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Field Of Business Dreams

Posted by Gayle Kesten Monday, Jan 19, 2009, 10:13 AM ET

We're at the start of a few truly historic days. The excitement and pure hope I'm feeling -- a welcome break from the utter disgust as I continue hearing about examples of corporate greed -- unexpectedly went into high gear last week with US Airways flight 1549's safe landing on the Hudson River.

My local newspaper, Newsday, captures my sentiment best: "Ordinary citizens acting with skill, courage, training, experience, and a little luck will always mean more than someone yakking about leadership and crisis management."

With that as a backdrop, plus today's celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., who, more than 45 years ago delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech, and tomorrow, that dream realized as Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, I'm feeling inspired. (Coming full circle, did you hear that Obama personally invited US Airways hero pilot, Capt. Chesley Sullenberger III, to the inauguration?)

It's in this feel-good spirit that I hope the following "12 Principles to Spark Innovation," composed by business coach and author Arupa Tesolin, inspire you in your business pursuits. The list works even better if you add "I have a dream..." before each point.

1. Any concept imperfectly created will be limited by the magnitude of its imperfection.

2. A vision born in the heart and beheld with clarity in the mind must, in obedience to the law of creation, be created in the world of form.

3. If you can create without doubt, you are no doubt a creator.

4. If you see the glass is half-empty, you are seeing the circumstance not the dream. To transcend the circumstance you must see what's not there.

5. True commitment begins when we can reach the point of not knowing how we can possibly go on and decide to do it anyway.

6. To set a goal is to limit infinity.

7. When you are tested ask why. What purpose does it serve? What am I learning here? Sometimes an apparent setback or disappointment serves the greater purpose of galvanizing desire or birthing a greater success.

8. Act as though you already are who you want to be, are already doing what you want to do, and already have what you want to have.

9. Money isn't everything. It's a resource, one of many. All resources to support you come from but one source—our infinity.

10. Decide what you need and ask for it. Imagine your every request being fulfilled.

11. Give your best to every client, whether small or large. You never know to whom you are offering your gifts. If you did, you’d be humbled.

12. Perfection is a state of being where everything already exists. Be in it when you give birth to new ideas or innovate.

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