of that solution will inspire even more ideas. It's the circle of life AND ideas.

SHUT UP AND WORK!

Shut up and work. We all get frustrated. We feel impatient. We feel discouraged. We try to shift the pieces so they make sense. The belief that the world is a puzzle for you to decode is discouraging, demotivating and just plain inaccurate. Shut up and work. All that noise feels like progress but in actuality becomes wasted energy. The bottom line is to do what you are good at. And do it a lot. Never stop. Don’t get too hung up on the results of the work because the act of working consistently with commitment yields progressively improving results. The act of work creates opportunities and is the birthplace of innovation. Trust that putting your energy into something will lead you to where you need to go. Shut up and work. Stop trying to second guess your progress. Stop talking yourself out of taking chances. Stop placing judgment on the validity or value of your work. Stop fighting the richness of your capacity. Shut up and work. If you’re good at what you do, you’ll get better. If you’re great at what you do it will show. Do what you are good at. And do it a lot. Never stop. Shut up and work. Nothing will fall in your lap. Keep your eyes open for opportunities and act on them. Nobody owes you any favors. It’s up to you and me to shut up and work.