This is the 400th edition of Business Rocks. I wrote the first edition nearly 10 years ago and (nearly) every Friday morning since then, I’ve sat down with a blank piece of paper to write a new piece. [And the Business Rocks series came after more than 200 editions of my original newsletter, The Five-Minute Friday Focus]
Sometimes the words come easily, sometimes my mind is as blank as the screen in front of me. But I’ll always be able to write something – if I commit to writing it. The only time I’ve not written an article is when I avoid sitting down in the first place.
In his excellent book (which I heartily recommend to all of you), The War of Art, Stephen Pressfield wrote, “This is the other secret that real artists know and wannabe writers don’t. When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete.”
It’s the same with innovation and creative problem-solving. You may tell yourself that inspiration will strike as you go about your normal daily actions, but the truth is that it won’t. You will only get new and better ideas if you dedicate the necessary time and resources to do it. And the more you do it, the better the ideas become.
How do you dedicate regular time for yourself and your team to do the creative work required to generate new ideas and innovations for your business?
Added bonus! As this is the 400th edition, I’ve created a Spotify list of all the songs that have featured in Business Rocks to date. It’s handily titled, Stuart’s Business Rocks Playlist. Please feel free to add it to your playlists library so that you can get some musical inspiration whenever you need it. The link is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7xGVaJSHxzqgQX9IAfmkTA?si=bdb8673e11e74381
Thanks for all your support and encouragement!
Off The Record: The Booklovers by The Divine Comedy
Happy the man – And happy he alone,
Who in all honesty can call today his own;
He who has life and strength enough to say,
“Yesterday’s dead and gone – I want to live today!”