Do you feel you have to always be producing in order to succeed? I work with executives who feel that to sit quietly and explore their own creativity is a waste of time. Quite the opposite is true. The most successful in our world are those who can step away and take a few minutes to breath – to tap into their vision for their lives and their work – to allow creativity to consume them.

I do this every week – 30-60 minutes. Sitting in my chair…its arms molded around me with a hot cup of tea steaming at my side. This is where my mind is allowed to take fancy, exploring old memories and designing new adventures. From where I sit I can see mountains and rivers, beaches with magnificent trees, cities filled with characters and country lanes with children playing.

It is here, from my vantage point, that the world opens up to me … my mind drifts and plots and plans. My creative twin conjures up ideas that make my fingers twitch with desire to write them down. I envision strolling through Grecian ruins to absorb the lives and thoughts of Kings. I explore tiny Italian villages, stopping to rest at a street side café, while sipping wine served with warm buttery crusted bread. I stand atop a snow covered mountain in the Alps, breathless with the majesty of the view, praying for all the people struggling, trying desperately to reach the summit of their life. I lie in the warm, soft sand of Maui with the waves playing chase with my toes and the sun kissing my shoulders. I lounge on the deck of a steamer as it trudges toward Milan, secretly watching the people, eavesdropping on their lives, creating the characters for my next adventure on paper. In the peace and quiet, my mind is free to solve problems, create new plans.

Where do you sit to embrace your fancy, to envision your future, to give wings to your deepest desires? Find your chair, a park, the beach, a mountain. Sit with yourself every week for 30 to 60 minutes. Take a journal to record your great and wonderful ideas. You will astound yourself at the heights you can reach when you care enough to step away from the chaos.