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![“The parts of your brain that are
responsible for self-monitoring are
literally turned off during creative
endeavors….Creative people have
mastered the art of turning off [the
inhibitive] part of their brains to let their
ideas flow more smoothly, unleashing
their imagination.”
- Tina Seelig, InGenius](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/getunblocked-140226183257-phpapp02/85/Get-Unblocked-97-320.jpg)
Uploaded byDenise Jacobs
Get Unblocked
The document discusses the importance of creativity and how to overcome blocks that inhibit creative flow. It shares insights on managing inner critics, embracing fear, and techniques to cultivate a creative environment, such as adjusting one's mindset and connecting with ideas. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need for collaboration and diverse environments to enhance creativity and urges individuals to value their unique ideas and processes.
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Get Unblocked
- 2. If You FeelInclined to Tweet… I am: @denisejacobs We’re at: @MindTheBridge And I’m talking about ways to #getunblocked
- 3. How did Ibecome a Creativity Evangelist? http://www.flickr.com/photos/b4b2/3954106061/
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- 5. I had anepiphany http://www.flickr.com/photos/44085287@N05/4055814772/
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- 7. We ALL holdthe power http://www.flickr.com/photos/assbach/267598910/
- 8. Creativity is highlyvalued http://business.time.com/2013/04/26/the-time-creativity-poll/
- 9. I’ve decided it’smy life work Photo: Derek Kearney
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- 11. What’s our mostimportant tool for creating? http://www.flickr.com/photos/drachmann/327122302/
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- 14. Instead of accessingall of your great ideas http://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/8156999698/
- 15. And feeling likethis http://www.flickr.com/photos/7730492@N03/4958540694/
- 16. You run intoroad blocks http://www.flickr.com/photos/99301367@N00/8497106802/
- 17. When you needthem the least http://www.flickr.com/photos/7693102@N07/2536807562/
- 18. And you runcompletely http://royhoes.deviantart.com/art/Out-of-Inspiration-85588391
- 19. However, creativity isa source of true power http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanekemp/6152286326/
- 20. “Creativity is newnessproduced.” - Sir Ken Robinson, Out of Our Minds
- 21. When we arein the creative flow http://www.flickr.com/photos/myfear/289257055/
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- 24. “Creativity is magical,but it is not magic.” - Dr. Charles Limb, Your Brain on Improvisation TED talk
- 25. We’re innately powerfulcreators http://www.flickr.com/photos/89927155@N00/2144275209/
- 26. Instead of usingit fully http://www.flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/3310336516/
- 27. We fear it Photo:Denise Jacobs
- 28. And give ourpower away https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6D-O5ECr5EUow5jrck2A2A
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- 31. It starts early http://www.flickr.com/photos/barretthall/3036598475/&http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/3135103537/
- 32. Share 4 storiesfrom my own life http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorenjavier/7324305636/
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- 35. Mom & sister Photos:Deloria Jacobs
- 36. Me? More ofa graphic artist Photo: Deloria Jacobs
- 37.
- 38. Oldest friend inthe world Photo: Deloria Jacobs
- 39.
- 40. Happy graduation! Nowwhat? Photo: Deloria Jacobs
- 41. Maybe be awriter?
- 42.
- 43. Internalized the criticalvoices http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeapalooza/553545517/
- 44. Caused me tobinge-create
- 45. But never feltdeserving
- 46. Always a bitin the closet http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenzzz_14/7031233649/
- 47. Prologue, part 2 Whatit creates
- 48. These lies thatwe tell ourselves
- 49. Leave parts ofus paralyzed and imprisoned http://www.flickr.com/photos/b3ni/2990601183/
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- 56. “Creative minds havealways been known to survive any kind of bad training.” - Anna Freud
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- 59. Monsters in yourhead http://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/4887528060/
- 60. “If your demonsare such that they fill the room the instant you contemplate creating, your studio will be too dangerous a place to enter.” - Eric Maisel, author of Fearless Creating
- 61. What’s really goingon is we’re http://www.43folders.com/2011/03/28/scared-shitless
- 62. Physical evidence offear http://www.flickr.com/photos/grumpyfeline/4626401443/
- 63. Recognize the manyforms of your Inner Critic
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- 70. “The goal isto manage anxiety so that our energies are used for the productive and satisfying art of creating, rather than the destructive and debilitating art of self-torture.” - Clare Warmke, Idea Revolution
- 71. F.E.A.R. = “False EvidenceAppearing Real” or, alternatively, “F*ck Everything And Run!”
- 72. Become a FearAlchemist http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Wright_of_Derby_The_Alchemist.jpg
- 73.
- 74. “Fear is notreal. It is a product of the thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.” - character of Cypher Raige (played by Will Smith), After Earth
- 75. Banish the InnerCritic http://www.flickr.com/photos/mythoto/3822942678/
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- 79.
- 80. “Failure is onlythe opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” - Henry Ford
- 81. Nothing is amistake Photo: Denise Jacobs
- 82. “I am bestat what I can’t do. It has become my ability to feel strong and confident….I feel free to move, to listen to my heart, to learn, to act even if that means I will make mistakes. If you want a creative life, do what you can’t and experience the beauty of the mistakes that you make.” - Marcel Wanders, Designer and “Professional Amateur” (marcelwanders.com)
- 83. Change your bodylanguage, change your mind http://www.flickr.com/photos/thirteenthnile/4546397775/
- 84. “Our bodies changeour minds, our minds change our behavior, and our behavior changes our outcomes.” - Amy Cuddy, Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are TED talk
- 85. Fake it untilyou become it
- 86. Exercise: Power Pose Standup. Assume a pose that embodies a sense of defeat, can’t do it, it will never work, “I suck/I’m no good/an impostor”, etc. Make yourself as small and powerless feeling as possible. Then, strike a power pose. Imagine yourself as a superhero looking off into the distance seeing your destiny of major creative butt-kicking. Alternate several times. Hold the power pose for as long as you can so that you can feel the change.
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- 89. Let’s take acloser look http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/6006414578/
- 90. Left v. Rightbrain? http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=left%20brain%20right%20brain&order=9&offset=48#/d10qlpq
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- 94. What are ourbrains constantly producing? http://www.flickr.com/photos/cblue98/7254347346/
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- 96. Alpha: the gatewayto Creativity
- 97. “The parts ofyour brain that are responsible for self-monitoring are literally turned off during creative endeavors….Creative people have mastered the art of turning off [the inhibitive] part of their brains to let their ideas flow more smoothly, unleashing their imagination.” - Tina Seelig, InGenius
- 98. Exercise: Enter Alpha Closeyour eyes and relax. Breathe through your nose. Now place your tongue at the roof of your mouth, turn your eyes towards the ceiling underneath your eyelids. Take several deep, long breaths. As you relax, you are changing your brainwaves from Beta to Alpha.
- 99. 6 Easy waysaccess to Alpha http://uniteunderfreedom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Brain-waves.jpg
- 100. (1) Breathe torefocus http://www.flickr.com/photos/guiniveretoo/1573049301/
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- 103. (4) Takes ashower http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/3761878381/
- 104.
- 105. “When your brainis supposedly doing nothing, it’s really doing a tremendous amount.” – Marcus Raichle, Neurologist
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- 110. Practice: Habit fieldreboot Clean up your work habit field by following the suggestions in the article “Habit Fields” by Jack Cheng. Create your equivalent of a “distraction chair” and move to it when you feel like you are inclined to surf the web, email, Tweet, Facebook, or engage in any other computer-related distraction. When you are ready to work again, come back to your desk. Rinse and repeat until your work habit field is clear again and no longer fuzzy.
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- 112. Practice: To Don’tList To do more of what you love and less of what you dislike, start writing To Don’t Lists (aka “Stop Doing” Lists). Pick a partner, and write a list of 3-5 items that you commit to stop doing within the next 30 days. Date the list. Share the list with your partner and get ideas on how to eliminate these items from your life either by stopping them or delegating/outsourcing the tasks. Review your list in 30 days to see what you need to continue to stop doing so that your time is spent on what you value and want to cultivate. Create another list for the upcoming 30 days.
- 113. Say NO toDistractions http://www.flickr.com/photos/gideon/6582069/
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- 116. Further Resources Firefox extension:LeechBlock: http://www.proginosko.com/leechblock.html Firefox extension: Idderall: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/ idderall/ Google Chrome extension: Strict Workflow: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/strictworkflow/ Google Chrome extension: StayFocusd: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ stayfocusd/
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- 120. Practice: Pomodoro 2.0 Practicethe Pomodoro technique. Do a 30 minute sprint where you turn off all distractions and work for 25 minutes. Before you start your sprint, write down the objective of the sprint. Do the sprint, and at the end of it, take a moment to jot down any challenges encountered, and your end results from the sprint. For your 5 minute break, activate your Alpha brainwaves by either laying down on the floor with your eyes closed, or look at clouds shifting in the sky.
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- 122. “Sometimes dabbling inmysticism can be a fun way to understand and solve a problem.” - Carl King, So You’re a Creative Genius, Now What?
- 123. A little helpfrom (imaginary) friends
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- 125. The spirit ofthe idea
- 126. Ideas use us(not vise-versa)
- 127. Practice: Converse withthe Spirit of the Idea Instead of treating an idea as something that comes from inside of your head, treat it as an external entity that has chosen you to bring it into the world. Take some time to converse with the idea as an entity with its own goals and objectives and vision for itself, and find out how you can help the entity get itself into the world the way it wants to be.
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- 134. Talk them out(& record it) http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescridland/3641402489/
- 135. Gather and curateyour ideas http://www.flickr.com/photos/gmanviz/3181410714/
- 136. Tools to doso Evernote Pinterest.com Delicious.com Flickr.com Zootool.com Gimmebar.com Diigo Dropr.com Tumblr Scrnshots.com Vi.sualize.us Emberapp.com Trello.com Asana.com
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- 138. Do it withothers http://www.flickr.com/photos/u-suke/5668302030/
- 139. Mo’ people, mo’ideas http://www.flickr.com/photos/seretuaccidente/147686396/
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- 141. Immerse yourself indiverse environments http://www.flickr.com/photos/shirinwiniger/3680885289/
- 142. Don’t keep themto yourself http://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/8127201319/
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- 145. Be the locuswhere ideas can mix & mingle http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/7496803638/
- 146. Expands, does notcontract http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/5752191246/
- 147. Amplify the ideasof others http://www.flickr.com/photos/roland/54381130/
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- 151. Make your partnerlook good http://www.flickr.com/photos/31246066@N04/4597640798/
- 152. The stage isset for Flow http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgeithner/5290115839/
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- 154. The previous stepslead you here: • Concept in mind: know what you want to achieve and what it looks like • Practice in place • Cleared space • Time carved out and distractions eliminated • Necessary materials on hand
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- 158. Stepping through themmore easily http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/4269399012/
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- 160. …which is “…the confidencethat, when given a difficult problem, we have a methodology that enables us to come up with a solution that nobody has before.” - David Kelley of Ideo
- 161. Ideas are onand poppin’! http://www.flickr.com/photos/7730492@N03/4957946157/
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- 164. Value yourself, ideas,and process http://www.flickr.com/photos/pocait/2847866615/
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- 166. “Creativity makes dayto day experiences more vivid, more enjoyable, more rewarding. When we live creatively, boredom is banished and every moment holds the promise of a fresh discovery.” - Mihali Csikszentmihalyi, Creativity
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- 170. Resources! delicious.com/denisejacobs/getunblocked delicious.com/denisejacobs/unfoldyourbrain delicious.com/denisejacobs/creativityhabit delicious.com/denisejacobs/brainoncreativity Always being updatedas I find new relevant articles! “Great Resources” almost daily: @denisejacobs on Twitter
- 171. My articles forfurther reading! netmagazine.com/features/ four-secrets-enhancingcreative-productivity alistapart.com/articles/ reigniting-your-creative-spark/ alistapart.com/articles/ banishing-your-inner-critic/
- 172. Cover art thanksto Americo Morales AmericoMorales.com
- 173. How to findme DeniseJacobs.com denise@denisejacobs.com Twitter.com/denisejacobs Facebook.com/denisejacobsdotcom Slideshare.net/denisejacobs Photo used with permission: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aarronwalter/4629078087/
- 174. Want More? Sign upfor news on my upcoming book, projects, other announcements and whatnot at the brandspankin’ new DeniseJacobs.com
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