That’s what makes them such a rich playground for the imagination. Have you ever taken a hour and just poured over all the displays? It’s a great way to engage your imaginative, playful side! And, if you want to take something home – it only costs a dollar!

So, the next time you’re looking for a new perspective – an innovative thought – hop in your car and go to the closest dollar store. As you walk in, set an intention to find something in the store that will give you the answer you’re looking for.

Or, just have the intention to find something fun and interesting for your mind (or your hands) to play with for a bit.

Be open – let yourself be a kid – look on all the wondrous “toys” for the fun they can bring. Or, just marvel at the technology that makes them possible. Try to find things you never knew existed, and wonder who it was that created this…

Open your mind to all the creative genius that went into making this little place possible…and awaken your creative genius!

Just Imagine That!

 But first – a little bit of background information. Did you know that your brain has its own “seek and find” function? Once you give it an assignment, it will go to work without you having to consciously engage it!  Pretty cool, huh!

Say for instance – - – you are considering buying a car and your think you want a red car.  All of a sudden you start seeing red cars everywhere!  Have you ever had this experience?  Suddenly there seems to be more red cars on the road than you ever thought possible! How does this happen?

 Well, your brain’s radar goes to work and starts “sorting” information and brings “red cars” to your attention, There were probably as many red cars around yesterday but your brain wasn’t sorting for them…so you didn’t see them.  This function in your brain actually has a name – the reticular activating system, better known as the RAS.

 So, today, we are going to use your RAS to be creative! Here’s how…

 Find an object that is around you everyday and pick it up.  Any object will do!

 Now, your assignment is to think of 100 uses for this object.  Ready…Set…. GO !  Start writing!

 Remember – all ideas are great ideas!  They don’t have to make any sense at all.  In fact, by letting your RAS do its thing –things to do with this object will just pop into your head. Just set the goal to come up with 100 things and let your RAS go wild and do its thing!  You can just sit back and take notes…

 Just Imagine That!

One of my favorite techniques for stimulating thought, generating ideas, and just generally changing my perspective, is to pick up a dictionary or thesaurus.

Sometimes I set an intention first. For example, if I’m looking for the solution to a specific issue, I hold that in mind before I begin. Sometimes, I just set the intention to find any useful idea.

So, I pick up the dictionary (actually it works just as well with any book or magazine – but I love dictionaries). I turn to a random page, and read a random entry. If it sparks something, I follow that thought. If not, I choose another page and another word. It’s difficult to describe the actual process without writing a book – essentially, it’s like having a spark for free-flowing ideas.

And, quite honestly, it still amazes me how many times I hit upon a new thought, or am reminded of an old one, that leads me to exactly what I was looking for.

I think what makes this work so well is that I let go of trying to figure something out with the left side of my brain, and I just let my creative right brain have some fun.

Give it a try – use any book that appeals to you, or a magazine full of pictures, or even go to Google, type a random word, and click “I’m feeling lucky”. Follow whatever seems interesting, and see what happens…

Just Imagine That!

 Better yet, why don’t we use some of your “treasures” as fuel for your imagination! (My garage is kind of full anyway…)

 Today is a great day for pack rats, because I have come up with a fun and fabulous way to use the “necessary treasures” that are hiding in your junk drawer to spark ideas!

 Ready…Set…Let’s create!

 1. First, pull out your junk drawer and dump its contents onto the floor, a table or any flat surface.

2. Now begin to make something out of this miscellaneous stuff. (There are no rules – use any or all of the stuff – just let your hands and eyes wander and start to put things together.)

3. When you feel the energy of building something move away from you, take another minute and add a few more things.

1. Now, step back and admire your creation!
2. Ask yourself a few questions.
   1. What is it?
   2. What can be done with it?
   3. Does it have a theme or a certain personality?
   4. Does a name for your creation come to mind?
3.  Write down any ideas that come to you and save them in an IDEA FOLDER.
4. Leave your creation up for a while. From time to time, take a look at it and congratulate yourself on making “something.” You may even want to take a picture of it!

 Well done! Creating something is fun, isn’t it?  And, now that you have activated the creative side of your brain, be prepared for other ideas to pop into your head!

 You have just turned your own junk into your own treasure.

 Just Imagine That !

Any dream could come true…you could be anything, you could go anywhere, do anything.

For many of us, years of increasing responsibility and life experience has narrowed our focus and limited us in what we believe is possible.

Just Imagine That exists because we know that many of our limitations are self-imposed, and that we actually have many more possibilities than we realize.

This week, our blog is devoted to exercises to help you get in touch with your imagination.

If you’re in need of some new ideas – some innovative solutions, read on…

Change Small Things

We are creatures of habit. All of us. And, in many ways, it serves us well.

It saves us time and energy, as we don’t have to devote brain-time to making the same decisions every day. Many of the things we do on a regular basis, we do on remote control. We usually give no thought to the steps in our morning ritual, maneuvering through traffic, doing laundry, etc., etc.

We have well-defined neural pathways that guide us through the more mundane parts of our lives. This is what allows us to pay attention to a conversation while we’re driving (at least most of the time.)

The flip side is that we can miss many opportunities – and new perspectives – if we over-do it.

Here’s an example from my life: Obviously, I see my house every day. I walk through it and do what I do, without much thought. When I’m expecting guests, however, I really look at my house. I suddenly notice the pile of papers that’s accumulated on the table, and the dust that magically appeared. You get the point.

Without a conscious effort, I overlook things that are right in front of me.

Here’s an exercise to help change your perspective:
Pick one small thing that you normally do in remote control mode, and change it up a bit. 

• Take a new route to work (even if it’s longer) 
• Do your reading in another room 
• Try a new grocery store 
• Really pay attention to your next waitress 
• Count all the red cars you pass on your next errand

If you do this on a regular basis, you might not come up with the idea of the century immediately, but you will certainly change your mental energy a bit, and you never know where that might lead.

Just Imagine That!

 I went to a toy store and bought a battery-operated, stuffed giraffe that makes really cute (somewhat obnoxious) noises and walks across the floor.  I went back to the office and called a “giraffe party.” We gathered in my office, reported our successes, clapped for each other and were “honored” by the giraffe. We weren’t closing a deal that day.  But we had hit our interim goals and I declared this TIME FOR CELEBRATION!  The ritual of regular and frequent giraffe parties became a standing policy in our department.

 How silly, you say.  You’re right…it was silly…and IT WORKED!  By talking time to celebrate what we accomplished along the way to our ultimate goal, we were energized and more enthusiastic about each step!  We did a better job and we enjoyed it more.

 So, have you ever had a giraffe party for yourself?  When was the last time you patted yourself on the back for accomplishing things on your to-do list for any given day?

 Remember – everything you do is a victory because it (1) produces a result that moves you closer to what you want or (2) gives you information that you can use to change what you are doing so that you move in a more productive direction.  BOTH ARE CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!

 Today, come up with some way to celebrate that delights you and rewards you! Make it simple. THEN DO IT! 

 When you celebrate along the way, you will create more things to celebrate…

 Just imagine that !

Our calendars are full of meetings, phone calls, social engagements, errands… the list could go on for another page or so, but you get the idea.

We spend a fair amount of time scheduling, managing – sometimes juggling – all the things we’d like to do. And sometimes there’s just not enough time for everything on the calendar.

So, when the schedule’s full, we look through our calendar and re-arrange, postpone and even cancel things so it will fit.

So, here’s the question: of all the things on your calendar, how many of them are just for you? Reading time, a massage, being in your garden, spending relasing time with friends and family…

How many of the things that give you real pleasure, even feel indulgent and perhaps non-productive, get pushed aside when time is short?

Even if it’s only 15-30 minutes, the time you spend on you is important!

Make sure at least some of it stays on the calendar when you start weeding it down! There will always be more to do, even, perhaps, more than we can do in a given day or week. Take time for you!

Just Imagine That!

 Question  #1. On a usual day, how many hours do you spend at your computer or at your desk?  Just a rough estimate off of the top of your head will do. Write that number on a piece of paper or a post it.

 Question #2. For how many of those hours are you less productive than you would like to be? Write that number down, too.

 Question #3. How many attention or energy lulls do you have during the time that you are working?  For instance, do you regularly have a lull in the afternoon?  How long is it? 30 minutes? One Hour? Two hours? Write down the number of hours (or partial hours) you feel you spend working (or trying to work) when you are in a lull.

 YEAH! The quiz is finished! You should have three numbers on a piece of paper or post it in front of you.

 Now, add the answers to questions 2 and 3 together.  Hopefully, you will get a number that is less than the answer you gave for Question 1.  (If not, you might consider taking a long weekend and letting your mind rest.) So, what good is this number?

 This is the number of 5 to 10 minute breaks I suggest you take everyday during your work time to make you more efficient and effective!! What? Less work time makes you more productive?

 Absolutely!

 Taking short, energizing breaks. Do a couple of jumping jacks, walk around the office or your home, go outside and do a few stretches toward the sky…just change your location, take a few deep breaths and move your body.  Then, head back to your desk, refocus and see how productive you are! A little break goes a long way!

 Just imagine that !

 In today’s world of massive communication, we are always “connected.” If we’re not actually on the computer, subject to IMs, Skypes, chats, and emails, we’re usually within earshot of at least one phone, and perhaps a PDA, etc, etc.

 These are all great tools – and we love them – for the flexibility and productivity they provide.

 However, just because we can be available anytime doesn’t mean that it’s necessary.

 Try logging off from the IMs, etc, turning off the phone (or at least screening for really important calls) for part of your day. Then look at how much more productive you’ve been during that time. Or, how much more attentive you’ve been to the people you’re with.

 When it comes to being available, sometimes it’s ok to “just say no.”

 Just Imagine That!

 Have you categorized your list of things to do for today and assigned them to time chunks?  Go ahead and take minute to do that now. 

 Good job!  Now look at your first chunk.  Look over the items in that chunk and see if they have a general theme.  Is it marketing? Client contact? Research?  Checking email and other communications? Think about your purpose for doing those things in this one chunk.  Next, set an overall intention for what you want to accomplish by doing those items.  What do you want to achieve by doing them?  Decide on your intention and write it down in the margin next to the list. 

 Here’s an example. I don’t know about you, but when I check my emails I can sometimes end up in the land of never ending links. Several hours later I snap back to reality, my stomach is growling, it is almost time for lunch and I haven’t even gotten to the first items on my list.  So, I started setting this simple intention before I start checking emails: “I now easily, effortlessly and quickly go through all my emails to find the ones that are golden for today!”  And it works!!!

 If you take just a minute to review the chunks of your day, and set an intention for the results you want to have, you will be surprised how your focus and efficiency will increase.

 Just Imagine That !