Wily Walnut’s Blog 2.0

Great article from Marelisa: Lateral Thinking: Think Out of the Box

Her articles are always so nicely weighted, clear and useful.

Here she explains Edward de Bono’s lateral thinking in an easy to understand and apply way. You’ll enjoy the lateral thinking puzzles she includes too.

‘Lateral Thinking’ by Edward de Bono was first published in 1970. It’s a landmark book in the creativity field. It was the first book on creative thinking that I ever got. It had an impact at 15 years of age and I’m still learning from it 25 years later.

How creative could you be if money wasn’t an issue? WOW! What a great question!

It’s the premise behind a new book called “The Affluent Artist” written by Rick DiBiasio, with a foreword by Jack Canfield.

Here’s the press release if you are interested in progressing beyond starving artist mode!!

When it comes to the stereotype of the “starving artist” it is often assumed that creative and artistic people have no business acumen. The Affluent Artist™ How Creative Could You Be if Money Wasn’t an Issue? The Money Book for Creative People by Rick DiBiasio, CFP®, with a foreword by Jack Canfield, invites all creatives, no matter what their discipline, to use their creativity to understand and obtain financial freedom.

Rick DiBiasio is a Certified Financial Planner with 25 years of experience and a national planning practice that exclusively deals with creative clients. With The Affluent Artist™ he offers a fun, easy-to-understand “How To” guide for people who have been too busy dancing, sculpting or dreaming to learn the “money stuff”.

The book invites artists from all walks of life to throw out the stereotypes about art and money and allow financial abundance into their lives. Whether you’ve been learning to train dolphins for SeaWorld, working as a Broadway dancer or as an Imagineer for Disney, chances are you’ve been learning about your craft, not about personal finance. DiBiasio offers business and financial planning wisdom to creative individuals who find themselves in the roles of the Starving Artist, the Corporate Artist, the Self Employed Artist and the Affluent Artist.

The book includes stories and interviews with artists in each of these roles as well as “Financial Stuff You Just Gotta Know”, a humorous and necessary primer on financial terms and situations. In addition, DiBiasio presents a “how-to” on avoiding financial pitfalls along with a business fable based on his years of experience helping artists find their financial footing. He says, “Creative people don’t have to starve! Having a good idea about personal finance and the business process will help you, in the long run, to be more creative.”

Rick DiBiasio CFP ® is a 25 year veteran of Wall Street and the Financial Planning Industry. He has written newspaper columns, has been a radio talk show host and currently hosts a popular blog. His series of interviews with creative people and how they make their soul happy is available through his website, www.affluentartist.com. He lives in Florida.

I was reading a bit of ‘The Passion Test’ by Janet Bray Attwood and Chris Attwood earlier. There is much to enjoy in it. But this morning I was taken with a little exercise that they recommend called the Appreciation Game.

All you do is take a few moments at the end of the day to write down 10 things that you appreciate about yourself, things that you accomplished, or wins from that day.

They say take a week and see how you feel at the end of it for doing this every day.

Worth a try?

Check it out: http://www.thepassiontest.com 

(mmm nice looking website!)

I’ve been reading “How Come That Idiot’s RICH & I’m Not?” by Robert Shemin.

The standout take away for me was how the author illustrates the difference between Rich Idiots and RUBs (Right-side Up but Broke).

Read the first chapter or two to pick up on that.

Basically, it’s that most of us OVER-THINK and OVER-ANALYSE whereas the Rich Idiot keeps things simple and just gets into action.

This is an important creativity point to consider. Get out of your head! It’s a prison! Think with your feet — get moving, get making, get creating!

Check it out: http://www.robert-shemin.com/