wonder at the heart of creative momentum - tara mohr · 2016-09-21 · wonder at the heart of...

Wo n d e r at t h e H e a rt o f C r e at i v e M o m e n t u m

F i e l d G u i d e

t h e a r t a n d s c i e n c e o f c a p t i v a t i n g c r e a t i v i t y

HUDSON VALLEY OF NEW YORK845.679.9441 • W W W. T R A C K I N G W O N D E R . C O M

BY JEFFREY DAVISAND TRACKING WONDER

Copyright © 2015 Jeffrey Davis

and CENTER TO PAGE, LLC

All material copyrighted by Jeffrey Davis and CENTER

TO PAGE, LLC. All material copyrighted. Sharing,

duplicating, or using content strictly prohibited

Hudson Valley of New York845.679.9441

www.trackingwonder.com

T R A C K I N G W O N D E R

Jeffrey DavisAuthor - Creativity Consultant - Speaker

Jeffrey researches, interviews, and works with creative innovators, scientists, and social psychologists to discover how creatives flourish in times of challenge and change. He is author of The Journey from the Center to the Page and writes online columns for Psychology Today and The Creativity Post. He spends his days guiding private clients, speaking to small teams & organizations, developing new learning expedition programs & trainings, writing his next book, homesteading his farmhouse in the Hudson Valley of New York, and dancing with his daughters and wife. Secret weapons: wonder, 88% artisanal chocolate, white tea, creative juice tea, imagination, mindfulness & yoga, Mind Rooms, amazing people.

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© 2015 Jeffrey Davis | Any use, replication, or distribution of this material is strictly prohibited. | www.trackingwonder.com

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Novelty Spurts & Bugs of Distraction

There were two consistent obstacles, two key conundrums.

The first is what I call Novelty Spurts. A Novelty Spurt is composed of three parts.

First part: The Flash of Lightning. The brilliant idea or insight for a new project,

product, book, series of paintings, a phone app.

Second part: The Jolt of Energy. You’re up at night, you’re out of bed early in

the morning. You run with the idea for a few days, a few weeks, and then…

Third part: You hit a wall. You run out of steam. You burn out. Or you hit the

classic cognitive impasse. You cannot resolve a problem. You don’t have the

resources or know-how or time! Or an emergency arises and throws you way

off-course from your plans.

The second conundrum has to do with the mind itself. It’s designed to think and

buzz and absorb. But many people, creatives as no exception, are plagued by

what I call Bugs of Distraction. One set of such Bugs are Social Gnats, the buggy

thoughts that compare your work to others and raise all kinds of jealousy, envy,

and doubt about your own abilities. The other set are the Mental Mosquitos who

simply distract you with stray impulses and the next shiny object or flashy headline

on the Internet news.

As a creativity consultant and work flow strategist, I help people like you thrive in your work by applying the art & science of captivating creativity. I do so specifically by helping people advance their ideas into books with impact, story-based branding strategies with integrity, and creative lives with integrity.

What underpins our work together in each area is mastering creative work flow. Tracking Wonder is not only about being productive and “getting things done.” It’s about the manner and style of our work flow that matters in the long run.

I work with, interview, and speak to numerous creatives, authors, scholars, social change-makers, enterprisers, and teams.

And I have noticed that two patterns repeatedly surfaced that consistently confounded many of them when working on a project – and it didn’t matter whether it was one artist or writer or designer or if it was an enterpriser or someone working in a corporation or if it was a team working on a project.


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The Momentum Map

Flourish Amidst

Challenges

Grail GoalCalling

Wonder Zone

Uncertainty

Curiosity

Prototype

Skills, Talents & Resources

Patch of the Planet


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Your Grail Goal

Use this section to make notes about the most important goal you envision achieving twelve months from now. What tangible accomplishment would indicate that your entrepreneurial vision is being realized?

Enterprise Name: (a tentative title is fine)

________________________________________

I will have created/produced/drafted/attained:


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Your Wonder Zone

Wonder, it turns out, is the ideal ally for creatives, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders. It’s the emotional source of our original creative genius. It cracks us open to possibility and innovation. It reminds us what is real and true behind the white noise distractions and dichotomies.

What could happen if…?

How could realizing this venture bring out the best in me?

Where in my body do I feel these possibilities?

How can I stay in touch with this feeling every day?


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Impacting Your Patch of the Planet

Your patch of the planet is the part of the human population that will benefit from your creative work. It’s essential you begin to understand the world from their point of view if you want to connect with them, help them, and make their lives better.

What does your Patch of the Planet yearn for?

How will their lives be elevated by your venture’s realization?


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Your Fears & Uncertainties

What fears or doubts do you have in yourself or about the project happening the way you envision?

Your Curiosity Box: How Curiosity Kills the Catastrophic Fear

What Curiosity Question can help you convert fear into fuel?

How can you remember to let these questions drive you every day?


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Your Inner Experimenter: Prototype Impact

How can you “shoot bullets” before “firing your canon”? List three ideas for prototyping your ideas, getting feedback, and testing impact sooner than later. By when could you test it out?

Prototype idea

I will test this prototype by:

Feedback:

Impact testing results


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Your Skills, Talents, & Resources

What innate skills, talents, and mindset do you possess that you can bring to these challenges?

What other people could you hire, engage as collaborators, or invite as Wild Pack members who can offer feedback and conversation along the way?

Fill in your own discoveries and share with your own pack. #livethequest

C o m p a s s o f W o n d e rR e m i n d e r s t o K e e p Yo u O n - Tr a c k

R I S E A B O V E t h e Wo r l d o f B u z z .

DESIGN ELEGANT CREATIVE LIFE SYSTEMS, HABITS, AND SKILLS. THEN TWEAK AND HONE THEM ON PURPOSE.

L i v e i n a h u t o f q u e s t i o n s m o r e t h a n i n a n i v o r y t o w e r o f a n s w e r s .

Face uncertainty and chal lenges with wit, wisdom, and wonder.

C R E AT E W I T H I N T E G R I T Y, N O T I N B AT T L E .

G e t g r i t . B o u n c e b a c k.

The “rest of your l i fe” outside of c r e a t i v e w o r k i s p a r t o f your c r e a t i v e q u e s t , too.

Act, practice, and l ive designed for improvement.O p e n u p i n s t e a d o f s i z e u p . O b s e r v e t h e m i n d a n d w o r l d w i t h o p e n n e s s .

M a k e a b o o k . M a k e a b r a n d . Make a difference.

Shape, share, and l i v e t h e St o ry that burns ins ide your body - not the “stor ies” that buzz in your head.

D e s i g n c h a n g e-ma k i n g e x p e r i e n c e s . T h e n e w w o r l d w a i t s .

H o n o r t h e f e e l i n g . Then honor the story, form, craft, and audience that give shape to that feeling.

Don’t just bu i ld a l i s t . B U I L D U P Y O U R PAT C H O F T H E P L A N E T .

E n g a g e t o m a k e a d i f f e r e n c e . G i v e a n d t a k e w i t h w i s e f a i l u r e .

D O I T T O G E T H E R DIT more than DIY.

I n v i t e w o n d e r at every junct ion.

HUDSON VALLEY OF NEW YORK • 845.679.9441 • w w w. T R AC K I N G WO N D E R . c o m

© 2014 Jeffrey Davis | Any use, replication, or distribution of this material is strictly prohibited.

Tracking Wonder exists to help creatives, professionals, and teams shape and share their captivating Story – in brilliant books, astonishing brands, and meaningful lives.

We help you master your own creative workflow, advance your project and ArtMark brand, and create what’s next for you and the patch of the planet you’re making a better place. We chart a course for your project and equip you with the know-how, open mindset, and smart strategies to make what seems impossible possible. And we do so with experienced mentors & consultants who are grounded in the art & science of creativity.

Our team also can take your idea from conception to shaping & crafting & editing to designing to website branding to publishing – all with a smart Tracking Wonder strategy mindset.

We want people to thrive at what they do & create by finessing how they do it. And the how is with a smart skill set, smoother work flow strategies, keener awareness of awareness, time-sculpting, artful audience experience, and other Tracking Wonder tenets. Why? Because a world with more wonder in it – from studios to schools, from living rooms to board rooms – is a world with more meaning and delight. And that’s what the world needs right now.

HUDSON VALLEY OF NEW YORK845.679.9441

w w w. t r a c k i n g wo n d e r. co m

The Tracking Wonder Promise

T R A C K I N G W O N D E R

wonder at the heart of creative momentum - tara mohr · 2016-09-21 · wonder at the heart of...

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