In a world full of information and stimulation it can be oh so easy to think you have nothing to add. Nothing to offer. Nothing of value.

Ugh. How depressing.

And yet, sometimes it's exactly that fact - the noisy-busy-overwhelmed state of the world - that can be your best advantage. Sometimes, *removing* something is exactly what is needed - and people will celebrate your ability to get to what's important. Sometimes, going *simple* is the real gift. Let me correct that - the real gift *usually, not sometimes* has something to do with simplifying or clarifying.

Case in point from the Globe and Mail's August 2nd paper, on page L6:

Child's Play

From a review of Unplugged Play: No Batteries, No Plugs, Pure Fun by Bobbi Conner:

"If you and your child don't know what to do with a cardboard box or a laundry basket, Conner does. In most cases, she advises parents to jump-start the action and then back away... The book also - charmingly or depressingly, depending on your point of view - offers tips on playing with dolls and blocks, skipping through mud puddles, rattling the kitchen pots and scribbling with crayons."

Original Source: USA Today (end excerpt)

My observation: Even without seeing it first-hand (my copy is still en route), I'll hazard a guess that some of Conner's 710 games and activities would be just as valuable as creativity exercises for rogue entrepreneurs seeking to break out of the "I-sound-exactly-like-everyone-else" box.

Exercise:

Step One: Imagine. Adult you has magically been given 30 unrushed minutes in the body of 8-year old you. You are face to face with a mud puddle and no one is looking. What will you do?

Step Two: 30 minutes are up. You are back in your adult body - lucky you, no laundry! And you've managed to bring your mud-puddle-jumping energy with you, bubbling and intact. Breathe in deeply and connect with that energy even further. Now, carefully applying mud-puddle energy as though stepping gently on the gas pedal of a powerful car... think about, or do something, in your adult world. Continue.

Later: Observe. What, if anything, of interest happened? What do you know now that you didn't before?

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