Living the Creative Life
What is this mean? It is not just about brainstorming a bunch
of cool ideas that are never used for anything. To live a more
creative life you have to actually apply your creativity to real
problems, choices and perhaps even the design of your lifestyle.
For example, you might read about some research showing how
people can be influenced by the way we frame their situation,
including the questions we ask. You read about research showing
that when we ask ourselves or others what's good in a given situation,
any honest attempt to answer the question results in a better
attitude or emotional state. People can't help but feel better
when seeing the good, and this is not new age, but the simple
mechanics of thinking and feeling.
That's interesting, but why leave it at that? Use the knowledge!
Ask yourself and your friends questions that change thinking
patterns. In other words, creatively apply what you learn.
Should you get a job or start a business? It's a common question,
and the answer is expected to be one or the other of the options
given. But why not approach it as a yes or no question? Maybe
you should get a job or start a business, but then maybe not.
You could travel, become an investor, write, or do others things
to survive that are not one or the other of the presumed options.
You could even live in a bus in the desert, like three young
men I met in Arizona.
There's nothing wrong with a job if it suits your purposes
at the moment, but why limit your thinking? And if you do get
a job, think of new ways you can use it. The "in the box"
approach is to see employment as a paycheck and/or a chance to
advance and get a bigger paycheck. But it might also be a training
ground for a business you'll build someday, or a place to meet
people you want to know for whatever reasons, or simply a means
to qualify for a mortgage loan, to be discarded once you get
the loan.
Living in a house? That's great, but is a house or apartment
the only option for shelter? Is it the best for you? Is a tiny
house, like some people are now building, a better idea? Maybe
you can live much cheaper in less indoor space, create a big
cheap deck for outdoor living space, and use the money saved
for something that is more important to you than the large boxes
most people live in.
Interested in investing ideas? Why just be interested? And
why limit your thinking to the traditional investment vehicles?
Consider ways to make parts of your life that are ordinarily
just consumption into things that actually have a pay-off in
the future.
I know people who buy high quality used furniture for their
home, and buy it cheap. They can sell it for a profit anytime
they like, making it essentially a nice way to bank their money.
You might also use your reading habits to make money. I read
many books and I report what I learn on my websites, which make
a great living for my wife and I. That makes all my education
and reading entertainment into an investment.
Some people regularly sell cars for more than they pay for
them, and do so after months or years of driving them. It's true
that a car is normally a terrible investment, but not if you
buy it used at auction or off from a bank "repo lot"
for a lot less than the market value. What else could be an investment?
Don't limit your creativity to just speculative thoughts and
imaginary inventions. Apply it in the real world. That's how
you live more creatively.
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