What inspires you? What conditions are most conducive to a welling up of ideas and energy for pursuing them? I once asked this question of hundreds of people from all walks of life. An accountant in Mount Prospect, Illinois told me, “I’m most creative when I can focus on a problem without interruption, without other people around or tight time constraints – for example, when I’m on long airplane flights, on the veranda overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Florida or alone in my private study at home.”
A storyteller in Minneapolis answered the question as follows: “Having a deadline often causes wonderful new ideas to appear. Regular meditation has helped me tune into my highest, most creative self. If I get into a rut, meeting new people I resonate with or being exposed to new ideas gets the creativity flowing again.”
Laurie Schloff, my co-author of the book Smart Speaking, said that when she’s planning a speech or an article, she comes up with her best ideas by lying on her bed in a fetal position with her eyes closed. At work, where she can’t lie down, she’ll close the door to her office and put her head down on the desk with her eyes closed.
Now it’s time for you to discover more about your unique conditions for inspiration. You’ll learn how to create openings for creative energy no matter where you are or what immovable obstacles you feel you’re up against. Creativity is unpredictable, but it is not random. Follow my suggestions and you will experience loads more inspiration in your life and your work.
