When I am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good cheer – say traveling in a carriage,

or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep;

it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly.

Whence and how they come, I know not; nor can I force them.

Those ideas that please me I retain in memory, and am accustomed, as I have been told,

to hum them to myself.

Posthumous Portrait of Mozart by Kraft 1819

All this fires my soul, and provided I am not disturbed, my subject enlarges itself,

becomes methodized and defined,

and the whole, though it be long, stands almost completed and finished in my mind, so that I can survey it,

like a fine picture or a beautiful statue, at a glance.

Nor do I hear in my imagination the parts successively, but I hear them, as it were, all at once.

What a delight this is I cannot tell! All this inventing, this producing takes place in a pleasing lively dream.

Still the actual hearing of the tout ensemble is after all the best.

What has been thus produced I do not easily forget, and this is perhaps

the best gift I have my Divine Maker to thank for.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart is talking about going off-line; disconnecting from the pressure of producing his next piece.

When we are off-line, creative flow is more possible. We allow more opportunities to synthesize.

Being off-line may include dreaming, taking a walk, going to a museum or gallery;

a myriad of activities we may do alone.

Sometimes when the weather is bad, I may take walks through the bookstores

where there are tens of thousands of visual stimuli.

We incubate when we allow ideas to develop at their own pace.

it is like sleeping on an idea.

The best ideas come to me when I am in that moment of somnolence just before I fall asleep.

I keep a pad by the side of my bed. I write my ideas down less I forget them.

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Seth Godin makes his latest e-book available to anyone for the asking. Go here for to download. The book is a compilation by some of the best thinkers of our times. Each was given a topic and one page to write about What Matters Now. Read about government, gumptoin, sleep, enough, knowing, Godin offers the content to any blogger who wishes to use it. Send a link to everyone you know.

What Matters Now: get the free ebook

Now, more than ever, we need to shake things up.

Now, more than ever, we need a different way of thinking, a useful way to focus and the energy to turn the game around. I hope a new ebook I’ve organized will get you started on that path. It took months, but I think you’ll find it worth the effort. (Download here).

Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O’Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here. The ebook includes Tom Peters, Fred Wilson, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.

Here’s the deal: it’s free. Download it here. Or from any of the many sites around the web that are posting it with insightful commentary. Tweet it, email it, post it on your own site. I think it might be fun to make up your own riff and post it on your blog or online profile as well. It’s a good exercise. Can we get this in the hands of 5 million people? You can find an easy to use version on Scribd as well and from wepapers. Please share.

Vision

Vision is the lifeblood of any organization. It is
what keeps it moving forward. It provides meaning
to the day-to-day challenges and setbacks that
make up the rumble and tumble of real life.
In a down economy—particularly one that has
taken most of us by surprise—things get very
tactical. We are just trying to survive. What
worked yesterday does not necessarily work today.
What works today may not necessarily work
tomorrow. Decisions become pragmatic.
But after a while this wears on people. They don’t
know why their efforts matter. They cannot
connect their actions to a larger story. Their work
becomes a matter of just going through the
motions, living from weekend to weekend,
paycheck to paycheck.

This is where great leadership makes all the
difference. Leadership is more than influence. It is
about reminding people of what it is we are trying
to build—and why it matters. It is about painting a
picture of a better future. It comes down to
pointing the way and saying, “C’mon. We can do
this!”

When times are tough, vision is the first casualty.
Before conditions can improve, it is the first thing
we must recover.

Michael Hyatt is the CEO of Thoma Nelson Publishers. He blogs
on “Leading with Purpose” at MichaelHyatt.com and also Twitters
at @MichaelHyatt.

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I have dedicated a major part of my life searching for an understanding of the creative process. Here is a video that will show you how to nurture creative juices. Please let me know what you think.

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