The Power of Play

Play

When you were a kid, what were some of your favorite playtime activities?  Did you enjoy building forts out of blankets?  Playing a game of tag with your friends?  Putting on talent shows for your family?  Stuart Brown, author of Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul invites us to bring more play into our lives by conducting a play history.

Here are just a few highlights from my play history: When I was little, I enjoyed drawing, painting, coloring, making things like books or games, playing with my stuffed animals and Strawberry Shortcake dolls and pretending I was Pipi Longstocking.  When I was about seven or eight, I used to do “fashion shoots” with my friends.  We’d get dressed up, put on frosty pink lipstick and sparkly blue eyeshadow and strike poses for my Kodak disc camera.  In college, I got a kick out of passing scribbles back and forth with my friend Julie.  As our environmental studies professor droned on about eutrophication we’d create funny pictures out of each other’s doodles.

Reflecting on my play history and on what has always brought me joy, it’s pretty clear to me that I have The Artist/Creator play personality perhaps with a dash of The Storyteller.  While I’m not great at telling stories (and am even worse at telling jokes!), I have The Storyteller’s emotional connection and vivid imagination.  Stuart describes eight play personalities including: The Joker, The Explorer, The Kinesthete, The Competitor, The Artist/Creator, The Director, The Storyteller and The Collector.  Your play personality may be a combination of a few of the types.

While Brown doesn’t like defining play as it’s more of a state of being, he describes play as not seeming to have a purpose, something we engage in voluntarily and want to do again and again, where we lose a sense of time, we become less self-conscious and we experience improvisation.  Even though play seems to have no purpose, Brown asserts that play, which combines emotional, physical and intellectual experiences, is essential to our continued growth and development.

Check out his TED Talk below to hear his brilliant insights firsthand including amazing examples of play in the animal kingdom and how play in the workplace increases innovation.

If you’re hankering for some creative playtime and are near the Boston-area, then please join Leah Piken Kolidas and me for our Creative Play workshop on September 19th.  And, if you can’t make that, then come play with us over at the Creative Juicy Living podcast with Connie of Dirty Footprints Studio as Leah and I talk about Creative Play today at 3pm PT.

Creativity in Business Conference in D.C. 10/4

On Saturday, October 4th, I’ll be presenting at the groundbreaking Creativity in Business Conference in Washington D.C.  When conference founder Michelle James approached me to speak, I was beyond thrilled for the opportunity to be in community with fellow creative entrepreneurs who really get the value of creativity in the work world!  Not only am I excited to lead a break-out session on the Right-Brain Business Plan, I’m also looking forward to a full day of experiencing and learning innovative approaches focused on individual, group & organizational creativity in business.

Creativity is widely considered the new capital of 21st century business.  New ideas, new innovations, new systems and new structures depend on accessing novel levels of creativity — for everyone, not just the creatives or “artists.”  Everyone is creative and everyone could use an extra creative boost, especially in the world of business.  At this event, we’ll explore different facets of creativity as the key driver in navigating and thriving in the new work paradigm.

This event is for entrepreneurs, leaders, managers, learning/innovation officers, trainers, consultants, coaches and anyone who wants to be more innovative and adaptive in the changing world of work.  I bet that’s YOU!

I’m also excited that author Sam Horn will be a panelist.  I love her book POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd.

Here’s the lowdown:

CONFERENCE from 9:00AM-5:30PM: Lively, Content-rich, Experiential Break-out Sessions each with a different focus related to the theme of Applied Creativity in  Business; Engaging Thought Leader Panels explore the creativity-centered work paradigm through the lens’ of leadership, social media, adaptive strategy and creative thinking.

FESTIVAL from 5:30PM-7:30PM: Comedy, Music, Networking, Book Signings, Give-Aways and hors d’oeuvres from Mie N Yu  restaurant.

Register today! Early bird discount through August 31: $149 ~ Regular rate after August 31: $197

I can’t wait to be back in the D.C. area.  I was out there last year as a Circle Coach for CTI’s Quest program and had a blast making new friends on the East Coast.  This visit, I’m looking forward to doing yoga at Tranquil Space and connecting with my D.C. friends!

Creative Play is the Way

Creative Play Workshop

I’m excited to announce that my dear friend Leah Piken Kolidas and I will be co-leading a workshop in the Boston area this fall! Join us for a lighthearted, fun-filled workshop called Creative Play: An Afternoon of Intuitive Art and Creating from the Heart.

Creativity and play are two of my top values and Leah is the epitome of creativity and play – for goodness sakes, the girl makes the cutest smooshing noises when she’s squeezing her paints! I’m thrilled that we’ll be rolling up ourselves together and getting messy and silly with you! If you’re in the area, I hope you can join us. It will be fun to meet you in person!  Sign-up here, space is limited.

What is creative play for you?  How is it showing up in your life?

For me, creative play paves the way for intuition to flow freely, giggles to run rampant, and wonderful surprises to emerge.  Here are a few of the ways I see creative play frolicking about in my life right now:

How can you invite creative play into your day today?