In the last article, my Empowered Mastery partner Paul Melella did a great job on discussing the importance of having realistic and achievable goals for yourself and your team. I am sure you received great value from the content he shared with you. Actually, only if you are taking action. Remember, ideas are great but without action, they are just ideas. Or what some people refer to as a fantasy.
This rolls right into what I am going to talk about today; the Creative Process. Now, I cannot take credit for creating it, (I wish I could because it’s awesome.) I learned it from world renowned inspirational speaker Bob Proctor. However, we definitely put a bit of an EMC flare to it. The creative process goes like this…
Step One: Fantasy
Everything in life starts as a fantasy, dream or goal; and I mean everything. Every business that was created no matter how big, every house that was built, everything anyone ever wanted or wanted to achieve started from an outrageous idea. Even the most bizarre and outlandish ideas have the ability to become reality if it is nurtured enough. A perfect example is the recent launching of Elon Musk’s Falcon Heavy rocket launch where he launched a rocket with a Tesla Roadster to orbit in space and hopefully land on Mars. If the idea of someone launching a car into space with their own rocket is not a fantasy, I don’t know what is. But how did it happen? How did Elon Musk have this dream and turned to a reality. This is when the fantasy turned into the next step in the creative process, a theory.
Step Two: Theory
So, once you put that fantasy out there to the universe it is time to start nurturing it. How do you nurture? Simple, you come up with a plan. Just like an architect will take the vision of their client and put it on paper in the form of blue prints in preparation for the build. When you have a fantasy, you start to theorize ideas on how to make it happen. In fact, this is the most crucial part of any fantasy becoming a reality. There are three questions that everyone and anyone will need to answer to see their dream come to reality.
Am I Able?
Asking yourself if you have the ability to fulfill the fantasy. For example, if someone has the goal to be an olympic champion figure skater but has never laced up skates and went on the ice, it’s safe to say it is not going to happen. They lack the ability to do so. You need to possess the ability or gain the ability to accomplish whatever you dream.
Am I willing?
This is even more important than having the ability. This is about will and the desire to achieve. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill the fantasy. Are you willing to make the necessary sacrifices to make it happen. Having the ability is great, but without willing to do the work, it’s just not going to happen.
Is it in alignment with your Worthy Ideal?
This is huge! When you have a dream or fantasy, does it connect with you at an emotional level. If not, to be honest you probably will not achieve it. Think about some of the greatest accomplishments of our past. Look at Nelson Mandela’s liberation speech. He had a fantasy for a free and democratic country in South Africa.,
“During my life time I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
That was a fantasy that has a strong connection to a greater purpose. If your fantasy has that kind of connection, it’s only a matter of time.
If you answered yes to all three of the questions. You have determined you have the ability, you are willing to do whatever it takes and it is in alignment with your worthy ideal, then you start to figure out how it is going to happen. This leads you to the final step of the Creative Process, fact.
Step Three: Fact
To be honest, where most people believe this is the most difficult part, I believe it is the easiest. Why, because the decisions have been made. The mind is set to see it through because of the questions that were answered in step two. Think about it in terms of building a building. The owner comes up with the plan (Step One). They then take the idea to an architect and they design the plans/blueprints to make it happen. (Step Two). The owner hires a team of builders to execute the plan and it happens. Why, because the blue prints, game plan, action plan has been set and it only needs to be executed.
Is it that easy? Absolutely not! There will always be obstacles to overcome even when you have made the decision to see it through. That’s why you had to answer the question, “Am I willing?”. It is because you are willing you could endure any challenges that come your way. That is why those questions are so crucial at the beginning stage of the Creative Process.
Does this make sense to you?
We see it all the time with the clients that we work with in our coaching program as well as our martial arts students. A martial artist has a dream to become a Black Belt, they make the mental commitment and formulate a plan on how they do it. With hard work and consistent training, they achieve it. How do I know? Because Paul and myself have seen it thousands of times with the students we have taught over the years.
We have seen it with individuals who have had the fantasy to increase their business ten fold and achieve levels of success they only dreamed of. How’d they do it? Simple, they followed the creative process. They make the decision and realize they have the ability to do it and are willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Most importantly, they realize and see the positive contribution that their product or service will provide their clients. Those three questions are answered along with a solid action plan (Which is what we help our clients with), it is only a matter of time before the dream becomes reality.
Action items for you….Put the Creative Process to work. See it come to fruition even if you need to start small, just do it. As you achieve some smaller successes, it will spiral into greater ones. All you need to do is start to dream a little bit bigger, and answer the three key questions and see your fantasies become reality!
A little help from a coach as well. That is when you contact us!
For more information on the Creative Process, Worthy Ideal or any of the other concepts in this article, please feel free to contact me at cberlow@empoweredmastery.com and I would be more than happy to have a conversation with you. You could also leave a comment and I will get back to you next opportunity I get. We would be very humbled and grateful if you would share the article for those who may need a little pick me up as the start 2018.
All the best!