Archive for September, 2009
How to be More Creative
Creativity is at the top of my short list of “must-haves” to have a fulfilling career. If you can’t be creative at your job, then it’s hard to have fun.
Creativity can come in many forms:
- Conversations with co-workers
- Marketing Plan
- Problem solving
- Customer relations
- Accounting Management
There is creativity in everything we do, but we often don’t have fun with it. I’ve been thinking about this problem a lot lately.
The reason I found the solution was because of Marelisa Fabrega’s ebook “How to be More Creative: A Handbook for Alchemists.” I couldn’t put it all together until after reading it.
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21 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Every Monday
It’s not the answers that you receive that bring you happiness; it’s the questions that you ask.
The question must come before the answer.
If you are looking for the answers on how to enjoy a tough project, they won’t come. You are searching for the end point when it’s the journey that will help you find the joy.
For example, if you go into work every Monday morning wondering why you aren’t happy, then you will focus on why you aren’t happy.
If you go into work with a question such as, “how can I improve my happiness?” You are focusing your mind on finding a positive answer.
Here are some of the questions I ask myself every Monday…
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Hard Fun and The Beautiful – The Rain Edition
(Can’t see the video? Then try watching it at Work Happy Now - Hard Fun and The Beautiful – The Rain Edition)
Where we are free to talk about the hard, the fun, and the beautiful of our work week.
This week has been a doozie. Now that I’m looking back on my week and sharing it with you, they all seem like doozies. I guess that’s the magic of reflection. By putting a magnifier to life, I’m able to see the little nuances of work that are truly enjoyable.
I never thought that being overwhelmed by multi-tasking would be enjoyable. Of course it’s hard to deal with in the moment, but a few days later it’s quite funny.
Let’s begin:
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Reader Dilemma – Would You Lie?
We have some very thoughtful people reading this blog and I’m curious to know how you would handle this situation.
Here is the scenario:
You are sitting at your desk typing up an email. Your manager calls you on the phone and asks you to come into the office. A man and a woman whom you’ve never met before, both in suits, are looking at you with furrowed eyes, waiting for an answer.
Your manager says, “This is (put your name here). He is handling your account. I called you in here because I wanted to confirm with John and Lisa that you never received their order. Can you confirm this?” You know that you don’t handle this couple’s account, and it’s obvious to you that your boss wants you to lie to cover for him.
What do you say?
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25 Reasons Why You Should Pre-order the Happiness Project Book
Communicatrix wrote a wonderful post in support of pre-ordering Gretchen’s book – Referral Friday: 10 reasons why you should pre-order The Happiness Project. I loved this idea, so I decided to do one of my own.
Happiness is not a talent. It’s a learned skill. The more you can apply happiness techniques to your life, the more they will become a habit. That’s why we all must create a Happiness Project for ourselves.
Just think: What if everyone in your family put themselves on a happiness diet? What if they worked on improving their relationships, improving themselves, and getting the results out of life that made them feel excited about every single day?
You would have one encouraging and fun family to be around.
Gretchen, who I now consider a friend after we enjoyed a cup of tea together at SxSW, is the real deal. She is an author who truly cares. I learned so much in those two hours that the whole conference was worth the admission.
I’m basing my recommendation off of my meeting and her blog. I am 100% sure I will love her book. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be going through all this trouble to convince you to pre-order it too.
Pre-order on Amazon Today - The Happiness Project
Here are my 25 reasons to pre-order the Happiness Project on Amazon:
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Hard Fun and the Beautiful – Dog Paws Edition
(Can’t see the video? Then try watching it at Work Happy Now - Hard Fun and The Beautiful – Dog Paws Edition)
Where we are free to talk about the hard, the fun, and the beautiful of our work week.
This week showed me a lot about who I am and what I’ve learned. And it’s this emotional development that has helped me appreciate all the research I’ve done for this blog. It’s taught me how to relax with the ups and downs of my work week.
Let’s begin:
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Team Building Activity – Hint – Colorful Balls
Jeff Sloan, co-founder of Start-up Nation, talked at a Microsoft conference about creating your own business. He is a serial entrepreneur of electronics and various other media.
Jeff and his brother were promoting one of their gadgets at a conference and they bumped into a woman who was juggling, so they started juggling with her. They got to talking with the woman and hashed out a distributorship to sell the juggling balls throughout North America.
Their juggling package was the number 1 item sold for Father’s Day back in 1992.
They positioned their product as “Stress Relief for the Busy Executive.” An item that has been around since the pyramids in Egypt was the best selling product for fathers in the US. Jeff was able to do this because of a relationship that he created with the department stores.
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Do You Conference?
Lately I’ve been thinking about conferences. I was contacted by Texas Text Book Conference for a quote on a work happiness keynote speech. They are interested in the work happiness concept. Even if they don’t hire me, I know that work happiness is taking over the business world.
One day companies will care just as much about an employee’s happiness as they will about how much money they earned. Google’s 20% Rule is an example of a concept that fits with this type of thinking. Companies will see that when employees are happy, they are more creative and productive, which will in turn earn the company even more money. (Wow! That was a little rant that I wasn’t expecting.)
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Hard Fun and The Beautiful – Bamboo Edition
(Can’t see the video? Then try watching it at Work Happy Now - Hard Fun and Beautiful – Bamboo Edition)
This week has been up and down and left and right. My emotions have been a little unstable, but I’ve been doing the best I can. I feel bad for Nikki because I was really grumpy a few days ago. I had trouble finding a balance between work and play.
This video covers the Hard, Fun and Beautiful of my week.
Here are the topics I cover:
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Career Renegade Interview
As always, I’m trying to bring as many perspectives about work happiness to you that I possibly can. Jonathan Fields of Career Renegade is a friend who I met at SxSW and he is also a wonderful writer. I reviewed his book and took away a ton of great ideas. He’s a serial entrepreneur and that’s why I asked him for an interview. Many of you may not want to start your own business, but all of you are entrepreneurs, whether you are working for a company or yourself. It’s up to you to make your career come alive.
That’s why I love this interview. Jonathan is always bubbling with energy and concepts that we could all use to improve our working lives.
Let’s begin…
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