Schedule Time To Worry

Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to accompany my sister to visit a friend of hers in the hospital -- initially, I must admit that I thought this was so unfair of her to ask me to go with her when we both knew that it would be hours of me just sitting there, waiting.  I could just drive her there and pick her back up!

Obviously, she needed more than that so I geared up for the hours of waiting I knew was ahead of me. Unless I am giving birth or welcoming a new baby into the world, I DO NOT Like Visiting Hospitals!

We loaded up with hot pretzels and cheese, water and mango candy and a book tucked into my tote and headed off to  Westchester Medical's Trauma Unit to visit my sister's friend.  I went in briefly with my sister to support her  and then took my seat in the "family" waiting room. For the next 3
hours I sat with no computer, no kids, no phones ringing off the hook, no interruptions. Sure,  I had my smart phone but somehow tweeting did not seem appropriate at that moment.  I reached into my tote and pulled out my book "It's About Time, Time Management Tips From the Software Recitalist" by Ellen DePasquale-- this could be a good time to polish off this book.  It was a gift from Ellen who was  a breakout session presenter at our  Celebrate You! Women's Summit back in March.

As I read through the practical and useful tips, I came to a paragraph titled, schedule time to worry, but no more than 10 minutes a day.  This was news to me! I had never heard (read) such a time-management tip before, but was pleasantly surprised that I welcomed the idea. I placed my book on my lap and took my 10 minutes to worry.  I worried about being able to fulfill all these BIG dreams I have of affecting a positive change in the lives of women like me who have ventured into the world of entrepreneurship and whether I was doing enough! Well, 10 minutes is a long time when you are DELIBERATELY taking those minutes to worry! I wanted to get to finding solutions to my self-imposed worry and I began making notes -- in my book.

My Worry Solutions:

1. I commit to writing a blog post once per week and sharing whatever I am feeling in that moment - this could be of help to women who are experiencing similar feelings or in need of some new information or whatever I am moved to blog about. 
2. I will ask for help when needed and delegate more - this will broaden my reach and reduce stress
3. I will list 5 things each week that I am proud of -- my personal pat on the back journal-- Just  for me (we can all find things we are proud of)

How are you worrying?  Share your comments with us. 

The Secret to Creativity

Written by Editor, Pick The Brain

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. -Einstein

The biggest misconception about creativity is that it involves a moment of magical creation when the incredible appears out of thin air. The truth is less romantic. Everything comes from somewhere. All ideas have been thought before and all artists, especially the most brilliant, have their sources of inspiration. I’m going to break Einstein’s famous rule by revealing some of my sources and explaining how I use the genius of others to further my own ambitions.

Everyone starts somewhere so I might as well come clean from the beginning. Before I started this website my creative credentials were nonexistent. I had no tangible experience as a writer, designer, marketer, or entrepreneur. Aside from this site I still don’t. All I can say for myself is that I read voraciously and draw fairly well. You’d think a chump like me wouldn’t stand a chance in the hyper competitive online world.

So how did I end up with this fine looking site, a readership that’s growing every day, and over 100 original articles, several of which have been featured on the likes of Lifehacker.com, Problogger.net, lifehack.org and all the major social sites?

By observing how others became creatively successful and combining their genius with my own.

A seed was planted the day I read Steve Pavlina’s, 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job. Through that article I found How to Make Money From Your Blog and ever since I’ve been obsessed with creating a profitable website based on my own original writing. It wasn’t Steve’s monetary success that inspired me, it was his literary style. The wit, the humor, the brutal honesty, and the fact that people were eating it up and begging for more made me believe that I could do it too; that I could build a business around my passion.

From Steve I learned the value of lengthy original articles, serving the reader, writing from personal experience, and choosing topics that apply to everyone. More than through his words, I’ve learned from observation; from the locations of his ads, the frequency of his posts, and a thousand other details the casual reader would never notice.

Sure, I could have ignored everything that worked for Steve, but what would be the point of that? Too many people try to reinvent the wheel when a Ferrari’s roaring past.During the Renaissance apprentice artists learned by replicating the works of the masters. The secret to being creative is recognizing the genius of others and re-purposing it for your own ends.

If you want be more creative, you have to learn from people who are smarter than you are. Unless you can find a mentor this means learning from observation. When you see a piece of work you admire, dissect it scientifically and discover exactly what makes it great. Is it the tone of an article? the subject matter? the author’s personality? its usefulness? The same concept applies to design. What creates that feeling of visual pleasure? What made you click that ad? What made you subscribe? The clues to creativity are everywhere. You need to gather them and apply that understanding to your own creative work. Read More