Creativity—You’re Full of It!

The American Bar Association asked me to write the introductory article for the November Issue of The Young Lawyer (one of their many magazines for attorneys). The issue is dedicated to the theme of Creativity. It’s on the streets now, so I can finally share the essay. Enjoy.

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Creativity—You’re Full of It!

By Kevin E. Houchin

You’re full of it! You really are. There’s no way that I’m the first person to tell you. You can’t deny it. You’re full of it up to your eyebrows.

Full of creativity. You were born with it. You are made of wonderful, delicious, colorful, smelly, heaping globs of creativity!

As a child, your humanity burned with the divine spirit of creativity. You imagined games. You imagined friends. And, you even created vivid experiences that existed only in your mind but existed nonetheless.

Then, you went to school.

You learned to live by other peoples’ rules and their ideas of how and what you “should” be. Walls grew that blocked your view of those wonderful places in your imagination. Those walls grew until finally the creativity of your heart, spirit, and right brain were all but abandoned in favor of subjects that could be objectively tested with multiple-choice exams and computer-graded bubble sheets.

Then, you went to law school.

Your walls were adorned with thorns and you were not even allowed to have ideas of your own. Any creativity you were allowed to display was carefully disguised as nuanced synthesis of precedent (other people’s ideas—the older and less original the better).

It felt like you had suddenly become unworthy of being the source of an idea or thought. You felt like a slave to a footnote or maybe like a footnote yourself.

But, you’re not in law school anymore. Now, you’re the only “source” that really matters. Your senior partner may determine your job status and salary, but you get to decide how much credibility to give those things.

If you’re feeling trapped in a job that doesn’t allow you to express your creativity, you have the power to change that. You don’t have to leave your job to feel more fulfilled. Rather, start chopping through the thorns and breaking down the walls that decades of education have placed around your creative spirit. Trust me, you can do this and still be an effective lawyer. It may even be the secret prerequisite to a happy and satisfied life in the law.

There’s no simple seven-step process to recovering your creative spirit. The journey is different for each of us. A simple start is to look for creative opportunities that already surround you. You happen to be holding one of them in your hand. This issue of The Young Lawyer is dedicated to helping lawyers recognize opportunities for expressing creativity in their lives and work. Use it to jumpstart ideas for creative outlets that you would enjoy. Paint, play music, sail, climb, write, spend time with family, do community service, sing—do something other than work.

It’s time to start living a more creative life. Read these articles. Fuel your spark of creativity, and then share your flame. You’re full of it!

e2we Business Conference

Here’s the info on the first e2we Business Conference coming up on April 14th

HILTON GARDEN INN
2821 Harmony Road, Ft. Collins 80528
970-225-2900
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
(Registration 8:30 a.m.)

www.e2we.com

LAURIE MACOMBER: Web 2.0
Every person of influence that uses internet technology should have a basic understanding of the tools and concepts of Web 2.0 in order to grow and maintain their web of influence. Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of internet use that focuses on collaboration, open sharing of information, and the use of online communities. Laurie has been involved in web marketing since its inception in the corporate environment. She owns Blue Skies Marketing (www.blueskiesmktg.com) in Fort Collins and she will teach on how to use and benefit from Web 2.0.

RON ZASADZINSKI: Why Design Matter and How to Choose a Web Developer
In addition to “Why Design Matters”, Ron will discuss the benefits and fundamentals of good design, as well as some advanced web design principles. He will review specific things to look for when choosing a web designer or developer. You will come away with an increased ability and confidence to evaluate and improve the design of your own web site. Ron is the owner of CodeGeek.net (www.codegeek.net) a full service web development company.

VIVEKA VON ROSEN: Social Media and Your Business
If you are a business leader, you can’t afford to dismiss social media any longer. Your customers are using LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, podcasts and other social media tools to talk about your products and services. Ignoring these virtual conversations will not only result in being left behind, but you might be left clueless as towhat’s being said about you. More importantly, there may be ways to monetize what is being said. Viveka von Rosen is CSMO of Integrated Alliances (www.integratedalliances.com) & CEO of Linked Into Business (www.linkedintobusiness.com)

KEVIN HOUCHIN, ESQ: Play Nice: Legal Issues & Social Media

You already know, or are learning, that social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are wonderful ways to keep in touch with your friends and business associates. However, unthinking posts in such forums could land you on the wrong side of a lawsuit: defamation, privacy, interference with business relations, negligence, contract, trademark and copyright. Kevin is Principal Creative and Attorney of Houchin & Associates, P.C. (www.houchinlaw.com)
Kevin is author of the book: Fuel the Spark: 5 Guiding Values for Success in Law & Life.

ADRIENNE ZOBLE: Thriving in Difficult Times
Listen to the screeching media intone about the state of our economy and become depressed; or ignore what they’re saying. Learn the ins and outs of three simple marketing strategies to get your phone to ring again. They cost little to nothing, but they work. This presentation will prove that, in marketing, it’s not what you spend, but how you spend it! Adrienne is owner of Adrienne Zoble Associates, Inc. (www.azobleassoc.com)

HILTON GARDEN INN
2821 Harmony Road, Ft. Collins 80528
970-225-2900
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
(Registration 8:30 a.m.)

Blog Series – Secret #2: You have the power to Create.

Secret #2: You have the power to Create.

First published for public audiences in 1912, The Kybalion is the most powerful (yet one of the shortest and most accessible – see my book recommendation widget at the right of this page) book of creative principles and esoteric knowledge I’ve ever read. And, I’ve read hundreds esoteric books. Citing an ancient, very secret book or oral tradition, The Kybalion is dedicated to Hermes Trismegistus, thought to be the greatest teacher of ancient Egypt and the founder of secret, “occult” (which simply means “secret”) teachings.

Why does this book stand out? First, because it is very short and doesn’t take long to digest. It’s kind of like the Tao Te Ching in that it takes only a little time to read, but will take a lifetime to master. Second, because it boils things down into only seven key principles. Our short-term memory can hold between 5 and 9 items. Seven seems to be my maximum. I can recall a principle from this short list in an instant when a situation comes up in my life, so having just seven items on the list makes the list very memorable and useable to me.
Two of my favorite sayings from the book are “When the ears of the student are ready to hear, then cometh the lips to fill them with wisdom.” And, “The lips of Wisdom are closed, except to the ears of the Understanding.”

These rules have certainly been true in my life. Whenever I’ve needed a teacher or a mentor, that person has shown up in my life, and I’m honest enough to realize that many times I would not have even liked the person, much less been in a place to learn from the person if she would have shown up a moment earlier. The same is true in my law practice. In the early stages of a lawyer-client relationship, I am usually in the role of the “teacher.” Often I have the pleasure of reversing, or at least balancing this relationship over time, but I can tell right away when a new client has the “ears of Understanding.” By the time most people come to a lawyer, except in the case of receiving notice of a lawsuit, they are in a place of actively seeking counsel and so I’m happy to give that counsel. Other times, people are obviously not in a place to listen to what I (or anyone else) will say, so in those cases, I just keep quiet and listen. When the time is right, and they are ready to hear and understand, I’ll communicate my thoughts on the matter.

The core of the book explains “The Principles of Truth are Seven; he who knows these, understandingly, possesses the Magic Key before whose touch all Doors of the Temple fly open.” As a Freemason, I’m familiar with the concept of the “Doors of the Temple” being another way of saying “the path to wisdom.” We are all seeking “truth” and the “Doors of the Temple” are nothing less than a happy and successful life, consciously lived.

The Principles are:
1. The Principle of Mentalism
2. The Principle of Correspondence
3. The Principle of Vibration
4. The Principle of Polarity
5. The Principle of Rhythm
6. The Principle of Cause and Effect
7. The Principle of Gender

I’ll not reprint the book, but each of these principles deserves some attention now, so that you will have a foundation upon which to base the references made to these principles throughout the remainder of the book.

How can we help?

How many people do you know that are not having any fun in their jobs? How many people have no passion in their life? How many people do you know who are chronically depressed, passing their days in a state of quiet desperation? We all know people who are affluent, but not happy. Racing around all day chasing one’s job is not fulfilling. People want a way to live while they’re alive, yet many feel trapped. They don’t know how to create the happiness they believe they deserve. What a waste. What a shame. What a tragedy.

We can’t let this continue. We have such potential. YOU have huge potential. Are you reaching it? Why are we here in this lifetime except to reach our full potential? Yet we know so many people how haven’t engaged in their lives yet. There is no way they can reach their potential if they can’t even recognize that they HAVE potential. It’s painful. But how can we help?

How can we help?

There is one POWEFUL way to help, and that is through helping people recognize and fueling the spark of divinity within each of us. We fuel that spark, build that passion, in one way, through creativity. Creativity is the process of making the world a better place because we were here. Small improvements count. Creativity at any level, making the world just a little better is still a divine act. And, huge success comes from helping a lot of people be a little bit happier.

Creativity is the most powerful force on earth. If you believe Dan Pink’s hypothesis in the best-selling A Whole New Mind, then you subscribe to the theory that creative, intuitive, right brain thinking will be the primary competitive advantage for American business in the coming decades. I believe that reality is already upon us.

I’m blessed to be a counselor and attorney to creative people. My clients include among others a woman who channels an archangel, fine artists, musicians, advertising agencies, internet gurus, authors, publishers, design studios, architects, consulting groups, apparel companies, software companies, and biotechnology companies. The common thread through all these clients–the filter through which they have to pass before we match up as attorney and client is one thing: creativity. My clients know they are creating something good. They’re bringing something valuable into this world and they are graciously asking my help with the business and intellectual property aspects of their projects. The fact that I earned a fine art undergraduate degree in graphic design and spent over a dozen years working in and with branding campaigns attending law school adds to my credibility and approachability in the eyes of my clients.

I tell each of them that my purpose and commitment is to help as many people as I can to recognize the spark of divinity within them, which is ONLY fueled by creating something good and positive. People interested more in profit than in progress need not apply, and people who say they are trying to do good, but in the end are really only in it for the money usually select out of my client pool.

When we embrace the creative spark within each of us, we embrace our purpose in life and figure out why we’re alive and on this planet. I’m compelled to write these posts to help the people with great ideas understand the business and intellectual property aspects of making a living by fueling that divine creative spark. I’m compelled to write these posts to help people who are in danger of having that spark suffocated by their cubicles break out of the dead spot and fuel their spark by bringing more creativity to their current work, or empowering them to embrace their creativity and bring it to the world in some other manner.

I hope people who these posts will find hope that they can escape the feeling of being trapped. I hope they will find the tools to escape, the knowledge to engage, and the confidence to take action.
This series of posts combines my background as a spiritual seeker and teacher, artist, designer, marketing executive, entrepreneur, and yes – lawyer. It has elements of entrepreneurial business, spiritual inspiration, motivation, and self-help. Please feel free to engage in dialog about these posts by posting comments.

Why?

I just got back from a short hike with Tobin and Merrick (5 and 3). I took along Deepak Chopra’s little book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (you can find that in my Amazon widget at the right) and within a few minutes was inspired to write a few lines…

I’m calling this a “Creative Manifesto”

1. The purpose of life is to create – or at least co-create with God and our fellow humans.

2. In order to fulfill this purpose we need:

Some freedom from worry about the hand-to-mouth burdons of living – some material weath. We can’t be expected to be creative and fulfill our full potential when we’re starving or homeless.
Time to be creative (which is maybe part of the above discussion).
Confidence and the Self-esteem/image to share our creations in the face of potential criticism.
Knowledge (personal or through a team) to enable us to have the freedom and prosperity that provides that time and confidence to create and share our creations.

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This is what many lawyers do – provide the space, time, and confidence for people to find and fulfill their creative potential.

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Fuel the Spark

Kevin Houchin’s 5 Guiding Values for Success

Creativity—You’re Full of It!

The American Bar Association asked me to write the introductory article for the November Issue of The Young Lawyer (one of their many magazines for attorneys). The issue is dedicated to the theme of Creativity. It’s on the streets now, so I can finally share the essay. Enjoy.

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