Coots have Legs-Learning to See Differently

I was walking Ranger this morning and saw two American Coots swimming in the lake near our house; a common site for a bird watcher like myself. They have plain black bodies with simple white beaks and they float on the water with little to no sound. I had never seen them out of the water. They were a whole different bird with interesting shapes and sounds-they squawk.

So why would I add this to a blog about business and creativity? How often do we get used to the same process we've used and worked with but fail to see the intricacies of solving a problem outside of the norm; this is when good ideas become great and the successful become giants.

An artist strives to show something to the viewer that they have seen before but make it so it's new, different, unique. Just like a photographer is not looking to share a photograph of something everyone sees, they want that photo to convey through angles, depth, light and color-something that the viewer hasn't seen before.

This week I talked to a mentor specializing in helping people to discover and understand their passion: her name is Kira Day. Through her business, the Passion Centre Inc., she has helped many CEOs, executives, and people like myself to not only find their passion but to understand what may be holding them back from success.

The whole idea of mentoring is foreign for me as I always tend to navigate through learning the ropes in the most difficult and laborious manor. The problem I am realizing is that it is hard to fight among the weeds, throwing your own ideas back and forth and doing the same thing over that has been profitable but not to the level I am intent on achieving. What if there was a way of seeing the process differently from someone on the outside.

Two things she pointed out before we even started-first that there are drains to energy and how many things I'm doing are just noise that steal energy, this was so timely and accurate, she got my attention. The second point was about self-doubt-if you know you will succeed you will start immediately doing what will, if you struggle with self-doubt-you will fill your time with things that don't support your success.

These two profound and yet very simple insights from just a short conversation convinced me she was onto something. I will be finding another path with her help, maybe I can see a new way to achieve the future I have been chasing with a fresh set of eyes. I will keep you posted.

Maybe after seeing my ideas float endlessly on the gray water, like plane birds that make no sound-maybe these ideas will finally show they have legs.