People are rewarded by creative process itself . . .
Everyone wants to do meaningful work.
~ Warren Bennis, Organizing Genius

Learning organizations are organizations
where people continually expand their capacity
to create the results they truly desire.
~ Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline

Work is love made visible.
~ Kahlil Gibron

At ConsciousSHIFT.Me and in Signature Genius, we view "work" not in the traditional, often tedious sense of "a burden to be carried" or of "a duty to be fulfilled."

Instead, we view the concept of work with a broader, and yet more central, meaning - as a creative expression of identity, as a way of being in the world.

Moreover, we often refer not merely to work, but to "works" - in the same sense as one refers to "works of art."

This view of work as creative expression - of our "works" as art - is not new, but ancient - and it is an idea that has been explored by psychologist Carl Jung and Eastern philosopher Kahlil Gibron to current-day philosophers Thomas Moore and business leadership gurus Warren Bennis and Peter Senge.

In fact, Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, notes that the Latin word for "work" was actually "opus" - a term also used to refer to works of art, particularly musical compositions.

And in the Greek, the word for "work" was "ergon" - the root of the word energy.  What a refreshing view of our life's work that it would give us energy, not take energy away.

Moore also remarks on the idea that our work as creative expression often reveals to us our own identity, or self - as he says, we often "find ourselves in our work" - and that "culture is the totality of all of us doing our work."

Indeed, how do others come to know us?

By our "works" - our creations and creative expressions.
They come to know who we are,
and we come to know ourselves more fully,
as we express our uniqueness, our true essence, our self.

The idea of a "profession" also reflects
this sense of our work or works as a "profession"
or expression of identity, of self, or soul.

The psychologist Carl Jung spoke of work with a sense of "becoming,"
as in "the work of making meaningful life,"
one which satisfies our soul (Birth of the Soul).

The Greek philosopher Aristotle
expressed this concept of becoming as "potentia,"
while psychologist Abraham Maslow used the term "self-actualization."

Moore echoes this idea,
stating that "Creativity is the soul being expressed."

Today, this creative -
and even sacred - view of the nature of work
is held by leaders such as Peter Senge,
who, in this book The Fifth Discipline,
observes that "people with a high level of personal mastery
approach life as an artist would approach a work of art."

No one need feel guilty for being happy in work.

Only two things are required:
1) that you not be afraid to be free,
not be afraid to love work
and enjoy it as creative play; and
2) that you display the will
and courage to make personal choices -
not because others esteem them,
but because they fit who you are (your character)
and what you are (your talent).
Before you can please a single other human being,
you must first please yourself. It works in no other way.
Because of our cultural inculcation,
it is much easier to be miserable in work
than to have a love affair with what we are and do.
~ James R. Fisher, Jr.
Author, Personal Excellence Newsletter

Reenergizing is more important than restructuring.
People are hungry for meaning, for a chance to create.
~ Gary Hamel

This creative view of work is, in itself, reenergizing.

By approaching our work as "works" -
by aligning "what we do" with "who we are" -
we also move into the flow of our natural creative energy.
creativity becomes "a way of being in the world,"
rather than an isolated, occasional activity.

I came to the wood to live deliberately -
and not to find at the end I had not lived.

                  ~ Henry David Thoreau

Each of us may discover and express
our unique self in contribution to the world.

You will discover that your own unique contribution or calling
is something you love to do, something that fulfills you,
something that integrates all your gifts and talents.

And the best news is, you already have everything you need to start.
All you need to create your future
is to learn to use the creative process more consciously.

Remember, you are the Hero, the StarPilot,
the One with the power to choose your own direction -
in the journey that is your life.

First, you must see and believe it is so,
then in every moment you choose to make it so,
through the power of the creative process.

It is never too late
to be what you might have been.

~ George Eliot

The mind-set says work is personal.
That what I’m doing is not just making a living -
I’m making a difference.
The mind-set says I’m having more fun at work
than I ever imagined would be possible. . .
The mind-set says there are values in work
that are really quite important.
That what I do, how I do it
and the people with whom I do it stand for something.
The old model was leave yourself at home.
If you have any emotions, any creativity,
if you have any personal investment,
check that at the door.
Just give us your hands.
We’re not hiring you
for your brain and your spirit, or your heart. . . .
(for us that is really old news,
and) it no longer works."

"The Driving Force Behind Fast Company"
Dallas Morning News interview Diana Kunde
with Alan Webber, former editor and co-founder, Fast Company

What is the new world of work(s) you'd love to live into -
and share with the world?

What would your "works of art" encompass?

Share with us below ... and let us add fuel to spark your vision ...

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and we’ll help you craft unique services & experiences
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and to package them into unique services, products and experience -
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You are the Hero,
the StarPilot,
the One
with the power to choose
your own direction –
in the journey that is your life.

First, you must see
and believe it is so,
then in every moment
you choose to make it so,
through the power of the creative process.

The essence of The Journey
is the universal human search for meaning,
the unfolding experience
of who we are,
and the creative process of becoming and expressing
the full magnificence of who we can be.

            An artist
            is not a special kind of person.

            Every person
            is a special kind of artist.

~ Catherine Kapikian
(from Creativity: Touching the Divine)

We are all creators.
Creativity exists not in the few, but in all of us.
Creativity is our basic, fundamental nature.

At the core of GENESIS OF GENIUS and ConsciousSHIFT.Me
is the belief that our ultimate purpose here
is to live out of that creative energy in which we were born,
and express our uniqueness in contribution to the world.

Our creative expressions tell us - and others - who we are.

They tell us how we are each distinct and unique,
as well as how we are part of a unified whole.

We all embody this paradox -
on the one hand we desire to express and be recognized
for our unique identities and contributions,
and on the other, we desire to be accepted, to belong,
to be included as part of the whole.

We all seek a balance between uniqueness and unity,
distinctness and harmony.

Every creative expression -
the words we say, and how we say them;
the actions we take; the gestures we make toward others;
the works we create; our physical appearance; what we wear;
what, and who, we surround ourselves with - communicates who we are.

Your unique self - your essence, your state of being, your identity -
is revealed through the creative process.

Your expressions are inherently valuable,
at the most fundamental level, because you are a unique creative being.

You have the capacity to express and share with others
an essence that is wholly unique.
You are the only one who can share the singular mixture
of gifts, talent, intelligence, emotion, perspective -
your unique light, your contribution to the whole.

No one else can make the contribution you are perfectly designed to make.

There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening
    that is translated through you into action.

    And because there is only one of you in all of time,
    this expression is unique.

    And if you block it, it will never exist
    through any other medium and be lost.
    The world will not have it.

    It is not your business to determine how good it is
    nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions.

    It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly,
    to keep the channel open . . .
    whether you choose to take an art class, keep a journal,
    record your dreams, dance your story
    or live each day from your own creative source.

~ Martha Graham
How are you "keeping the channel open"
for your genius and creativity to flow?

Share with us your favorite ways in the comments ... you may inspire others -
and you may inspire yourself, to carve out more creative space
to share your Signature Genius ...