Bill Baren Blog

I got into the business of music because I loved music. I left the music industry because I could no longer feel my passion for music. Instead, what was once the love of my life became a reminder of the politics, the administrative clutter and what I didn’t like about the culture of my industry. I spent more time running my business then being in touch with music itself. It was a heartbreaking experience.

Things are much different for me now. I proudly call myself an entrepreneur coach, a creativity catalyst, a blogger and a human software engineer. I wear these badges proudly and enjoy the time I spend wearing each of these hats and I get to spend the majority of the day doing what I love.

With the passing of the mid-term election, I was reflecting on what has become of our political system and of everyone who is involved in this massive industry. Why do politicians get into what they do? Are they there to make a difference? Do they get involved because they believe in a cause and want to champion it? Do they simply want power?

The majority of members of our Congress devote the greater part of their time fundraising for their re-election. The job we, the people, hired them to do is a distant second. They took the job of Congressman, but are doing the job of Fundraiser. Moreover, the decisions they make on a daily basis have less to do with their mission of the job (to represent and serve the people of their district) but more with how much their re-election will gain or lose as a consequence of their decision.

We love our work when we have the freedom to do what we believe is right in any situation. We love our work when the culture of our company and of our industry is in line with our personal values. We love our work when we spend the majority of our time doing what we love. Can politicians say that? Can doctors? Can coaches? Can writers? Can painters?

Business Alignment Questionnaire

• Do you have the personal freedom to do what you believe is right in your business?
• Do you spend the majority of the time doing what you love?
• What’s your personal mission behind your business?
• Do you believe in the culture and integrity of your industry?

Satisfaction is doing what you love and loving what you are doing.

I believe that we all have an innate ability to be creative in our own individual way. It is our ability to turn off our intellect and flow in our intuitive state that gets us in our creativity zone into our Zone of Genius.

Seth’s post has inspired to come with my own list of creativity blockers:

* The fear of the unknown
* Resisting Change
* Fear of being rejected or even hated
* Ignoring your intuition
* Being judgmental of yourself and others
* The need of approval from others
* The habit of being attached to things as the way they are right now
* The habit of creating doubt in your own mind

The absence of creativity blockers get you into this state:

* I completely trust and act on my intuition
* I enjoy the wonder of uncertainty
* I am fully self-expressed even if my colleagues/employees/bosses/industry don’t like it
* I get the sense of who I am from the essential nature of my being rather then from my actions, accomplishments or others
* I am continuously open to new ways of seeing something, while retaining my unique way of seeing things
* I sense the perfection in everything around me

What inspires you to be creative?

Lis Strauss reminds us of the importance of creativity and curiosity in our business. We can get closer to our essential zone of genius by being more like a three-year-old.

Three-Year-Olds:
** Test drive everything to get information.
** Ask “Why?” and don’t stop until the answer satisfies them.
** Know and use many more options than most adults do.
** They’ll try anything once, because they don’t know the rules.

Find your Zone of Genius by being a Three-Year-Old CEO:

• Try everything - learn from experiencing it
• Always ask yourself and your team “WHY?”
• Know what you want and simply try all the options to see if you can get there
• Forget the rules

We have no competitors. It’s not about measuring our self or our business against anyone else. It is about continuing to refine what’s unique about what we do. It’s about zeroing in on your essential zone of genius.

Shift into the mode of creating peak performances for yourself, your team and your business away from the mode of comparing yourself to others.

When your business starts to become more about you and less about your competition, you will cease to have any competitors.

**Monday morning inspiration.**

Envision it. Believe it. Make it happen.

“People living in scarcity see the cup as half empty.
People who are positive thinkers see the cup as half full.
People living in abundance see the cup as overflowing.
But people Living into their Greatness ARE the Cup.” — Kim George

“Focus on what’s going great for you in your business.
Do more of it, living into your greatness.
Be a cup for what you want most next.” — Sylvia Warren

I find that it’s important for each of us to create an environment where we can tap into our ideas. Yet, the art of business (and life) is more about tapping into our intuitive knowing of which ideas we actually pursue. Yes, and pursue them regardless of what other people and the marketplace thinks. We live in a world that reinforces our need for approval and for constant seeking of external gauges of what works and what doesn’t. The only gauge to listen to in making decisions is your gut.

Let your mind gather all the data, but let your gut be your guide.

This is what Seth Godin has to say about it:

“Do you go with your instinct? Is your gut reaction to be trusted? After all, you’ve been right before. After all, you’ve been wrong before.

The analysis, based on past events, certainly seems sound. But your instincts are the only way you’re going to do something unsound.

And unsound things become hits. Sound ones never do.

Who Moved My Cheese was unsound. So was publishing a book two years after you started blogging every chapter. So was an expensive, unfitted, almost untailored suit from Milan. So was running against Joe Lieberman.

The challenge is not to somehow persuade those in search of soundness to change their minds. The challenge is to do enough of a gut check to decide whether you should defend your instinct. And then do it.”

________________

• Which idea you’ve had simply not leave you alone?
• Which idea feels right, yet really scares you?
• Which idea would revolutionize your industry?
• The pursuit of which idea, would make the biggest difference in your business and your life?

I’ve discovered a powerfully inspirational film site: Monday 9 a.m. - that explores humanity, creativity and the questions that arise our of living and creating.

This week features a film about Dominic Miller, Sting’s guitarist.

________________

What does art, a philosopher and a life coach have in common? They all leave you with questions to ponder.

These are the questions from this film:

• What happens when you get to where you believe you should be?
• Does everything start with a relationship between two things –you and a somebody or a something?
• What is your opportunity to recognize this and to create a ’story’?
• Is it your responsibility to do so?
• What ’story’ is out there waiting to be told by you?
• Are you courageous enough to live with ‘the not knowing’?
• How naked are you prepared to be?

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman

This is a good reminder to move towards what energizes us in our business. The rest will follow!