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Content Ideas are Everywhere

June 24, 2014 by Cathy Stucker

content-ideasThink you don’t have anything to share? Maybe you don’t think you are enough of an expert to help other people learn. Think again. Your life experiences along with what you are presently learning can make great content. All you need to do is take notice of it, seize it before you lose it, and transform it into an article, blog post or video.

My business model is, “Learn it. Do it. Teach it.” What that means is that I have built a successful business on learning things that I wanted or needed to know, doing them myself, then teaching others what I did right and what I did wrong, and how they can do it right. You can do the same. What attracts your interest and makes you want to learn about it? Learn it, do it yourself, then share what you learned with your audience.

Looking for a quick idea? What mistake did you, one of your clients or one of your colleagues recently make that others can learn from? Everyone likes to hear about other people’s boo-boo’s, and it’s always cheaper and less painful to learn from others’ mistakes rather than our own. So keep your eyes and ears open and you’ll find a ton of content with this idea alone. You may want to change some of the details to protect client confidentiality, but you can easily change a few pieces of identifying information without losing the lesson.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blogging, Cash Content Tagged With: content, creativity, ideas

Tips for Being More Creative

January 15, 2013 by Cathy Stucker

creativity-tipsIn the past people were rewarded by how many hours they worked or the years of experience they had with a particular company. But in the 21st century knowledge economy what really makes a difference to how much you earn is your level of creativity.

In addition to the financial rewards that come from thinking creatively there are also the emotional rewards of doing work you enjoy. People who are involved in creative work feel more fulfilled and are more successful in their chosen industry.

One mistake that many people make is to believe that you are either born creative or you are not. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are all born with a sense of creativity.

Don’t believe me? Picture in your mind right now a red sports car.

See that? You were able to use your mind to “create” the image of the car. You didn’t need to see one to be able to make the image. The reason that some people believe themselves to lack creativity is because just like you need to exercise the muscles of your body, you need to work your “creativity muscles” if you want them to function at their best.

Here you will learn four top tips for being more creative to get those creativity muscles in peak working order:

#1 Exercise, Eat Healthy and Get Plenty of Sleep

The old saying “healthy body for a healthy mind” could not be more true. If you want to think creatively then you need to look after yourself. If you are burned out because of lack of sleep or stress you are going to find it hard to think creatively. Exercise is also crucial to creative thinking. When you exercise it pumps oxygenated blood around the body, including to your brain. Finally make sure to eat healthy which means plenty of vegetables and fruits. Also try adding green tea, as the caffeine and antioxidants will help to give your brain a boost.

#2 Keep a Journal

If you are like most people you are probably getting creative thoughts through out the day. Ideas don’t always come when you want them to, so it is important when inspiration does strike that you write it down. Also the process of keeping a journal and writing things out will help to spur your creative mind.

#3 Use Mind Maps

Mind maps are so named because they closely reflect the way the brain actually works. Our creative mind does not work in a linear fashion, instead it is constantly making new connections. To create a mind map simply take a blank piece of paper and in the center draw the main idea that you want to think creatively about. From that central idea draw branches off to ideas that relate to that idea. From each of these ideas you can draw off further branches of sub-ideas that relate to them. Make use of different colors for each main branch of the mind map as this will help to spur creative thinking and memory.

#4 Take Up A Creative Hobby

As I have already said, creativity is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it will get. This means you need to look for opportunities to use your creativity. One great way to do this is to take up a creative hobby. Whether it is playing a musical instrument, taking up drawing or learning to dance, if you need to think creatively to perform it, then it will only enhance your creativity.

And finally don’t be afraid to fail. Malcolm Gladwell in his book “Outliers” states that in order for someone to master a particular skill they must spend at least 10,000 hours practicing it. So if you want to be a creative genius, get creating!

Filed Under: Creative Ideas Tagged With: creativity, imagination

Stuck in a Rut?

November 22, 2010 by Cathy Stucker

in-a-rut

This week’s Monday Morning Message from Wm. H. Danforth, founder of Ralston Purina:
What is the Monday Morning Message?

One of the essentials to continued growth is the avoidance of Ruts. Ruts make for stupidity. Ruts tend to make a person uninteresting, dull and slow. Ruts can be avoided by a deliberate planning of one’s life, particularly for its free time. Spend your evenings deliberately, perhaps once a week, in doing something different. If you have not been familiar with music, deliberately cultivate a taste for it; if you know nothing about baseball, go with a fan; if you read a certain daily paper every day, change to another daily for a week—jolt your mental machinery a little. If you always spend your vacation at the same place, spend it differently. Go to the mountains and rough it. Have your own boy or girl or some other fellow’s kid in the party. If your reading is mainly novels, try biography. If you have set habits about your smoking, swear off at least one month during the year.

New ideas, new friends, new ways of doing things—all help to get you out of your Rut. Top persons like you don’t belong in any Ruts. What Rut are you going to try to get out of this week?

It is easy to do the same things over and over, until we are stuck in a rut of our own making.

Maybe you have heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

If you want your life to be better, start by doing something different. Mr. Danforth’s above suggestions are a good start. Whenever you find yourself stuck in a rut, make a choice to do something new. Turn off the television and take up a new hobby, talk to new people, join a club, do to an event, start volunteering…anything to get out of your rut.

You will find you have more creativity and more energy when you take on new challenges. You will also have more fun!

Filed Under: Monday Morning Messages Tagged With: breaking habits, creativity, stuck in a rut

Waiting for Your Muse

November 5, 2009 by Cathy Stucker

musesIn Greek mythology, the Muses were goddesses who served to inspire those in the arts and sciences. I often find myself wishing for a Muse who could inspire greatness in marketing. Unfortunately, being mythological, they aren’t easy to find.

You can get by without a Muse by finding ways to inspire yourself. Instead of sitting at your computer, waiting for inspiration to strike, try one or more of these: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Creativity Tagged With: creativity, inspiration, muses

How to Achieve Financial Security

March 29, 2009 by Cathy Stucker

golden-eggFinancial security cannot be achieved merely through owning money. As we have seen, the type of “security” represented by money and goods is a false one.

You must learn how to use wealth wisely before you can know true financial security. To achieve greater prosperity learn how to use the gifts you now have; turn your talents into money; utilize the time you now waste to create something useful for the world. Instead of wishing for more and more, use the things you now have intelligently.

If you can turn your abilities into cash you will always be able to generate income. That is true financial security.

Your time, talents, and money are all interchangeable commodities. If you have a creative talent and do not use it, that talent will die. If you have money and do not circulate it or use it constructively, it will also stagnate and do no one any good.

Perhaps the assets you now have can be used to greater advantage than the large amount possessed by a more wealthy person. Money is valuable only when it is used creatively.

Here are the steps to achieving greater prosperity: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Money and Finances Tagged With: creativity, financial security, talents, wealth

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