Finding Greatness

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Joel’s newsletter on Finding Greatness, July 15, 2009

An ezine about Creative thinking, Coaching, and Making a difference

Finding greatness

Last week my wife and I took a drive in the country on our day off. We stopped in a small town and browsed around the little shops. We walked into a pet bird shop that had all kinds of colorful, exotic (and noisy) birds. I spotted a small finch in a cage that seemed to have a bad leg. It was obviously having a difficult time standing on its perch. I was feeling sorry for that poor bird, and asked the girl in the store about it. She said that they would never sell that finch - it was too valuable. Intrigued, we wanted to know more. She told us that the bird was born with a defective leg. However, it turned out that this creature was an excellent breeder bird. Some of the best and strongest finches in the shop were offspring of this little bird. That's amazing, I thought. I never would have guessed that this bird that I thought of as defective, was actually very valuable and had so much good going for it.

This incident reminded me that there is greatness in every creature and human being. So often it is hidden. We tend to see only the obvious features and what's on the surface. It's easy to pass over quickly all the people (or creatures) that we meet and think of them as ordinary. Finding greatness doesn't always come easy. You may have to look deeply for it. But it's not hard to believe it's there. In fact, if you hold the belief that everyone has something special about them, then you start to regard them very differently. And when you see them that way, they may start to feel differently about themselves, too. Sooner or later their greatness will become apparent to you, and to them. Everyone has greatness in them. Including you!

Creative thinking tip

A good way to strengthen your own creative ability is to start noticing all the creative ideas that already exist all around you. How many things can you find that started out as a creative idea in someone's mind. You might be amazed at everything you find and the creative thinking that must have gone on to produce them all. Even things that we now take for granted, were once a new idea that someone thought of in the past. Imagine what it would be like to be the one to first come up with that idea.

For example, looking in the room where I am writing, I just noticed a mirror in wall. Where did mirrors come from? Someone once came up with the very creative idea of coating one side of a piece of glass with silver colored material to give a nice vivid reflection. It's so much more visible than the reflection from a plain piece of glass. Imagine what it must have felt like to come up with that idea for the first time. And the difference it has made in our lives.

When you look for creative ideas that are already out there, you'll start noticing them. And that will get you thinking more like a real creative person. It's kind of like learning a foreign language. You can start by listening to people speaking the language; then it becomes easier to learn to speak the language yourself.

Quote of the week

"Each person we meet is our teacher and student" - Bruce D SchneiderWhat this means to me is there is always an opportunity to share and receive knowledge or wisdom. No one knows it all, and everyone has something to give. And every time we give and receive, both of us become richer. It's like the idea that there is greatness in everyone. If we only could remember that, then I believe there would be much more growth and happiness in this world.

Learn more about The Creative Thinking Coach at www.coachjoel.com

Perspectives by Coach Joel Remde

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