What do Kaizen and Mouse Poo Have In Common?

Studio Cottage Reconfigured

 What do Kaizen and Mouse Poo Have in Common?

Other than being small, Kaizen and mouse droppings were the impetus I needed to tackle my clutter and clear my space.

As an introvert I need my space.  I crave space.  I long for a special space to call my own.

That special space came to me, via my husband, who gifted me with what I like to call my Studio Cottage.  At our marina there are two main buildings.  When a long term tenant moved out of one, I moved into their office space ... a room build within a large unheated quonset hut boat shed.  One wall is curved with two windows looking out onto Georgian Bay.  I painted it bright happy colours and had a new floor installed.  I swore that I would keep this sacred space clean and clear of clutter.

Several years later, many projects plus and the selling of my childhood home found that longed for sacred space a repository of stuff.

This past winter for the first time, mice found their way in.  They explored every inch and excreted everywhere.  Did I mention I have a phobia about mouse poo!  Ugh.  The combination of cumulated clutter and mouse droppings was too much, too overwhelming, way too big of an energy drain and so I just shut the door and walked away.

But as the weather warmed the space once again beckoned to me.  

I decided to use my Kaizen training and start small.  First I just thought about how I wanted the space to be.  I would mentally rearrange the furniture.  Small thoughts are so less overwhelming then big thoughts.  Clean one window sill was so much easier to contemplate than cleaning the whole space.

Then I added some small questions.  How did I want to feel in this space?  Not resentful and angry at the mice but creative, inspired, calm and rested.  How could I feel more of the latter and less of the former?  The great thing about small questions is they don't require an answer right away. Once asked, the brain percolates and ponders to produce plenty of possibilities.  

More manageable piles of clutter.

Next came small steps.  Small steps helped me to get started.  They helped me to break through the resistance I was feeling about tackling what seemed like such a huge and impossible task.  So with broom in hand I began a little at a time over, several days.  

I actually started to thank the mice because it made throwing things out so much easier.  Those ancient unfired pottery creations lost all appeal once they had mouse poo in them.  And so the contaminated objects found their way, one by one, into the garbage bin.

As the space became cleaner and clearer I started rearranging the furniture and fixtures.  I took some pieces out and swapped others for items that fit my needs and space better.  Is it perfect? Nope.  But it is so much closer.  And that is really what Kaizen is all about, moving in a positive direction closer and closer to your ideal.  The goal is not about reaching an ideal but growing and being enriched by the process of moving continually towards it.  

What I find so wonderful about the Kaizen approach is that using it reduces fears that can paralyze or overwhelm us.  I can be far more productive taking small actions and celebrating with small rewards, like time in my hammock, then in the past when everything had to be perfect or not worth doing at all.

In the near future, Donna Mills and I will be inviting 4 people to help us test out our creative Kaizen-based approach to clearing clutter:  The 10 C's of Clutter Clearing: a KMI Master Minding Circle.  The first two C's are curiosity and compassion.  If you are curious and are looking for a more compassionate way to clear your clutter drop me an e-mail and I will be sure to send you details about the course.  

8 Things + 2 About Me

I'm currently reading Quiet !mpact: How to be a Successful Introvert by Sylvia Loehken. She totally normalizes being an introvert and offers great strategies for different real life situations. One challenge I have as introvert is talking about myself and what I do in the world. The following list gives you a little glimpse about me.

8 Things + 2 About Me

1. I’m highly introverted so my ideal vacation is to go to an isolated island or a cabin in the woods by a lake and read or sketch
2. I’m fascinated by ideas, especially where they come from and their evolution
3. Numbers and patterns intrigue me and as an adult I discovered a new appreciation for math as a sacred language to explain nature
4. In university I prefered the Bronte sisters to Jane Austen.  Now I have a growing collection of books whose characters are based on Pride and Prejudice.  I think the BBC production with Colin Firth might have had something to do with this.
5. Together with my husband of almost 27 years, we have 3 beautiful, creative and talented daughters and a collection of pets
6. I live in my hometown of Parry Sound and co-own a marina on Georgian Bay.
7. I’ve always wanted to own a cottage.  There is something so relaxing about a cottage.
8. Although I am a 5 in numerology, a 4 on the Enneagram the number 8 plays a significant role in my life.  8 + 8 is the day of my birthday, 8 x 8 is the year of my birth and I was married on 08 08 88.  And this year my beloved border collie Saul turns 8.
9. Dragons, magical ponds and frogs have a habit of appearing in my life.
10. I consider life to be one big creative project and so everything from routine tasks to art exploration are an opportunity to be in the creative process.

Spring Showers and Shadows

Spring is a time for new flowers, warmer weather, renewal and new growth.

But first, the snow must melt and inevitable the skies turn grey as snow turns to rain.  The lack of sun on these days tends to make me feel gloomy and restless.  And this can lead to visits from my shadow side.

This March held some major disappointments as well as the anniversary of my father's death.  I did not deny the feelings these events brought, nor did I let them dictate my decisions.  Instead I acknowledged their shadowy presence.  I stood in the shadow and saw clearly that in one direction it got darker and murkier well in the opposite direction it's edge was defined by light.  When I was ready, I chose to move toward the light.

I'm choosing to use the feeling of disappointment as fuel.  And the situations as opportunities for learning and growth.

I have not always been able to do this.  What was different this year is my intention to live my life creatively.  The disappointment became a creative challenge, and I accepted that challenge.  Like any challenge it isn't easy but the shadow is fading and the spark of creativity within is casting a brighter light.

Another helpful tip that I received from my coach #DawnKotzer is to release expectations.  This was reinforced in the April 2016 #Mindfulmagazine by an article entitled Feeling Moody? Here's Why that quoted #YaelNiv of Princeton University explaining that, "Happiness depends not on how well things are going, but whether they are going better than expected."

How do you overcome disappointment?  What ways has creativity made your life brighter?  Comment below, I'd love to hear what your experience has been.

Yay and Yikes! Comparing Two Different Kinds of Master Minds

I received a newsletter from someone whose work I follow this week promoting her master mind groups.  My response after reading the headline was two-fold.  Yay!  Someone else is promoting master minds too.  And Yikes! She's promoting the same thing I am and at the same time.

As I read further the 'Yikes" began to fade away and lose energy because what my partner Kathy Kane and I offer is so very different.

In the newsletter, the author described what I think may be a lot of people's experience with master minds.  It talked about the pressure this person felt being in the "hot seat" and how being in a master mind can be difficult and feel uncomfortable.  Even if the benefits outweigh these factors, why would anyone want to even consider a master mind like this? Especially since there is a kinder, gentler and equally powerful alternative; a KMI Master Mind.

The basic premise of a master mind is to gather people together and harness the skills, expertise, resources and connections to form a "super" or "master" mind to advance an idea or resolve an issue. Master minds work and they have been around for centuries.  Often they are used within a business context, but just about any area of interest can be the foundation of a master minding circle.

What makes a KMI Master Mind different?  A KMI Master Minding Circle is infused with the Kaizen philosophy and creativity.  This combination is a dynamic fusion of being in the process and getting things done in ways that build sustainable momentum.  It is process focused not results driven; creating opportunities for progress that are sustainable because you won't burn out from high pressure, competition and unrealistic expectations.  Instead you get to experience joyful abundance and the fringe benefits, as Jill Badonsky calls them, of being in the creative process.

If you currently lead groups or want diversify your 1:1 offer, I invite you to check the KMI Master Mind Facilitator certification training.  The experience is rewarding for both the facilitator and the group members.  And I'm not just saying that because I co-created this master minding model.  You can find out about the training details here or leave a comment below and we can connect.  You can also experience the KMI Difference on our free Mini KMI Master Mind Monday calls.  The next one will be Monday, March 21 @ 1pm ET at The Purple Ink Cafe (Zoom room: 847-711-436).

Did I Dot the i in Details?

Did I Dot the i in Details?

New launches are exciting.  There is a rush of anticipation, excitement (sometimes masquerading as fear) and a healthy dose of creative chaos.

Fellow coach, Kathy Kane, and I just launched our signature program, the KMI Master Mind Facilitator Certification Training.  Every time we thought we had everything ready it seemed like we discovered another layer of details.  Details became synonymous with delay.

Details, in general, are my death and my default.

My creative process is to think BIG, to think really, really big.  Thinking big builds excitement and enthusiasm and I fall in love with my project.  But when its time to get to work my default mode kicks in.  I begin to think of every single possible detail that needs to be done.  Ahhhhh   If I'm not aware this is happening it can be the death of a promising idea.

Enter Kaizen small steps to the rescue. Small steps create tiny moments of success to keep the process moving.  Kaizen small steps let you focus on just the very next thing to do.  And sometimes the very next thing is to walk away, to eat, to nap, anything but the details.

On February 20th we hit publish on our website and officially launched our training program.  There are still lots of details to attend to.  Still lots to learn about launching.  And I'm not sure if I dotted the i in details but that's OK.

My next small step is just to pause and look back at how far we have come.  How much we have achieved and how excited we are to get started.

If you are curious and want to take a look at our website, it's www.kmimastermind.com.  If you are interested, why not come to a Q & A session on Saturday, March 5, 2016  at noon ET on Zoom  - Meeting ID: 847-711-1436  (app available at www.zoom.us)

What strategies have you found for dealing with details?  Share in the comment section below.

~ mary

Kaizen and The Power of Small

Have you heard of Kaizen?  It is often referred to as small steps towards continuous improvement, but it is so much more.  For me, discovering the gentle but powerful philosophy of Kaizen was life changing.


Lots of people and programs talk about small steps. There isn't anything really revolutionary about this wisdom. Mark Twain is quoted as saying:

 "The secret of getting ahead is to get started.  The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one."

You may have tried breaking things down into small steps with varying degrees of success.  Or maybe when you hear small steps you think "Who has time for that?  Not me, I have too much to get done!"  I thought that too once.  Then I found Jill Badonsky's Kaizen-Muse™ Creativity Coaching program and I learned about Kaizen small steps.  


So what's different about Kaizen small steps?  Well for one thing they can be really, really small.  Laughably small.  So small that you can't fail to take the step.   



OK, I thought, I will give this a try.  My 'demon' is clutter and in particular paper clutter.  So my first small step was going to put one piece of paper away a day.  So for the next 30 days guess how many pieces of paper I put away.  Zero.  


This wasn't working.  What was I doing wrong!!


First, telling myself that I needed to do something every day was setting me up for failure.  A kinder way would be to say 'more days than not'.  Then if I missed a day I would still be succeeding.  And Kaizen small steps are about creating small success moments.


Second, I couldn't see how putting one piece of paper away would make even a tiny dint in my paper clutter.  I had falsely assumed that I needed to stop after completing my small step.  Kaizen small steps are meant to be continuous and led naturally into another small step.  It's ok to stop after one but not mandatory.


Third, I was resisting filing that first piece of paper.  I knew that Kaizen small steps can help to break through resistance and procrastination so maybe my small step wasn't small enough?  No, it was pretty small.


Finally, it dawned on me that I really didn't really like my small step.  Kaizen small steps need to engage your spirit and not just your logical side.    


So I asked myself the small question, "How can I make this more fun?".  The result was to engage my playful side.  I named my filing cabinet R.O.S.I. ( Receptacle of Significant Information). Over time R.O.S.I. developed a personality and filing became like feeding her.  I also had R.O.S.I. write me a letter and tell me what she needed and wanted me to do.  It became a game.  


And it became a learning moment. 


What I learned was that the Kaizen small steps are really small and engaging.   And with the right small step you can shift from inaction and stagnation to action and metal alertness with your imagination firing on all cylinders.  This tiny shift can be life changing.


As a creativity coach I help people to find their next small step so they can experience the power of small for themselves.  What small step might you try to build momentum towards a goal or dream you want to achieve?  Can you make it smaller?  Does it feel like the right next step?

Releasing the Voice Within

I have often thought about writing a blog.  Been advised to write a blog.  Resisted writing a blog.  So why now?  What changed?

I realized I was stuck.

And to get unstuck I reminded myself to practice my Kaizen training.  Kaizen is about taking small steps, thinking small thoughts, asking small questions and accepting small rewards.  And I mean really small.  Because the smaller these are the less likely they will trigger fear.  And it is fear that got me stuck.

What would I call my blog?  The perfect name seemed so important and yet so elusive.  Who would read my blog? And why would they want to?

My small step was just to start.  My small thought was why not.  My small question was how can I trust my voice within just a little bit more.  And my small reward will be a mention on my credit report of the feel good moment when I hit publish.

I'm just as new to blogs as blogging.  But this could be fun if I think of it as just having a conversation with you.  Some of my ideas and topics may not be of interest to you and others may be the starting point for another type of connection.

Today I join the blogosphere. (Do people still use this term?)  When I hit publish I will release my voice within to join others around the world who are sharing their inner voices.

How cool is that!