Ah, the fantasies . . . make your own hours, invent your own rules, choose your own associates, express your creativity, and make unlimited money. These are the dreams of the aspiring self-employed. Yet, if you interview people who have built a profitable business, they will tell you about the long hours, financial insecurity, lost contracts, loan problems, self-employment tax, and the daily dance with risk that it takes to run your own business. On the positive side, there are many self-employed folks who thrive on the excitement and challenge of designing their own company. What’s the best option for you? Are you emotionally ready for the journey?

Are you haunted by unfinished creative projects or dreams? Make a list of the major ones. Are you still interested in pursuing one or more of them? Note which projects/pathways, if any, are still compelling to you. Creativity is about magnetism and commitment… One of the greatest blocks to creativity is fear. Fear keeps you from exploring your goals in depth and strategizing successful action steps to achieve them. Exercise: What Frightens You Most About Expressing Your Creativity?

Worried that you’re not creative? You are, but you may be out of touch with it. Your intuition can lead you into a world of novel ideas, experimentation, and brainstorming that will perk up your work life and stimulate innovation and problem-solving. Intuition training is not just for New Agers. Many executives, business owners, and research and development professionals attribute their successes to following intuitive clues.

We know we are creative beings. Yet, we are also well aware that sometimes our creativity stalls, plays tricks on us, or appears to have vanished completely. It is at those moments that we need to reconnect with our vitality around our creative process or project and leverage our inspirational powers to stimulate our ability to make new connections.