In my last blog, I asked What Do You Create?  Now I want to talk about how you create.  How do you bring something into existence that didn’t exist before?

A close friend recently shared with me a new song he composed. I love the song and listen to it often. I started to wonder about his creative process. How did he create this magical song?

I became curious. How do any of us create? When do we feel creative? What inspires us?

One of the things I create is this blog. I always have a goal to have each newsletter written so my editor has plenty of time to review and format it, but it does require a few conditions for me to bring it into existence. I can’t force it. I can’t schedule it.

If I make myself sit down in front of my computer and write – nothing materializes. I just stare at the screen for a while and then shut it off and walk away.

I wish I could write on command. It would be much more efficient if I could schedule it on the calendar and magically have a newsletter done by 1:45 pm on a Tuesday.

Some people can do this – but I can’t.

However, I’ve noticed a pattern in how my newsletters emerge.

Often the ideas come during morning walks with my dog.

I’m not thinking about the newsletter at all, and suddenly, an idea or question appears in my mind. Something like, I wonder how my friend created that song.

And then more questions come, and the subject of my next newsletter begins to emerge.

Once an idea appears, I have to capture at least the basic essence of it quickly otherwise I lose the entire idea.

My preference is to start typing on my computer immediately. If I don’t have time, I grab a pen and jot down a few key phrases that I can come back to later.

I’ve discovered that I write the best first drafts in the morning. By noon, my mind is usually focused on more practical matters of the day. If I try to write in the afternoon, it always feels forced. It never flows out of me as it does in the morning.

So here I am, sitting in my home office in a quiet neighborhood in Omaha. My dog is curled up at my feet, tired from our walk. I have music playing in the background because I find that listening to something created by someone else helps my creativity flow. And I’m writing this newsletter to you, sharing what I see and learn as an executive coach and consultant, as a daughter, friend and dog mom.  Wondering what you are creating and how your creative process works.

Where do your inspirations come from?  Once inspired, what is your next step? What is the environment that allows your creativity to flow? And how do you release your creations into the world?

Send me a message.  Let me know how you create things.  Does listening to music help?  Or do you need silence?  I’d love to hear what works for you!