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Adam Smith | January 28, 2014 | 12 Comments

Snippet Exclusive – From The Now To The Next

I am so excited to introduce you to my newest work, From The Now to The Next. I gathered most of the information for this short, new eBook from one of the most unsettled seasons in my life, the searching season. It is what I have gathered and learned and am now sharing through every point in this book. It is the valuable experiences in my own life that have helped shape my journey and I am now sharing the secrets with you, so you live your life to the fullest, even in the midst of your toughest life seasons. It is a way to share these things with you for you not to have to go through the same times that I did and helps you to live a better life. Even though this material is repurposed from here at asmithblog.com, I have added some even more valuable content to make this snippet worth your time, especially at the 99¢ price tag.

[box]Here is a chapter preview of, From The Now to The Next:

1. Introduction

2. The Plague of Discontentment

3. Know The Why

4. Plans Can Change, But You Still Need A Plan

5. You Will Never Have More Time Than You Do Right Now

6. Eight Ways To Lessen Stress In Your Season

7. Stop Playing It Safe

8. You Will Have To Work For It

9. You Will Do More To Complete Your Biggest Dreams

10. Stick With Your Dreams

11. Influence Others[/box]

To download this new, short eBook:

1. Download the Snippet app in the iTunes app store.

2. Download my Snippet in the store.

3. Enjoy!

Even though this Snippet is only 9,000 words long, it packs a punch exactly where you need… in the midst of your current life season.

Tweet This—-> Get @asmithblog’s newest, From The Now To The Next, for free on @SnippetApp this week. #NowToNext

Please let me know what you think of, From The Now to The Next, below in the comment section.

Vincent Russell | November 3, 2013 | 6 Comments

Two Ideas to Stir Up the Creative Pot

Last week I wrote about How to Make Time for Creativity. While that is all fine and dandy, what do we do after we have made time for creativity?

Let’s take a look at a couple of ways we can stir up the creative pot by stretching ourselves and practicing the lost art of writing things down.

1. Get outside of your bubble! Try a new workspace!

Are there certain places you feel more creative than others? Is it a certain coffee shop that gets your creative juices flowing? Maybe for you, it’s at the local park, people watching, or a nice café downtown.

Sometimes we need to simply break away from our routine and try something different. Different for me comes in the form of heading down to the local coffee shop where I feel I achieve maximum productivity. Why, you ask? Because for me, my little bubble of a workspace is my apartment. I feel comfortable here. I know this space. While having a normal place to work is good for consistency, it can also become monotonous and mundane. Venture out somewhere new and unknown. It just might be what sparks your next idea.

“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” Erich Fromm

According to a study published in The Journal of Consumer Research, “moderate background noise can increase creativity. The ideal volume? About 70 decibels worth of conversations, acoustic music and whirring espresso machinery.”

Another study by three University of Illinois professors last year found that “[A] moderate … level of ambient noise induces processing disfluency, which leads to abstract cognition and consequently enhances creativity.”

Maybe that coffee shop you have wanted to check out has just the right amount of ambient noise that will inspire your next creative idea or project.

What new space will you find this week?

2. Write it down!

Grab a pencil, some paper, and write it down.

How many times have you had a great idea but did not write it down? Let’s just say I have done that more times than I can possibly count. Like I am sure many of you have experienced, I feel some of my best ideas come to me as I am lying in bed attempting to go to sleep. I say to myself, “Oh, I am too tired to write this down. I will for sure remember it in the morning.” That could not be more further from the truth.

Dustin Wax, project manager for LifeHack.org, claims, “When we write something down, research suggests that as far as our brain is concerned, it is as if we were doing that thing.” Writing down your ideas not only gives your brain an opportunity to visualize the idea but this is also where the term “quality over quantity” can come into play. Writing down multiple ideas frees your brain up from having to remember so much information. You are then able to dedicate time to each individual idea and cultivate that idea into something greater.

“When you write down your ideas you automatically focus your full attention on them. Few if any of us can write one thought and think another at the same time. Thus a pencil and paper make excellent concentration tools.” Michael LeBoeuf

How will you break out of your bubble this week? How will you make an effort to write down your ideas?

Adam Smith | January 9, 2013 | 50 Comments

Giveaway: Beyond Ordinary – A Post on Avoidance

[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”raised” width=”565px” height=”” background_color=”#c5c5c5″ border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]A big part of what we talk about here on asmithblog.com is relationships, and what relationship is more important than with your spouse? At some point along the way through that specific relationship or another, we have been faced with thinking that avoidance is the easiest way out. Well, we are fortunate enough to have Justin and Trisha Davis here today to share some of their thoughts on what avoidance actually does and challenges us to take a deep look at ourselves.[/dropshadowbox]

Avoidance is like a drug. It convinces you that a little bit won’t hurt you, and by trying it you will feel better. But avoidance is addictive and it’s seductive. It makes you feel like the issues and the problems and the sins that you have aren’t as bad or as toxic or as lethal as they really are.

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