Problem solving and creativity

When we figure out new ways forward, we're being creative. The thing is, creativity isn't often associated with problem solving, and it should be. From a brass tacks perspective, how art fits into productivity, marketability, and business has been nebulous at best (if you're talking to your math professor). In fact, most of the time art's value is derided by those who don't think colors & numbers can mix.

But they can, and they do.

I'm not just talking about creative people earning a living designing, writing, & illustrating, or the fact that there are more working artists in 2016 than ever before...

I'm talking about the way most of us creatively problem solve every day. We do it with our children, at work, for the community groups we're a part of, or our neighbors.

Being creative is the ability to not only think outside the box, but to create new boxes and repeat the process.

If creative endeavors are how we breed a future full of problem solvers, doesn't it become obvious what we should be investing in?

Drastically upping our game

What I find wild about getting somewhere, is that it just gives us more work to do (if we're willing to accept the challenge of drastically upping our game.) Whether a new realization about strategy, to a philosophical breakthrough that brings us to a new place with something emotionally, trying to be better is a commitment.

It means:

A) Forgiving ourselves for not realizing our latest evolution until now.

B) That this will happen again, because moving from not knowing to knowing is a cycle, and

C) That exponential growth is only possible if we're open to it...

... and that being open to what we'd like to change about ourselves means getting the chance to do exactly that.

How processes help you create greater impact

Over the past year and a half, I've become obsessed with how IPaintMyMind does what it does. We're a small organization, so most of the time that translates to, how I do what I do. For every deliverable, event, piece of content, or communication, there's a process.

The question is, is that process on paper somewhere?

Creating a document that outlines every step in a process not only provides a way to communicate uniformly with team members, but it allows everyone involved to make those processes better. At IPaintMyMind, we've changed our processes constantly since first creating our Process & Procedure documents, and that's fine. In fact, they're supposed to change (if you've got your eye on the ball).

Most entrepreneurs hate to spend time mapping out these processes, but the fact is, doing so can increase impact, efficiency, and revenue significantly. Hell, I think we can all agree we'd like to be less scattered and more tactical.

It seems obvious, but it's hard to improve what we do when we don't know where we're at. Taking stock and recording processes is one of the better ways to streamline, save time, and kick butt.

After all, making greater impact is about refinement.

Thirsty for music?

One of my projects is writing editorial pieces for Mode Media, and I love it because I can write about anything I want. As a dude of many persuasions, it's an awesome way for me to not only comment on, but explore my areas of interest even more in-depth. My most recent piece is entitled 8 Albums Released in 2016 You Need to Stream Now.

If you're thirsty for new music, go get yourself some.

And in the inimitable words of the A Tribe Called Quest guide whose voice is featured at the beginning & end of various tracks on Midnight Marauders, 'keep bouncing.'

Dadness... & other wild reality shifts

On May 24th, 2016 at 2:32pm, Enzo Fox La Ruffa was born. In that moment, Lindsey and I became parents, and the axis of our world shifted. I mentioned to at least a few people in the lead-up to Enzo being born that I was excited to not be the focus of my ego's attention. Until now, sense of self had always only applied to me.

My autonomy, perspective, and purpose has shifted forever. If I was driven before, I really can't wait to see what I get into now. My life feels classified into two era's: pre-Enzo and The Era of Enzo.

It's amazing how a single event, person, realization, or shift can envelope an entire portion of our lives.

I'm excited to see what this chapter has in store.

The Diderot Effect

'The Diderot Effect states that obtaining a new possession often creates a spiral of consumption which leads you to acquire more new things. As a result, we end up buying things that our previous selves never needed to feel happy or fulfilled.' Interesting.

As a lover of good living, beautiful things, & unique experiences, I've often been tempted by the lust of wanting. It makes all the sense in the world to me that it's a slippery slope.

Diderot or not, it seems we have to choose at some point. Not only to keep the ship afloat, but also to manage why we want the things we want & to preserve the experience of joy.

People & experiences are always better than a purchase. I hope this influences us to invest wisely.

Write it down

It's not an idea until you write it down. You have to capture it. As someone who has self-identified as a writer for a long time, I sure haven't written things down enough.

Not that I haven't worked on diverse projects writing editorial and copy for all sorts of applications, I have. But there's also so much that has been sparked and gone undone because of a failure to write it down.

We can't turn ideas into things unless we activate them.

In the think, speak, do sequence, your pen is a pistola.

Celebrating emotion

In our culture, being emotional isn't nearly as valued as being logical. I've also found that saying someone "got emotional" is often used in a way that seems to reflect a lack of control, a weakness, or a vulnerability that is almost silly or worth pity. You all know me, so you know I go the other way on this issue.

When it comes to business or relationships, irrationality or blind adherence can get you in trouble. Miss the pattern because of emotion and it's hard to defend.

But what if being emotionally open helps you get the deal or genuinely connect with the person you're interacting with?

I think it always does.

"Getting emotional" isn't about over-expressing, gushing, divulging too much, or making one's self vulnerable, it's about creating a pathway for being able to see and communicate what is actually happening in a way that stimulates connection.

Saying what we mean, being fair, and opening up, is what emotion is all about.

I celebrate it.

Be on the lookout

Anytime something has come my way, I was open to it. I haven't created all my breaks, far from it, but I have had open arms when those opportunities presented themselves, or been adventurous enough to extend myself for something I might have otherwise thought was unreachable. Whether the forest for the trees, the mirage on the horizon, the unsent email, the unmade call, or the help not offered, they all have to do with failing to adjust our focus. By zooming in and out, we remind ourselves of the opportunities between mile markers.

I don't know about you, but I wanna do it all. I better be on the lookout.

Sharpening the saw

"If I had six hours to cut down a tree, I'd spend the first four sharpening the saw." - Abraham Lincoln

(Thanks for the reminder, Abe).

The Age of Earthquakes

I read The Age of Earthquakes last night. I forget how I came across it, but it's been on my bedside table for a month or two now. I might describe it as the Be Here Now of the digital age.

High praise, indeed. I couldn't put it down.

There's mixed reactions out there about it. I'd venture to say that's because many readers feel indicted somehow. I know I did. There were definitely moments that made me question my relationship to all things digital. There were also moments that felt concise, clear, and poignant.

This book is a trip.

Some of my favorite portions were...

'We haven't just changed the structure of our brains these past few years. We've changed the structure of our Planet.'

'By rewiring our brains on the internet, we've tampered with the old-fashioned organic perception of time.'

'The natural human attention span is the length of a Beatles song.'

'Time snack (v.) - Often annoying moments of pseudo-leisure created by computers when they stop to save a file or to search for software updates or merely to mess with your mind.'

'Memory is irreversibly addictive.'

'The future loves you but it doesn't need you.'

'We all should give ourselves a pat on the back for absorbing as much technology as quickly as we have.'

'I miss getting emails from Nigerian princes.'

'Bored people crave war. Fact.'

'There's no shopping in Star Wars.'

'Healthy people are bad for capitalism.'

'A one-way trip to Mars would actually be okay if it had smoking hot wifi.'

Intelligent or insightful?

What's of more use, intelligent or insightful? When you want to be right, intelligent is better. When you want to figure out what works, it's insightful all the way.

Time spent, impact created, value added

Up, up, up? Close, but not quite. Down, down, up? Nah, that's not it either. Up, up, down? Surely, not. Down, up, up? There we go, now we got it!

It seems like efficiency, mission, and solutions should be our focus. Less time spent, more impact created, more value added. We gotta work smarter.

I'm finding it's all about proportionality. The more targeted we get, the closer we get to down, up, up.

Being present

Over dinner last night, the topic of distraction and the present moment came up. We were mostly referring to the pace and self-importance so closely ascribed to people who are never where they are. If I'm talking to someone, they're thinking about their next or last meeting. If I'm on the phone with them, they're clearly working on other things at the same time. If I send them an email, they glance at it and miss the meaning.

Our increased digitality has made this balance harder to achieve, which means we just have more opportunities to work on being present.

As I venture into fatherhood, I keep on reminding myself that lack of presence on my part isn't an option. And as important as being a dad is, this level of care for the people we communicate with, even if they aren't our children, is paramount.

We can feel when someone isn't there with us, and it sucks.

Here's to keeping our phone in our pocket when other humans are our present.

Out of thin air

To all the artists, educators, designers, scientists, strategists, organizers, chefs, lawyers, botanists, writers, activists, entrepreneurs and anyone else that ideates, iterates, and delivers... Thank you for making things out of thin air. (Poof! Existence!)

Creativity isn't about paint, clay, or watercolor, it's about thinking up a new way to do something interesting & valuable.

Umm, what is digital strategy?

Facebook amassed users, then sold our eyeballs to the highest bidder. At first people thought that social media was this massive microphone, but decreased organic reach has significantly turned the volume down. The idea went from getting "Likes" to figuring out how to make sure the people who had "Liked" your page could actually see what you were posting. The page turned, and people who had thought ahead were already creating great content via newsletters that were chock full of value.

I, personally, am annoyed at how long it took me to see the light with respect to this exact pivot.

The takeaway for me has been about making sure we're agile enough to understand the platform (whatever it is), how it fits into our overall strategy, then see where it's going and adapt preemptively.

The questions for any business owner with respect to digital strategy are:

• What is our digital strategy?
• What components does it include and in what proportions?
• How often do we evaluate the strategy?
• What indicators will we use to measure effectiveness?

And perhaps most importantly, how will this work best connect us with interested partners, collaborators or clients?

Outreach, marketing, and advertising are never free, and the cost goes up without a strategy.

Steady over fast

My pops used to always tell me to 'play the game.' It always made me insane. As an immigrant, my pops learned to do exactly that, and he's way less political or even out there as I am, so that worked for him and didn't feel like a huge compromise. He was also part of a different economy, a different time in history, a different social mix. I remember losing it in high school or college when he said that, a bit of a breaking point... I think it had to do with cutting my long hair to please an authority figure.

My deepest conviction, for some reason, was that being who I am is not something to compromise on, being a better version of who I am, is.

The question to me is, do we really even want to work, play, or commune with the people who will only accept us if we are a carbon copy of them? Why 'play the game' the gatekeepers have set up? Why curtsy when we can create?

I'd argue there is way more room to roam, be creative, and play our own game when we build projects based on models that don't revere lottery logic. The tortoise and the hare, y'all!

I'd take steady over fast, any day.

Maybe and no

I saw a quote the other day on Twitter that went along the lines of... "Don't say maybe when you mean, no."

As I reach out to potential partners for IPaintMyMind's Shared Walls™ program, this idea rings true. By a long shot, I'd prefer a clear NO than a false MAYBE.

This is an important idea. How often do we say the former when we mean the latter? Probably too much, even if our intentions are good. But to be fair, expecting others to mean what they say starts with each one of us doing the same.

No is a perfectly acceptable answer... especially when a false maybe is the alternative.

I'm going to try and get better at this. Wanna join me?

Youth

You know what I'm talking about, I'm sure you do... Those times when a word or idea seems to circle back to you frequently, almost as if it's taunting you, reminding you of its priority in the world.

There are a few thing to say here:

1. I think those words or ideas circle back around to us because we're focusing on them, not because they or it exists in greater proportion than anything else. Once you notice something, it becomes so obvious that you can't miss it.
2. That doesn't mean it isn't important. It is, to you.

"Youth" is the most recent example of this phenomena for me. The word came up with respect to my personality, then again with respect to my soon-to-be-daddyness, then through a song (cool kids, don't be afraid of a great pop song), and finally through this film (which might be one of my favorite films ever).

The point is, it's an indication of awareness.

So I wonder...

What's been circling back to you lately? And probably more importantly, why?

Think, speak, do.

There's a certain audacity to thinking we can succeed. Most of the time, regardless of what we do, we're trying to make something from nothing. No small feat.

But to be fair, it's no more likely that we'll fail. Success and failure are two halves of the same coin and it seems like intent could go a long way in tipping the balance, not matter how we measure it.

Over the years, I've thought about the process of taking something from idea to reality. That's where think, speak, do comes in. In the most rudimentary way, that's how we take things from initial spark to final product.

First we have the thought. A solution comes to mind. And it's precisely this gap between thinking & speaking that trips most of us up. We hold back and keep the idea internalized, not letting it out into the real world. This is the "safer" solution in one sense, but we also risk more than we ever could by stifling our unique contribution.

If we can bridge that gap and speak the solution, making it happen is so much more realistic.

Maybe we have to wear our heart on our sleeve more.

Maybe we have to risk getting it wrong.

Maybe we have to think openly, annunciate clearly and get to work.