“The bigger people dream, the bigger they tend to live. And this is without adding God to the formula. When you begin to understand that you are at the core a spiritual being, it begins to make sense why you need the Source of all creativity active in your life to fully live out your God-given potential.

How Creative Thinking Can Make You More Successful

1. Creative thinking adds value to everything
2. Creative thinking compounds
3. Creative thinking draws people to you and your ideas
4. Creative thinking helps you learn more
5. Creative thinking challenges the status quo

How to Become a Creative Thinker

1. Remove creativity killers
2. Think creatively by asking the right questions
3. Develop a creative environment
4. Spend time with other creative people
5. Get out of your box

Creative Thinking Action Plan

1. Find or foster a creative environment
2. Do something different
3. Ask yourself more questions

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Don’t get left behind.

There is a well-known Chinese proverb that says that the wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water molds itself to the pitcher. Perhaps at no other time in recent history has adaptability been more important than it is now. Adaptability – the ability to change (or be changed) to fit new circumstances – is a crucial skill for leaders, and an important competency in emotional intelligence.

A 2008 study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, entitled Growing Global Executive Talent, showed that the top three leadership qualities that will be important over the years ahead include:

• the ability to motivate staff (35 percent);
• the ability to work well across cultures (34 percent);
• and the ability to facilitate change (32 percent).
• The least important were technical expertise (11 percent) and
• “bringing in the numbers” (10 percent).

As a leader, it is therefore crucial to make a concerted effort to understand people of different cultures, and cultural adaptability has become a leadership imperative.

An example of a leader who epitomizes this prized quality is Robert McDonald, chief operating officer of the Procter & Gamble Company, who has spent much of the past two decades in various overseas postings. In a recent interview, he said: “I did not expect to live outside the United States for 15 years; the world has changed, so I have had to change, too. When you look at my bio, foreign languages are not my best subjects. But, when you move out of your culture, you have to learn foreign languages.”

This willingness to get out of one’s comfort zone, and learn continuously as a way of adapting to changed surroundings, marks a key difference between successful and unsuccessful leaders.

As a Coach, one fo the critical factors of my work is to challenge peoples mental Scripts. Because we all work of a mental script -someones our mental scripts become outdated from the real world situations.

Our brain has been and will continue to process in information. It creates mental pathways, programming or “behavioral scripts,” or mental models that automate almost every action that we take. For example, growing up, we build a behavioral script for the physical motions required in tying our shoes. Through practice, this script is eventually entrenched and it ends up making the action so easy and automatic that we never give it another thought. Another example of a behavioral script that we learn is ducking when something is thrown at us. Behavioral scripts simplify our world, make us more efficient and help us move around faster and with less effort. They influence not only our actions but also what we perceive and believe.

Now here’s the challenge -We tend NOT to notice things that are inconsistent with the models, and we tend NOT to try what the scripts tells us is bad or impossible.”

The efficiency of these scripts carry with them a downside: they can divert our attention from important information coming to us from our environment. In other words, the models or scripts push us to disregard the reality of a situation, and dismiss signals because the message we get from our scripts is that we already know about it. So we make decisions about a situation that, aren’t really decisions in the real sense of the word. They’re simply automated behaviors.

Mental scripts may also result in stubbornly clinging to the notion that “this is how we have always done it”, refusing to understand and accept the realities of a new situation. Henry Plotkin, a psychologist at University College in London, states that we tend to “generalize into the future what worked in the past.” So, whatever worked in the past, do it; whatever didn’t work, avoid it.

This is, of course, the anti-thesis of the quality of being adaptable, of being flexible under the influence of rapidly changing external conditions. It can make us rigid, unresponsive to change, and unwilling to learn and adopt new ways, all of which can have an impact on our ability to survive and succeed in the long run. People who score high on the adaptability competency are able to deal more positively with change, and they are able to do what it takes to adapt their approach and shift their priorities.

Here are a few tips for developing adaptability.

• When you catch yourself shooting an idea down, take a moment to consider what mental scripts are influencing your behavior. Mental scripts are so automatic that you have to decide intentionally that you want to challenge them, if you want to improve your leadership.
• Help your people distinguish between observation and inference, between fact and conjecture. Inference and conjecture can be influenced by mental scripts which don’t have a bearing on reality. Be the voice in the room that calls others’ attention to this possibility, and help everyone pause so that they can analyze inferences and conjectures that may or may not be valid.
• Do you habitually insist on going “by the book”? Is this necessary for every issue? Might you enhance your team’s productivity if you paid more attention to the effect that this might have on the people involved? What would happen if you applied standard procedures more flexibly?
• Consider that when we push the envelope, and when we intentionally put ourselves in situations that are outside our comfort zone, we grow. Are you trading on old knowledge? Do you need to update your skills? Are you relying too much on your title as the sign of authority? In today’s working environment, surrounded by highly intelligent and specialized knowledge workers, this no longer works. We need to adapt by continually evolving and reinventing ourselves. In “Rethinking the Future”, Warren Bennis talks about the importance for leaders to recompose their leadership style and to continue to adapt: “It’s like snakes. What do snakes do? They molt, they shed their outside skins. But it’s not just that. It’s a matter of continuing to grow and transform, and it means that executives have to have extraordinary adaptability.” This applies to every level in the organization: change or perish.
• When we are in a position for a length of time, we may tend to become accustomed to the status quo and fail to challenge the process in order to continue to grow and improve. If you left tomorrow, what would your successor do to improve things? Consider making these changes yourself.
• In today’s environment of complex challenges and rapid change, the ability to solve problems becomes even more crucial.
• If you want a test to assess your level of adaptability, consider these 4 statements are give yourself score of 1-10.
  1. Openness to new ideas.
  2. Adaptation to situations.
  3. Handling of unexpected demands.
  4. Adapting or changing strategy.

Adaptability is not just a “nice to have competency.” It is a competitive advantage for you, as a leader and for your organization.

So, where does your company stand in terms of adaptability? What do you need to do to keep up with the pace of change, with the increasing complexity of today’s workplace? Long ago, Benjamin Franklin said: “Wide will wear, but narrow will tear.” What can you do today to widen your perspective, to stretch the limits imposed, to extend the scope and meaning of what you do as a leader?

How to Become More Adaptable

So how does one do it?

Learning an adaptable mindset does not come naturally to everyone, but there are methods to increase adaptability that any leader can use and be effective.

• Think outside the box– Once in a while, you have to shake things up. If you’re not innovating at all and simply following standard operating procedure, eventually those procedures can become outdated and ineffective.
• Be an early adopter– Being among the first to embrace change can result in the discovery of a helpful technology, system, tool, process or software that can be a game changer for your organization. It can also help make the process of change itself less jarring.
• Don’t just say no– Being open minded and positive about initiatives will help facilitate change.
• Plan for the time of the year– One fiscal quarter may not be as busy as the previous one. There are often cycles of activity regardless of the industry. Planning ahead to take advantage of downtime and pursue long-term objectives improves adaptability.
• It all begins in the morning– Adhering to a morning routine often causes us to create routines and patterns through the rest of our day. Sometimes, it’s important to shake things up in the morning, just to keep that mindset going for the rest of the day.

Business professionals can use these ideas to embrace change and meet the challenges that go with it head on.

Adaptability has to extend beyond leaders, though. Leaders should focus on building adaptable teams around them if they want to succeed in an unpredictable environment. A spirit of inclusion allows leaders to use the insight of the team to identify problems within the organization while drawing on the different skills of team members to find the best solutions.

If you want to be fulfilled, happy, content, and experience inner peace and ultimate fulfillment, it’s critical that you learn how to find your passion and life purpose. Without a life purpose as the compass to guide you, your goals and action plans may not ultimately fulfill you.

How to Discover Your Life Purpose

After working with more than a million people all over the world, I have come to believe that each of us is born with a unique life purpose.

Identifying, acknowledging, and honoring this purpose is perhaps the most important action successful people take. They take the time to understand what they’re here to do – and then they pursue that with passion and enthusiasm.

For some of us, our purpose and passion in life is obvious and clear. We’re born with a set of talents and through persistent practice, we develop our talents into skills.

1. Explore the Things You Love To Do & What Comes Easy to You

We are all born with a deep and meaningful purpose that we have to discover. Your purpose is not something you need to make up; it’s already there. You have to uncover it in order to create the life you want. You may ask yourself, “What is my purpose in life?” You can begin to discover your passion or your purpose by exploring two things:

1. What do you love to do?
2. What comes easily to you?

Of course, it takes work to develop your talents- even the most gifted musician still has to practice-but it should feel natural, like rowing downstream rather than upstream. I love to teach, to write, to coach, to facilitate, to train, and to develop transformational seminars, workshops, and courses. I love to bring other leaders together for conferences and to co-create new approaches to our work.

These things come easy for me. Although I invested many years in learning how to master these skills, I loved every minute of it. In other words, work is required, but suffering is not. If you are struggling and suffering, you are probably not living on purpose.

2. Ask Yourself What Qualities You Enjoy Expressing the Most in the World

First, ask yourself, What are two qualities I most enjoy expressing in the world? Mine are love and joy.

Second, ask yourself, What are two ways I most enjoy expressing these qualities? Mine are inspiring and empowering people.

I inspire people with the moving stories that I tell in my seminars and that I write about in my books, and I empower them by teaching them powerful success strategies that they can apply in their own lives.

3. Create a Life Purpose Statement

Take a few moments and write a description of what the world would look like if it were operating perfectly according to you. In my perfect world, everybody is living their highest vision where they are doing, being, and having everything they want. Finally, combine all three into one statement, and you will have a clear idea of your purpose.

Mine is “Inspiring and empowering people to live their highest vision in a context of love and joy.”

4. Follow Your Inner Guidance (What Is Your Heart Telling You?)

What if I told you that you have your own guidance system within you that can help you get from where you are in life to where you want to go?

It’s called your inner GPS. Your inner GPS is similar to the GPS system you use in your car or on your phone. It tells you how to get from point A to point B.

When you get in your car and are heading to a specific destination, what is the first thing you input into your GPS? First, it finds your current location. Once it’s determined where you are, it gives you directions to where you are heading.

For the system to work, it simply needs to know your beginning location and your end destination. The navigation system figures out the rest by the use of an onboard computer that receives signals from multiple satellites and calculates your exact position. Then it plots a perfect course for you.

All you have to do from that point on is follow the instructions it gives you to reach your destination.

Decide Where You Want to Go

All you have to do is decide where you want to go by clarifying your vision, then lock in your destination through goal setting, affirmations, and visualization, and then start taking the actions that will move you in the right direction.

With every picture you visualize, you’re “inputting” the destination you want to get to.

Every time you express a preference for something, you are expressing an intention.

A table by the window, front row seats at a conference, first-class tickets, a room with an ocean view, or a loving relationship.

All these images and thoughts are sending requests to the universe.

If you stay out of its way—meaning you don’t interrupt the process with a stream of negative thoughts, doubts, and fears, your inner GPS will keep unfolding the next steps along your route as you continue to move forward.

5. Be Clear About Your Life Purpose

Once you are clear about what you want and keep your mind constantly focused on it, the how will keep showing up—sometimes just when you need it and not a moment earlier.

You were born with an inner guidance that tells you when you are on or off course by the amount of joy you are experiencing. The things that bring you the greatest joy are in alignment with your purpose and will get you to where you want to go.

When you present your goals to the universe with all its powerful technology, you will be surprised and dazzled by what it delivers. This is where the magic and miracles truly happen.

Take some time to think honestly and openly about where you currently are in your life and what you want to do with your life.

What is your financial status? How are your relationships going? How is your health? And so on…

Next, think about where you would like to be.

If your life were perfect right now, what would it look like? What kind of job would you have and where would you be living? By continually doing this exercise, you’ll send powerful triggers to your subconscious mind to help you get there.

6. Conduct a Passion Test

Our Passion test is a simple, yet elegant, process. You start by filling in the blank 15 times for the following statement: “When my life is ideal, I am ___.” The word(s) you choose to fill in the blank must be a verb.

When Janet took me through the process, my statements looked like this:

• My life is ideal when I’m being of service to massive numbers of people.
• My life is ideal when I’m helping people with their vision.
• My life is ideal when I’m speaking to large groups.
• My life is ideal when I’m being part of a spiritual leaders network.
• My life is ideal when I’m creating a core group of ongoing trainers who feel identified with my organization.

Once you’ve created 15 statements, you identify the top 5 choices. To do this, you compare statements #1 and #2 to identify which is most important. Take the winner of that comparison and decide whether it’s more or less important than statement #3.

Then take the winner of that comparison, and decide whether it’s more or less important than statement #4, and so on until you’ve identified the passion that is most meaningful to you.

Repeat the process with the remaining 14 statements to identify your second choice. Then repeat the process until you’ve pinpointed your top 5 passions in life.

Next, create markers for each of your top five passions, so that you can look at your life and easily tell whether you are living that passion.

Once you know what your passions are and how your life will look when you are living it, you can create action plans to turn your dreams into reality.

7. Think About The Times You’ve Experienced the Greatest Joy In Your Life

Another technique you can use to help you identify your purpose is to conduct a joy review. Simply set aside about 30 minutes and make a list of all the times you’ve felt the greatest joy in your life.

Then look for a pattern among all these times.

Since we know that joy is part of your internal guidance system telling you when you are on course, you can determine a lot about your life purpose from completing this joy review.

9. Align Your Goals With Your Life Purpose and Passions

We’re all gifted with a set of talents and interests that tell us what we’re supposed to be doing. Once you know what your life purpose is, organize all of your activities around it. Everything you do should be an expression of your purpose. If an activity or goal doesn’t fit that formula, don’t work on it.

Aligning with your purpose is most critical when setting professional goals. When it comes to personal goals, you have more flexibility.

If you want to learn how to paint or water ski, go ahead and do so. If your goal is to get fit and lose weight, move ahead with confidence. Nurturing yourself emotionally, physically and spiritually will make you more energized, resilient and motivated to live your purpose on the professional front.

However, don’t ignore the signs that your job or career is not right for you. If you dread Monday mornings and live for the weekends, it may be a sign that it’s time to follow your heart and pursue the work you long to do.

10. Lean Into Your True Life Purpose

Once you have gained more clarity about your purpose, you don’t need to completely overhaul your life completely all at once. Instead, just lean into it, bit by bit.

Start living your purpose a little more fully every day, and pay attention to the feedback you’re receiving from others and in terms of the results you are producing, and also to how you are feeling.