These periodic “blog quotes” are intended to give your brain the necessary jolt (and excuse) to “jump the tracks,” challenge what you’re doing and find better ways to make great things happen.

We could never learn to be brave & patient, if there were only joys in the world.

-Helen Keller (bio)

1. What are areas of life where you experience no joy?
2. How can you try to more purposefully learn/grow through them?
3. How can you intentionally do this for others? Who needs you now?

Be inspired, take action, help others by sharing…

Picture: www.biography.com

In the last two years I’ve been working heavily in the area of creativity and innovation. As I’ve talked to leaders and benchmarked businesses, I’m astounded by its rise in priority from something “nice-to-have,” to a necessity for survival and differentiation in a competitive world. If it’s that urgent, how can you and I “make ourselves” more creative?

To answer the question, I want to share powerful principles I recently heard in an interview with Noah Scalin on “ways to get creative” (Noah is a teacher, artist and activist who gives talks on creative energy and just published his book “Unstuck” – 52 simple creativity-generating projects that fit into any lifestyles). (more…)

Hoping for change, but continuing to do things the way you’ve always done them, doesn’t work. “Blue Jolts” are potent tidbits intended to give your brain the necessary jolt (and excuse) to “jump the tracks,” challenge what you’re doing and find better ways to make great things happen.

Steve Jobs – excerpt from commencement speech to Stanford, 2005 (full text)

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

1. What are the things that “trap” you into thinking you have something to lose?
2. Has the thought of death ever really helped you make a big choice? Examples?
3. What other ways have you found to help see clearly in making tough choices?

Be jolted…

 Pictures: UggBoy, UggGirl via Compfight