Creativity tool – Go random to do your problem solving

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Natalia

Are you stuck for ideas at work? Or have a problem you need to solve?

The easiest way to get inspiration for new ideas is to give our brain some new inputs and stimulation.*

So go out and expose yourself to different places, people and things. And remember that you can take in this new information through any of your five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell.

You can also create new ideas by combining old ideas in a new or random way.

One of my common approaches is to use metaphors and analogies to see a problem or situation from a different perspective.

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The Creative Life of Fay Chan – Budgeting123

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Natalia

Each month I want to shine a spotlight on how business owners incorporate their creativity across all aspects of their life, and give some ‘behind the scenes’ insight into how they started and plan for their business.

This month I’d like to introduce you to The Creative Life of Fay Chan.

Fay runs Budgeting123 as a Financial Readiness and Budgeting Coach. Fay helps individuals and families to plan their household savings and spending goals. The foundation of her work is based on awareness and responsibility – knowing where your money goes and where it doesn’t go!

IMAGE: FAY CHAN

So what has all of this number stuff got to do with creativity? And no, it has nothing to do with creative accounting :-).

I really enjoyed talking to Fay because she links numbers, money and creativity with being spiritual, empowered and on purpose. I was also in awe of the importance that Fay places on being aligned and grounded in relation to her creativity and how she works. Her creative practices may appear simple, but they are consistent with what research is discovering about the creative process*, and are helping Fay achieve consistent and great results for her business and clients.

So please read Fay’s candid and inspiring interview to find out, amongst other things, about:

the chore that she started in primary school that built the foundations for her current business
the turning point that made Fay re-evaluate her childhood beliefs and give up her corporate job to take a leap of faith towards where she is now
how Fay models self-awareness in juggling work and being a Mum to her pre-schooler
what washing dishes and other mundane chores have to do with fostering Fay’s creativity

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What does creativity really give you?

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Natalia

Creativity is within all of us.

It’s in how we express ourselves, our ideas and how we do things. We use our creativity when we pick out what to wear in the morning, what we use our lunch break, how we talk with our colleagues or friends, and solve any issues that arise.

The problem is not that we don’t have creativity. It’s that we mightn’t be used to tapping into it, and if we do we mightn’t have the confidence to truly express ourselves or our ideas.

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Creative Tool: Want easier, better decision making?

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Natalia

Do you want to get better at making decisions, or working out if something’s right for you? Do you want to stop muddling through every business decision, making things up on the fly, or as you go along?

There are lots of factors to consider when trying to make the right decision for you. But one thing that helps is understanding your values.

Have you ever made a decision that looked good on paper, but still made you feel uneasy? Often when we’re feeling conflicted about a choice it can mean that it’s in conflict with one or more of our values. When you know what your values are, it’s easier to work out what’s important to you and know what you stand for. The opportunity might just need a small tweak to realign it with your values and give it the go ahead.

In this blog, I’ll share a Creative Values Tool that you can use to quickly work out what your top 3-5 values are. Value exercises are also great for creating a shared identity for your team, so that everyone’s on the same page. Continue reading →

Getting something extraordinary OR “How to avoid only finding the obvious solution by using conventional problem solving techniques”

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Natalia

Has there been a time when you know you want something different, but you don’t know exactly what it is?

Or you want to solve a problem, but you know you won’t get a different result if you use the same approach you’ve always taken?

Basically, instead of boring and ordinary – you want different.
You want something extraordinary.

These are the same expectations that I bring to my own work.
For instance, as an entrepreneur, I grapple with how I define success for myself (there’s no performance review checklist that’s already been created for me by ‘the powers that be’).

So using a conventional, logical way of creating my definition of success, I’d sit down with my beverage of choice and list all the ways that I measure success and answer “How do I know that I’m successful?” But instead I decided to do this…  Continue reading →