Creative problem-solving is not a plastic pie

Growing up I detested the idea of being a teacher. That's not to say I have anything against educators; in fact, I quite prefer them to most marketers I meet. (Just kidding!) You see, it's that every person on my mom's side of the family had been in education. The women, all of them teachers.

I wanted to forge my own path. Make my own choices; new choices, and risky ones at that! I didn't want to be like them. I couldn't stand the thought of it. I had to be my own person; I had to do something new. But, what? I wanted to be someone who was indispensable. Not necessarily to the process, but to the vision for the final product. I wanted to be a linchpin.

Ironically, education is an intricate part of everything I do in my career today. Whether I'm meeting a new marketing client, giving a keynote, leading a team or even serving at a volunteer organization it's my job to demystify the seemingly complex.

Creative problem-solving is not a plastic pie

A situation can always be worse. Life isn't like one of those plastic pies you see sitting in the display case at Martha's Bakery that will forever have one slice removed. Your problems are defined by the way that you see them. Thus, the extent to which any challenge can go so far as to change your intended course of action is irrelevant. Nothing in life or, politics, or even business is a zero-sum game.

If we hit a roadblock, disagree with a co-worker, or get passed up for a promotion does that mean it's the end? Do you march into your editor's office on Monday and quit working at the local newspaper just because the dice didn't fall where you thought they would? The answer is no. Or, at least, I wouldn't recommend it as your best plan of action for getting what you want.

Failure isn't an end point, it's a jumping off point for building something greater than what you started with and only dreamed possible! The avenue to success is rarely paved. There are always unexplored options, solutions, and paths to be contemplated. Change, risk, and failure are inevitable outcomes.

So, what is it that I do? I illuminate unidentified opportunities.

?But, so do teachers.