What Does "Manage Your Muse" Really Mean?
by Lynn Cutts
I'm often asked, "Just what does ‘Manage Your Muse' mean, anyway?" Manage Your Muse comes from a melding of two concepts: the left brain, which for most of us is the "Manager" side, and the right brain, which is our creative side, or our "Muse." In Western society today, most of us work out of our left brain, the Manager part –and rarely consider or acknowledge the powerful ideas that come from our creativity, our Muse – the right brain. As a result, we have come to see creativity as the exclusive property of the artist, the writer, the actor, or the musician, and so we ignore the value that creativity has for all of us. We fall back on external structures, schedules, and rules derived by a linear-thinking (left brained) society, rather than exploring our own creative solutions which may work much better for us.
I firmly believe that we are all creative. In
order to survive in this ever-changing world, we have to be.
Within the past ten years, everyone of us has had to create
new ways of dealing with email, SPAM, cell phones, increasingly
complex schedules, making chocolate calories virtually invisible,
unprogrammable VCR's that are now being replaced by non-programmable
DVD's, soon to be superceded by ???? Even our language is
ever growing and changing. (Do you know what it means to be
"Googled?") We are creative. We have to be, whether
we admit it or not.
Let's face it. Many of us, or at least those of us who have ventured this far into this essay, (whether reading or writing it) are a bit like round pegs in square holes. We don't fit in that square, cookie-cutter cubicle that is just like everyone else's. We don't enjoy having every minute of our days filled with unproductive meetings, interruptions, tasks, and other people's agendas. And even with all that, we are still expected to get our work done – except it's not our work, it's the company's, or the boss's, or the associates. Or perhaps it's your spouse's, or your kid's, or your church's. At the same time, let's not forget to meet society's expectations, as well as the expectations of total strangers – whatever they may be.
And that's why the original concept of time management, with its lists, rules, and regulations; with its schedules, calendars, and time lines, was first developed around the turn of the century. It's because about the time of the Industrial Revolution, we stopped working according to our own agendas and our own needs, and started working for somebody else's agenda and needs. And it's because the work we do is no longer in line with who we really are or what we really care about that we need all those rules, structures, and schedules.
I believe that most time management systems put the cart before the horse. They tell us to set a goal, generate a plan, build a structure, and then to do it. Enthusiastically. And that just doesn't work. If the passion and enthusiasm aren't there first, trying to reach that goal, follow that plan, and exist within that structure will be a huge struggle, like swimming up Niagara Falls. I think that the millionaires and billionaires (those who created the wealth, not those who inherited it; that's another story) in this country started with a passion, a dream, and a vision, and then built their own structures around it – and it wasn't always the same structure for everyone. Nor should it be. There is no "one right way" that works for everybody.
It's all about discovering and harnessing our creativity and passion – our own personal Muse. It's about using the incredible energy that's available there to propel us forward to the "easy-as-pie" self discipline–management – that it takes to succeed on any level. I'm talking about life (not just time) management that is based upon a solid foundation of our values, our sense of self, and our personal integrity. I'm talking about going where we want to go, not where we think we should go.
So what would happen if you started to create a life from your passion, a life that was in line with your values and your integrity? What would it be like to tap into your inner fire, your creativity, your own personal Muse, and have that drive you? What if you brought some of that into your current life? (Yes, it's possible.) And then, from that place of fire, creativity, and passion, you create goals and plans and structures that serve you? Where could you go? Whom would you become? What marvelous and fantastic things could you accomplish?
And that's the premise I live from, work from, and coach from. Scary, yes. Exciting, yes. Vibrant, life-affirming, juicy, messy. And wonderful.
And you can live like that too.
As I read back over this, I think that perhaps this website should be called, "Let Your Muse Manage You," since the creativity and passion part comes before the Manager part. But that wouldn't fit well on a web site. Or a business card. So I called it "Manage Your Muse." Now you know why.
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