Trust your instincts. Don't allow yourself to get discouraged. Whenever you try to do something and do not succeed, you do not fail. You have learned something that does not work. Always ask "What have I learned about what doesn't work?", "Can this explain something that I didn't set out to explain?", and "What have I discovered that I didn't set out to discover?" Whenever someone tells you that they have never made a mistake, you are talking to someone who has never tried anything new.
You do not see things as they are; you see them as you are. Interpret your own experiences. All experiences are neutral. They have no meaning. You give them meaning by the way you choose to interpret them. If you are a priest, you see evidence of God everywhere. If you are an atheist, you see the absence of God everywhere. IBM observed that no one in the world had a personal computer. IBM interpreted this to mean there was no market. College dropouts, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, looked at the same absence of personal computers and saw a massive opportunity.
Remember that genius is finding a perspective no one else has taken. If you can't find the right perspective, draw a picture of the problem, make a model, or mold a sculpture. Take a walk and look for things that metaphorically represent the problem and force connections between those things and the problem. Ask your friends and strangers how they see the problem. Ask a child. How would a ten year old solve it? Ask a grandparent. Imagine you are the problem. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
When I first read the bit about "metaphorically representing the problem" I laughed, but, I'm not gonna, that technique has come in handy. Maybe it's just an English major thing, but when you try and make connections between problems and tangible objects, you begin to see the different aspects of the issue.
My two forms of inspiration today are photography and, my personal favourite, music. Check it:
It's impossible for a water droplet shot not to look cool, especially when you add funky colours.
As for music, I'm going to go with one of my favourite CD's from 2011, Michael W. Smith's Glory. As a singer, I'm really really not a fan of Michael W. Smith (minus the classic Columbine song that had little Michael in tears. Side note: I meant me. I did always feel a bond with Michael W. Smith considering we both shared similar initials. I thought we were friends growing up). But, as a composer, M Dub is the shiz. I can sing along with every song on Freedom and I'm working my way through Glory. This album is definitely one of my favourites. Check out this song and let your imagination go; if this isn't the musical personification of adventure, I don't know what is.
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