Vol 2 Iss 3

I'm sitting in my home office at the end of a spectacularly beautiful Colorado early spring day. The temperature climbed into the 60's, my aspen trees are starting to bud and the roses are due for their pruning. Several of my neighbors were deep-root watering their juniper bushes and trees.

We know, however, that this is just a tease. It's only the beginning of March and March is typically the snowiest month at our elevation. There will be a few more cold snaps and probably a good snow storm before real spring is here. Yet, the short sleeves felt great, just for today.

So, I did it. I sent in my completed application for grad school. (gulp!) There is still the writing sample and the letters of recommendation and transcripts to follow up on. I keep reminding myself that I'm only applying. This step I can take right now. Later, I can figure out how to deal with it if I'm actually accepted!

What's interesting is that I've always had the spark of an idea that I'd like to go back to school, but never nurtured it. Then, this winter, several small remarks and happenstances brought that idea back full force. I couldn't not apply. All the gremlin voices that tell me how foolish I am are screaming full force, but they don't matter right now. The tiny spark has become a flame.

This month, I'm doing something I've never done before. I was so impressed with the article that my colleague, Cynthia Morris, wrote in her newsletter, Impulses, that I asked her if I could reprint it in my newsletter. So, we have a guest. Cynthia is a Creativity Coach who has a knack for helping creative people get past their blocks and move into a life of fulfillment and joy. As she speaks of "sparks," think of the ideas you've had for changing your career.

If you like what you read, please forward this newsletter to a friend.

P.S. Next month, I'd like to feature a story from one of my readers. If you are in the process of change, or in deciding to change, please contact me. I'd like to let others know how possible it can be.

Too often we decide to follow a path that is not really our own, one that others have set for us. We forget that whichever way we go, the price is the same: in both cases, we will pass through both difficult and happy moments. But when we are living our dream, the difficulties we encounter make sense.

With the New Year comes the impulse to embark on new paths. We feel the urge to better ourselves. Ideas for improvement or exploration first begin as sparks, tiny flickers that call to us and direct our attention. There are millions of types of sparks that could claim your focus. Some sparks drift into the ether and give us a brief flash of light. Others connect with something deep within us and create a great light for us to follow. How to know what to give your time and energy to? I've identified a few types of sparks that you can follow and shared some ways to capture those sparks.

Sparks of encouragement - Someone notices something about you and makes a kind or encouraging comment. The spark settles inside you as an ember and waits for you to pay attention and cultivate it.

Sparks of interest - Creative people often gather a lot of sparks of interest. Different ideas and paths present themselves and we follow them. Not all sparks lead to full realized projects or gardens, but that's okay. Some sparks may connect to other sparks and form a light that will grow over time.

Sparks of intuition - These are fun sparks to cultivate. You get an inkling about something, then what? Experiment with following the spark of intuition. Act upon the intuition and see what happens. Often these are gifts to us that guide us toward what we really want.

People sparks - People enter our lives as sparks of energy. You meet someone at a party or at a class and something about them stimulates something in you. The way they spoke, something they said, the sense you get about how that person lives their life will offer to you a new way to look at your own life. We don't need to maintain a relationship with that person, even one meeting can make a big difference in your life.

What to do with your sparks? If you don't give a spark anything, it fizzles away into nothing. Sparks grow into flames when they are fed. Try these methods to build your sparks into fires that fuel you and your journey.

Pay attention to synchronicities - The more you pay attention to something the more it seems apparent. Take a spark of interest in communication. One day you start thinking about the importance of good communication in the world. You might begin to notice references to communication everywhere. You read an article, you hear an interview on the radio, you see a book. It is fun to chronicle your sparks of synchronicity. Keep a synchronicity or intuition log and after a month or two, look back to see where the intuition led you.

Initiate conversation - Talk to people about your spark. See what your ideas spark in others. Find friends or colleagues who are willling to listen and add thoughtful, supportive comments. Create situations where you can cultivate conversations: Invite someone for tea, design a dinner party, talk to a stranger in a cafe or shop.

Explore with free-writing - Take a pen and paper, or on your computer, begin writing on the subject, letting your rmind wander with the spark. See what comes up when you are not trying to figure it out, but letting associations and ideas burble to the surface. Respond and add to the conversation write, make art, jot notes chronicling your reactions or thoughts on the subject.

Follow learning paths - Take a spark and cultivate it by taking a class, hiring a coach or consultant, and delve into it wholeheartedly. When you get support and give attention to the spark, you grow more quickly.

Sparks will follow their natural course. They will either flit away to nothing or grow into something remarkable and new. The attention you put on a spark will make the difference in what it becomes.

Cynthia Morris of Original Impulse coaches writers, artists and visionaries to confidence and completion. Subscribe to her newsletters and find out about her upcoming creativity tours in France at: http://originalimpulse.com

Selling Your Skills

When you're in an interview and the interviewer asks you in so many words, "What can you do for me?" what will you answer? In this class, we will look at the different types of skills that employers are seeking. You'll learn how to identify the skills you want to use and how to demonstrate your proficiency to potential employers.

Monday, March 21 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm

If interested in attending, please call me for directions. Admission is $2, 2 job leads, or 2 cans of food for the local food bank.

For the full listing of workshops, visit www.forwardmomentum.com.

You are free to use material from Moving Forward! in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including a live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read:

"By Debra DeVilbiss, CPCC, of Forward Momentum, LLC. Please visit Debra's website at http://www.ForwardMomentum.com for additional articles and resources on creating your right livelihood."

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