Silly and Creative

By Mike Monahan, CEO and executive director of Life Success Seminars Inc.

I love when the grandkids come over to our house. Once they arrive, it is strictly business: monkey business! They all have great imaginations, and they come up with the most creative ideas.

My oldest granddaughter, Emma, has anointed me "Grandpoo." It's funny to see that the sarcasm gene has been successfully passed down to another generation!

Emma is 12, and she's starting into the "normal" phase of life. I can see the silly and creative parts of her shutting down. Soon, she will be an enlightened teen. But I'm sure the creativity is still in her and will show up in a new and exciting way as she becomes a teenager.

But my fear is that I will lose my favorite status. I like being Emma's Grandpoo!

Too Busy

By Mike Monahan, CEO and executive director, Life Success Seminars Inc.

Have you ever noticed how most people spend little or no time on what they're most passionate about? It's as if they believe that doing what they love is a luxury. I love to paint, but I just don't have time. I love writing, but I'm too busy to sit down and do it.

Are you too busy doing things that you're not passionate about? I have to clean up the house and do the dishes. I have to cut the grass and rake the leaves.

Of course, we all have things that need to be taken care of. The question is why and when did you decide to make "busy" a priority over passion and creativity?

Maybe it's time to hire a housecleaner and get out the old paintbrush!

Storytelling

By Mike Monahan, CEO and executive director of Life Success Seminars Inc.

I believe every person possesses creativity. Creativity for you may be painting, singing or writing. We usually think of creativity as an art form or hobby.

But creativity can show up in other ways. Have you ever met someone who can conjure up story after story and convince others of their lies? To keep all the stories straight, they have to be creative!

Have you ever met someone who has told a dishonest story for so long that they've convinced themselves that it's true?

All of us are creative, and we get to decide how we use our creativity. You can use your creativity to manipulate the people around you. Or you can use your creativity to bring joy to your world.

Creativity

By Mike Monahan, CEO and executive director of Life Success Seminars, Inc.

Create: To bring into being from nothing.

Have you ever wondered at what age you no longer have a thought that hasn't been influenced by something or someone? Did you ever have an original thought? Does it matter?

I think I come up with some really different ideas, but I'm not sure if they're mine or a version of something I've heard or seen. As I get older, it's almost impossible to sort out the details of my thought process.

What I've learned over the years is that putting a thought out there is what's most important. If it's a good idea, who cares who came up with it? Sharing good ideas with others is what life is all about. After all, it takes a lot of creativity to repackage a good story and make it a great story!

Do It/Don't Do It

By Mike Monahan, CEO and executive director of Life Success Seminars Inc.

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Just do it"? Believe it or not, you are "just doing it" every moment of your life. You may say you aren't doing what you want, but you really are.

We all choose what we do with our time. You can sit back and daydream, but that is a decision. That is an action. You can procrastinate, wait and think about it, but all of those things are actions you choose.

Imagine how your life would change if you changed your language? Instead of saying, "I'm waiting," what if you were honest? "I spend 80% of my time on meaningless activities."

Try it out and see if you "just do it" differently a lot quicker!

Preparation

By Mike Monahan, CEO and executive director of Life Success Seminars

Most people spend an enormous amount of time preparing for the future. I think that preparation can be a very good thing to do.

But the older I get, the less time I spend preparing. Awhile back, I figured out that what I think is going to happen never quite turns out the way I thought.

So if I can't predict the future, it doesn't make sense for me to prepare for what I don't know!

Today, I'm prepared to be surprised by life and to trust that I have the ability to make good decisions in the moment. My life is so much simpler this way!