Our Creative Identity

Part 4 of a continuing series on CEOing

Last time we explored our reactive identity, so now I want to introduce you to that part of you that has been missing all these years. That part of you that was always meant to work with your reactive self and bring you to a different, more fulfilling outcome. Meet your Creative Identity. My thesis is that we are each born with more than just a reactive Ego and its obedient Personality. We are also born with a unique Passion and Purpose, a unique set of Core Values to guide us, and a set of Unique Abilities, including our Personality, to serve us.

Okay, let’s define these new players that I call our Creative Identity. Parts of us we suspected were there all along, but were never really identified or appreciated in our reactive, fear driven world, but are mission critical if we ever want to shift to a creative, purpose driven life, business, world.

Our Creative Identity

Passion: Passion is the Why of your life. This is what you are giving your life for and when you work or do anything in alignment with your passion time stands still. You experience great joy because you are fulfilling the meaning of YOUR life. When you know what you are giving your life for, and act out of that, you may experience fear, but you will rarely act out of fear. My Passion is "People at Peace with Themselves and Others." This is what I am giving my life for. It's who I am in my professional life and, it's who I am in my personal life.

Purpose: Purpose is the How of your life. This is how you engage the world and what you bring to life simply by being in it. You could say it's your mission. When you are living your life in alignment with who you really are there is little stress. My purpose, for example, is Through intimacy and sharing, I help myself and others appreciate our pasts, be courageously present in the moment and be clear and excited about our futures. I know who I am and what to do every moment of my life.

Core Values: Core Values, along with some learned behaviors, are the guide posts of our lives and are very important to our successful delivery of our Purpose and Passion. Two of my core values are intimacy and sharing, for example. And each of these values has a unique definition as well.

Unique Abilities: All the things in life we may be able to engage in break down into four categories: Those that we are incompetent in; those that we are competent in; those that we are excellent in; and those in which we have a unique ability.

Here is what I believe to be a very powerful, supportive belief: that we are not one or the other, we are all of it. And the more that we appreciate our reactive self and embrace the untapped power of our creative self, the more access we will have to the power of creativity, innovation and manifestation we have been looking for in ourselves and our organizations.

If you look at the words Reactive and Creative, notice the placement of the letter “C”. My partner, Frances Fujii, says, “Our ability to “C” who we really are is buried in the middle of all the reaction in our lives. And when we bring our ability to “C” what’s really happening up front, we suddenly gain access to our Creative selves.”

There is no doubt that you are so much more than you ever realized!
I have given you a clear and expanded picture of a more complete human model. I have given you a map of the territory. But how you fill it in will be uniquely you. Begin the journey now. Do it now. Because the faster you find out about your true Self the faster you will realize what every great leader has known: If it is true for you, then it is also true for every other person in the world.

How the entire model looks is

One of the questions this expanded model raises is when does free choice occur? For example, if you were designed with both a reactive and creative identity, but are only operating out of your reactive side, do you have free choice? In my experience, when the creative self is fully appreciated as a reality, beliefs are questioned and resolved and behavior changes without a lot of pain and drama. This is true for people. This is true for organizations.

Now, why would knowing yourself be important to you as an entrepreneur? The key is belief. Have you ever had someone believe in you? If so you know exactly what I mean. When someone believes in you that last thing you want to do is let them down. Conversely, have you ever been around someone that thought you were an idiot? How did that make you feel? Well now you have access to a piece of information about yourself, and therefore, about everyone else on the planet that few ever realize:

No one goes to work to do a bad job.

Your number one job as an entrepreneur - and if you do this you will be an amazing CEO, one who creates extraordinary organizations - is to unleash all the pent up creativity and innovation in your people in the service of your dream. This is the quintessential way to work “on” your organization. But it is one thing to be aware of this, and altogether another to be able to do it. I've given you an insight that you can now leverage by understanding and engage the second principle of leadership: To be powerful with others, you must first understand humanity and master relationships. Stay tuned.