When I was with the Imagineers at Disney, we used all kinds of different ways to stimulate creativity. These were incredibly important to the culture of the organization.

I believe all of the problems that we face require an interdisciplinary approach to solving. No one skill or idea tackles the complexity of life. We need to encourage the development of individual unique talents in individuals and even our children. Let them find what they are good at and then bring those skills together across different disciplines.

The hardest part of creativity is overcoming the status quo and saying “What if We? How Could We? How Might We?”

This requires immense courage. The willingness to stick our necks out and potentially look foolish or make mistakes. In a group setting like with the Imagineers, there had to a culture of trust so they could have this courage to take chances.

I tell my short story about going from a college graduate, to art management, to moving into leadership at Disney. You’ll see it wasn’t a direct path, as I worked at the Disney restaurants as a hostess to just get my foot in the door.

When collaborating it’s important to emphasize the individual strengths and skills of our team members. Do not get over concerned with their weaknesses.

What is their unique approach to problem solving? What skills do they bring to the table? These are the things that will energize and bring them joy as well making helping the team work more effectively towards their goals.

If you’re just chasing money, it’s going to be very difficult to wake up each morning and be fully motivated. Making money usually is a byproduct of a very higher purpose. Solving a need, solving a problem. If you want to make money, serve others.

It’s important to set up boundaries in your life. If you don’t, all the extra stimulus and noise will become a distraction from what matters most.

When I was younger, I didn’t get a lot of formal education. Most of the things I learned were hard-won from just working hard and making mistakes. I’ve made my share of them and one thing I’ve learned is how important it is to seek out the insights of people with more life experience then me. Today I am much more intentional about seeking out people with experience so I can learn from them and perhaps avoid some of the mistakes that I may make on my own.

A mentor and good of mine once told that you shouldn’t think of your home as a financial investment.
It’s supposed to be your refuge. Your retreat. The place where you and your family feel safe so that you can refresh, re-change, and re-focus.
This was something very powerful for me to hear him say and I think something that would help others. The demands of life and business can really pull at all of us. So setting up our home environment in a way that gives us the space and privacy that we need to relax will help us to live our best lives.
This doesn’t mean the home needs to be overly large or overly extravagant. It just needs to be our own comfortable place to shut out the noise of the world for a while. When I go home, my mind set completely changes. I turn off the work mode, and it’s time for family.
It’s a mindset shift that is liberating. I believe it makes me better in the other areas of my life as well.