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"I don't have a creative bone in my body!" Ever had that believed? Or how about this? "I adore to dance, paint, sing, bake, develop wooden toys, clown about (fill in your own words) BUT no 1 will pay me to do that."
If that is you, it's time to shift your thinking and get into your Creative Flow. Every person, and I do mean Everyone, is creative. You do not have to be a sculptor or a novelist or an architect to qualify. Your unique brand of creativity might be in the way you can fix just about anything. Or in the way you make fabulous videos of family events. Or it might be the way you can organize a messy office or closet. You ARE creative, just not in the stereotypical way.
And you know what? That's not a bad thing if you want to get started a organization that taps into your personal gifts and talents. You have got a exceptional mixture that no 1 else has -- and think me, there are folks willing to pay you for those talents.
So, how do you tap into your Creative Flow? 1st, acquire a spot where you can just sit quietly with a notebook for 30 minutes or so. Title a page "All the Methods I'm a Creative Individual." Jot down anything and almost everything you have ever accomplished that was the slightest bit creative. Did you crochet an afghan? Construct a doghouse? Support a friend locate a remedy to her situation? Paint a room? Reorganize your garage? Wrap a gorgeous birthday gift? These are your Creativity Sparks.
The key is to do this without criticizing yourself mentally with statements like, "Oh, that was so very easy for me to do. It doesn't count." Or "Yeah, I took those nature pictures, but they are not really all that wonderful. Or "Men and women say I make fantastic meals but that is not creative adequate to put on the list." No criticism, no filters. Let go of perfectionism and you'll have very a lengthy list.
Next, ask three men and women you trust to tell you about all the approaches you're a creative soul. If it is not comfortable to sit and listen to all this praise, ask them to write about your creativity instead. Your list is receiving longer and longer, isn't it?
How will this exercise help you come across a way to alter careers at midlife? Your Creativity Sparks are a jumping-off point for making work you really like, function that will feed your spirit as properly as fill your wallet.
Let's say that one of your Creativity Sparks is that you really like getting around dogs, playing with them, teaching them tricks, taking photos of them. What can you do that involves dogs that will also generate income?It is time to move into full-on brainstorming!
Here are just a couple of suggestions:
• Put together a show demonstrating your dogs' tricks, response to commands, or ability to follow a scent trail. Figure out how you'll tell an audience about this in a enjoyable, interactive way. Collect some interesting tidbits of small recognized facts about dogs. Who will pay for this? You may possibly sign up with a firm that books school assemblies, or connect with nearby fairs and festivals, assisted living facilities, or day care centers for starters.
• Take photos of your dogs and generate a line of note cards, greeting cards, posters, T-shirts, or coffee mugs. Sell your work on sites like or feel of niche markets like veterinarians or kennels that could use your images with their own company name.
• Put together "doggie & me" tours for men and women who want to take their pets on vacation. Or produce a directory of hotels, B & Bs, and restaurants that permit pets. You could sell advertising space in your directory as well as market it to pet-loving vacationers.
• Specialize in setting up "doggie events" to improve neighborhood community events. There's a small town in our region that holds an annual Frontier Days celebration. The Ugly Dog contest and Kids & Pups Parade often draw a major crowd and create further publicity for the celebration.
To get your own Creative Flow going, see what you can add to this list.
Once you have practiced a bit with the "doggie" physical exercise, it is time to go back to your own creativity list and produce tips. Believe outside the conventional job box. Be wild, off-beat. Play with every single of your Creativity Sparks. Appear for opportunities, unmet requirements, problems you could solve.
Not each and every notion will be a dollars-maker -- or even some thing you'd really like to do. But the a lot more tips you have, the alot more options open up. Explore. Play with possibilities. 1 of those crazy concepts could be the get started of a entire new career. There are an virtually endless assortment of approaches to turn your interests into income!
Charting a new career course at midlife so you make a living performing what you love is inside your grasp -- if you use your imagination and look for opportunities that other people miss.