3 Stages of Every Awesome Idea, MY Resolution

I have had such a great time at Blissdom this year, and I still have one day left of the conference. While the other attendees head on out for their Girls Night Out, I decided to relax in the hotel room and update my blog on something I've learned so far. In between mingling and meeting a ton of great people at the Dr. Smiths Booth, I've been able to attend some great workshops. Scott Straten of @unmarketing killed it at the Keynote, but I wanted to talk about little about what I learned from Jon Acuff. What I really liked about his workshop on The 3 Stages of Every Awesome Idea, was the fact that creativity is a huge process when it comes to writing. We received a worksheet to answer some questions in our free time, but I thought I'd answer them here on my blog. This was not only hold me accountable in public  but I'd hope I can offer some inspiration to other bloggers who are looking for some more ways to involve creativity into their time.

1. What are the three actions associated with creativity do you have the most trouble with?
(1. Imagine 2. Capture 3. Execute)
I think I have the most trouble with capturing. I always have a lot of ideas running through my head. Whether they are business ideas or ideas for blog posts, I always forget to write them down or store them so I can access them later.

2. What are the distractions in your life you need to make war with?
There are plenty of distractions that need to be dealt with in my life, but my biggest one would have to be the television. While I've worked on recording my favorite shows and focusing more on what I need to do, I still am addicted to watching reality television :-/

3. Name three repeatable tasks and what energy level each requires for you to really execute.
Checking email = low energy
Writing blog posts = high energy
Doing research = medium energy

4. What do you currently use for your capture system?
Before, I used nothing. Sometimes scraps of papers or sending an email to myself to remind me. The past couple days though I have been using Evernote. I can keep a notebook on my Evernote account strictly for Creative Ideas to capture these moments.

5. Have you ever self-edited, deeming an idea bad before it even made it from your head onto paper or a laptop?
I frequently do this, with everything from blog posts, blog ideas, or business ideas. I think taking the time to see it visually, either on the computer screen or on a piece of paper, may help make my ideas more real and better suited to be edited.

6. What is the biggest takeaway you will take from the discussion today?
The biggest takeaway I have was that when approaching family and friends about my goals or a dream I have, to give them the grace to not understand my dreams. They don't have to love my dreams, otherwise, they would be their dreams. I have the bad habit of when someone turns down my idea or calls it silly, to agree with them and turn it down too. What I need to do is not take offense when someone turns down an idea that I love. They don't have to love it, but what I need to do is show them that it can work and I can make it happen successfully.

7. Do you currently have any quiet thinking time in your week right now?
Now I do. I've created a "lenient" blogging schedule, and set time to just be quiet, read, do research, and be creative, for whatever hits me in that moment.

What are your biggest obstacles when it comes to creativity and blogging?

Blissdom '13 with @DoctorSmiths

I am a couple of hours from heading to the airport to make my way to Dallas for Blissdom 2013! I'm so excited to be going courtesy of Dr. Smiths Diaper Ointment and to represent them as they are one of the sponsors of Blissdom!

As a Premium Parent, I am able to contribute to the amazing Dr. Smiths Community that helps parents figure out what kind of parent they want to be.

If you will be at Blissdom, be sure to swing by the Dr. Smiths Booth to say Hi, take some pictures, and tweet together!

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for all my updates throughout the conference!

Also, be sure to check out Dr. Smiths on their social media channels!

www.doctorsmiths.com

facebook.com/doctorsmiths

twitter.com/doctorsmiths

instagram.com/doctorsmiths 

Just Between Friends Consignment Sale in Boerne TX

One of the biggest challenge when it comes to raising children is the never ending of costs of replacing items of growing children. From clothes, to toys, it seems like these kids only use an item for a week, and then they outgrow it or tear a hole through their jeans. I swear, I have no idea what Truly is doing in kindergarten that causes her to rip a hole in the knee every single day. I'm pretty sure you have feet to walk on woman!

That's why I am excited that the Just Between Friends Consignment Sales Event is setting up in Boerne TX for a weekend of buying and selling. It's a great place to bring your gently used baby, children, maternity, and anything baby related to bring and sell. It's also an even better place to buy items up to 90% off retail!

This event will also give 100% of it's admission proceeds to the Hill Country Daily Bread Ministries to help local families.

Check out http://www.NWSanAntonio.jbfsale.com for more information on selling and about the event.

I'll definitely be there getting rid of things and stocking up on other items for the new baby.

Be sure to like Just Between Friends on Facebook and check them out on Twitter.

I am receiving free passes to attend this event all opinions and thoughts are my own

The New @MicrosoftStore Open in #SATX

Today the new Microsoft Store opens at the Shops at La Cantera! I had the pleasure of previewing the store with other San Antonio Bloggers and was truly impressed with everything I saw.

I'll give my full disclosure and state that I am 100% an Apple fan. From iPhones to Macbook Pros to iPads, we are fully equipped. After previewing the store and checking out the capabilities of all their products, I am proud to say I may be a little foolish putting all my trust (and money) into the products of Apple, and being so close minded to what other products can do for me.

We got to see all of Windows 8 great features on their 106' touchscreen, which is available in their theater room for groups of people to use, free of charge!

The store has a beautiful layout with lots of products to touch and play with. They have 100 LED screens across the room that broadcasts different images and displays to catch your attention and keep you mystified.

We also got to meet the Chairman of Microsoft, Orlando Ayala, who was also equally inspiring. 

It's great to hear about all the great things the Microsoft Company is doing for the San Antonio community  from giving 1.5 million dollars to the YMCA, Junior Achievement, and Wounded Warrior, opening it's space for community events, and volunteering their time throughout San Antonio.

Be sure to check out the Microsoft Store at the Shops at La Cantera and be sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

I was invited to a sneak preview tour of the store and all opinions and thoughts are my own.