I think it’s time to come clean and wear my religion on my sleeve. Like everyone else who has a religion, I believe mine is the one, true religion.

My religion is “Creativity.” I don’t think there is anything else that comes close to revealing a person’s God qualities like creativity.

Everyone has access to creativity; you just have to get into the proper frame of mind to tap into it.

Kind of like “The Force” in Star Wars, you can use your creativity for good or evil. For example, you could be a creative liar or a creative dancer. Creativity doesn’t care. It will flow to the place you direct it.

Reminds me of a story I may have told before . . .
My mother was a waitress in Philadelphia. Over the years, she ran into many characters in her line of work. One guy was an affable arsonist. If someone wanted their building burned down to collect the insurance money, he was the guy to see.

The key was to fool the fire inspectors so they wouldn’t suspect arson. His creative method was to go find some sewer rats and put them in a cage. The night of the fire, he would dip them in kerosene and take them inside the building and light them on fire.

The rats would run and climb up the curtains attempting to escape their flame. Everything they came in contact with started to burn. When the fire inspectors arrived on the scene, all they saw was the rubble from the inferno and never suspected the dead rats that they found were the cause. They just figured they died in the fire.

Legend has it that this guy owed the wrong people some money and wound up somewhere in the pine barrens of South Jersey.

Again, creativity doesn’t care, but it’s always there.

The key to tapping your creativity is to:

A. Know it’s available 24-7.

B. Enter a quiet frame of mind.

Creativity wasn’t created for other people; it’s for you too.

Here is one method for getting it to flow: Ask a question of yourself, get quiet, and wait for an answer.

It’s that simple.

Your mind will attempt to fool you while you do this exercise. it will attempt to lure you into debate. When that happens, you know you are not in your creative place. They key is to ask a question and let your mind become still.

There are plenty of ways to quiet your mind. Find the one that works best for you and make mind quieting part of your daily ritual. Some call the practice, “Mental Floss.”

Finding your ticket to creativity is not a long, complicated process. Simply stated, the ride starts when your train of thought stops.

I wonder how you’ll use your creativity. Will you use it to create a fire in your belly to accomplish something constructive or will you use it to burn your bridges?

The only donation my religion asks of you is your contribution of quiet.

All the best,

John

JOHN MORGAN COACHING

LOSE WEIGHT & KEEP IT OFF

STOP SMOKING FOREVER

ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING

I LOVE MY BODY

SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT

IMPROVE YOUR SELF IMAGE

RELAX IN 2 MINUTES

FEEL FOREVER YOUNG

We’ve all heard of tunnel vision. That’s where we are focused on one thing to the exclusion of all other things. Tunnel vision causes us to miss a lot.

(cue the announcer) Introducing “Funnel Vision.”

Funnel vision has you take in everything and only use what’s productive.

Brainstorming is funnel vision at work. You take in everything and then later distill all the data into the most promising ideas.

If you are selective as to what gets into your funnel, you cheat yourself out of potential greatness. The greatest idea can come from the silliest source.

Funnel vision doesn’t mean going out and looking for every source. That would make your mission all about seeking rather than finding. Funnel vision means to say “Yes” to all input and let it distill into something special.

In the past, my natural reaction was “No” to anything that didn’t fit into my preconceived notions. That default reaction caused tunnel vision.

Reminds me of a story . . . About 15 years ago, my wife bought 4 tickets through her work to the “Stars on Ice” show coming to the local civic center. Her plan was for us to go to the show with another couple in the neighborhood.

My immediate reaction was that I wasn’t going to such a frilly event. “Ooh, look at the beautiful costumes” was my snarky comment. To my mind, it had “girls night out” written all over it. I could visualize myself in the stands tapping my foot and crossing one leg over the other all evening long.

But, for whatever reason, I decided I would go, begrudgingly.

What I thought I would see and what I actually saw were two different visions. My tunnel vision had me seeing sequins, skirts and skates. My funnel vision treated me to one of the most athletic performances I have ever seen in person. It was spellbinding and breathtaking.

The lesson I learned from this story is to take a breath. That means not to answer so quickly. The quick, patterned answer has you put a lid on your funnel. Delaying your response opens you up and allows for more information, which may mix with what’s already in there into a more valuable response.

When you open your funnel, you can still ultimately say “No” but it will be a more informed “No.”

One of the quickest ways to enrich your experience is to open your funnel. It will lead to more tasty experiences. After all, who ever heard of “Tunnel Cakes”?

All the best,

John

JOHN MORGAN COACHING

LOSE WEIGHT & KEEP IT OFF

STOP SMOKING FOREVER

ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING

I LOVE MY BODY

SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT

IMPROVE YOUR SELF IMAGE

RELAX IN 2 MINUTES

FEEL FOREVER YOUNG