The Relationship Between Unrelated Things

A long time ago, I heard a motivational speaker say that discipline acquired in one area of life flows over into other areas of life. The reverse can be true too in my experience. If I slack off in one area of my life, other areas are affected as well.

For example, I paint and do gourd art as my "creative" outlet. Of course my business life and personal life have creative elements as well--problem solving, solution formation, product and services development. I've found that these are affected positively or negatively according to how I apply myself in the purely creative areas. It works the other way too. When I decided to move my business to Asheville, North Carolina, in the beautiful mountains, I was also inspired to try a new art form I had never tried-gourd art, which some local artists have advanced way beyond bird houses.

Want your employees or direct reports to be more creative? Try giving them lessons in drawing, woodworking, pottery, dancing, theater, etc. No kidding, you will be surprised how creativity flows over into their business lives.