“Excuse me?” I turned to ask the woman behind me. I was getting my things together to leave a meeting at my church. The meeting was one on prosperity, and this woman came up to me, surprising me again with:

“I said, you are a thought leader for thought leaders!”

In that moment I was inspired. A new process for my consultancy was born in that short sentence. At the beginning of the meeting we each were asked to introduce ourselves and state in a few sentences what we did and what we want to create for ourselves. In my case, I was thinking ahead of a session with a firm in Chicago that asked me to help them create a blog. I positioned the session with the firm as a means of demonstrating globally that the firm was a thought leader in its field. So in my introduction I said the usual, that I take the vision and strategy of an organization or individual and lead processes for discovery of hidden opportunities for that vision and strategy to be implemented or take form. This time I added that I want to take this further and assist people in their becoming thought leaders in their field.

I instantly saw the process in my head. It was magical for me. A perfect demonstration to me how inspired knowledge is triggered by unexpected events in our lives. It is my task, and I propose all of us have this duty, to be open to everything that is happening around us to receive inspiration. This is awareness!

I went to the firm to teach “blogging” and began with the exercise I am going to briefly describe to you. The head of the firm was pleasantly surprised throughout the process and later exclaimed, “This is wonderful!”

You, too, are a thought leader! Let me prove it to you. What follows is a brief step by step process that will lead you to the same place of inspiration that I and the firm in Chicago experienced.

• Step 1. Go to a place where you can be undisturbed for an hour. Take with you paper, pen (not pencil!) and a stack of Post-It notes. Be sure you are at a desk or large table with a lot of clear space.
• Step 2. Clear your mind and focus. Take a few deep breaths. Now, on one sheet of blank paper, write this across the top, “What activities do I enjoy the most?”
• Step 3. Begin to freely write down everything you love to do, putting only one item on a single Post-It note. Do not edit anything, and do not censor anything. Write everything down regardless of your hesitation to write it. Put each Post-It note on the table so that you can see each item clearly. For example, I might list Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts, read Think and Grow Rich, listen to Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, brainstorm for people, conduct choirs, conduct orchestras, listen to Michael Hoppe’s “Majestic Land,” go to coffee shops and write articles, etc. It is good to list individual book titles or magazine titles as well as “read books.” Do not hold back on anything that comes to mind.
• Step 4. Take a moment to pause and reflect. See if anything else comes to mind. Look around the room and see if anything catches your attention for any reason. If it does, then begin Step 3 again and list what comes to mind as a result. When you reach a point of no more free responses, you are complete. If you listed specific book titles, you might create a Post-It note for what the book represents to you. The point is to expand your list to more choices for Step 6.
• Step 5. Categorize/sort your items. (If you have fewer than ten activities, skip this step) Take your Post-It notes and group them if possible. Physically collect similar notes and group them in a way so that the table becomes a categorized view of your activites. Create a new Post-It note for each grouping and give that group a new label representing that group. For example, I listed “conduct choirs” and “conduct orchestras” so I would group them and label the group “conduct.”
• Step 6. Select only 5 Post-It notes. You must only choose five activities. All others will be set aside. If you have fewer than five, you must reduce your list to three. I know this is difficult but you must force yourself.
• Step 7. Set the discarded activities aside. Take your five and put them across the top of the table, but give yourself room for another exercise. List all of the things that come to your mind that these items remaining have in common for you. This is another free listing. No censoring. If it comes to mind, list it.
• Step 8. When you are complete, again group the responses if you can. Review the list, and for one final review, group them again.
• Step 9. Force yourself to choose ONE response from Step 8. JUST ONE!
• Step 10. Add the result from Step 9 to the responses from Step 6. Review your results. Reduce all of the remaining notes into one final Post-It note. I know this is difficult, but this is a time to face your passion – your leadership – and own it!
• Final Step. Take the result and fill in the blank with that result: “I AM a thought leader in _________ !”

What was your result? Were you surprised?

How do you feel at this point? Write it down!

I personally have shared this exercise with several people at this point, and the results are always unexpected. My preferred word for this is INSPIRED.

YOU ARE AN INSPIRED THOUGHT LEADER!

Liz and I will combine our professional experience and training to present this overview of two major approaches and tools that assist individuals and organizations in transition. The attendees will be introduced to two models: Barry Johnson’s Polarity Managementâ„¢ model and the Osborn-Parnes model for Creative Problem Solving. With Polarity Managementâ„¢, one looks at situations through the lens of interdependent factors or values that work together, e.g., change and stability. The Creative Problem Solving method is centered around divergent and convergent thinking (another polarity) as the key elements of deliberate creativity. These two models combined can help one think and act in ways that use one’s existing thinking skills and suggest some ways to enhance those skills as one faces ransitions in life. This keynote presentation will serve as an introduction to a week-long workshop coming in the early months of 2008.

For more information, see the web site for the DuPage Executive Network (DEN).

Orchestra of Life Nite Flight presentation:
1. Prelude to an Afternoon of a Faun by Claude Debussy. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti, Conductor.
2. This Majestic Mountain by Michael Hoppe from the album, “Solace.”

Springboard Class “C:”
1. Homeland Theme from the album, “Homeland,” by Michael Hoppe.
2. This Majestic Mountain from the album, “Solace,” by Michael Hoppe.
3. Circles from the album, “My Romance, an Evening with Jim Brickman,” by Jim Brickman.
4. Dear Father from “Jonathan Living Seagull,” from the album, “The Nature of America, A Musical Impression.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.
5. Canon in D Major, by Johann Pachelbel.
6. Shenandoah from the album, “The Nature of America, A Musical Impression.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.
7. Theme from “Dances with Wolves,” from the album, “The Nature of America, A Musical Impression.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.
8. Theme from “Lonesome Dove,” from the album, “The Nature of America, A Musical Impression.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.
9. Feather Theme from “Forrest Gump,” from the album, “The Nature of America, A Musical Impression.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.
10. The Magnificent Seven, from the album, “Round Up.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.

“CPSI offers processes, tools, networking, challenges, stimulation, concepts and solutions for unlocking your creative spirit and implementing new ideas. Whether you’re looking to increase creativity in your business, educational or personal life, we welcome you and invite you to join us in a celebration of applied imagination.

Unlike most professional and personal development conferences, CPSI brings together a wide diversity of backgrounds and geography, which enriches the variety of ideas that will lead to insight. You’ll rub elbows and learn with teachers, business executives, students, writers, doctors, philosophers, entrepreneurs, engineers, artists, researchers, managers, inventors, consultants, conflict mediators, HR professionals, healthcare professionals, community leaders, explorers, thinkers and dreamers. At CPSI, regardless of background we all recognize that creativity comes in many diverse packages and has endless application. So please come join us in a beautiful setting that encourages relaxation, learning, thinking and exploration!”

For more information about this outstanding conference, go to cpsiconference.com.