How To Turn Bullshit Into Massive Value

There’s a quote by Pablo Picasso that goes something like, "All children are artists, the problem is staying that way."

I really like this quote, possibly because I view life as an exercise in creativity and artistry. Have you ever had something awkward happen in your life, or someone bring something awkward to yourself or your circle? Maybe you’ve had a hater comment on your blog, maybe you’ve had a supervisor attack you back-handedly in the workplace, maybe you’ve had a family member of significant other pick on a rather obvious ‘failing’.

All these things generally suck The trick is turning the experiences into value.

You Were Born With This Ability

Kids are naturally masters at turning b.s. into value. The main artistic difference between most children and most adults is that children appreciate and create value out of every single thing. They’re playful and happy and they don’t really care what’s in front of them, they just ‘make it awesome.’

Adults start to see an experience, or even a potential experience, and they may have a learned tendency to label everything as ‘bad’ or ‘worthless.’ You can almost hear their thoughts churning: "This is value", "this isn’t value", "this is good", "this is bad", "this isn’t worth my time", "this is worth my time", and so on.

If you left an adult a cardboard box in their home, most people would respond something like, "this is clutter in my house and why would you even leave this here?" But if leave a child a cardboard box, they either A) appreciate the gesture, B) Appreciate the cardboard box, C) ignore it because they know it won’t hold them back or it will be useful to someone or gone soon, or D) turn it into a wicked fort to play with.

Those are the options for kids! ‘Value’, ‘value’ or ‘more value!’ Kids are truly creative geniuses. Artists can create beautiful things out of anything, out of any tool, and you were a kid once, you know deep down this talent is within you.

Do It For You

Many people are too lazy to exercise their cerebellums, and think more effective, more creative, more value-producing thoughts. It’s so much easier to default to patterns and habits of hate, dismissal or rejection instead actively reaching for, or creating, value from, well, ‘bullshit.’

There’s very, very good reasons for doing this though, not the least of which is that it is a founding tenet of thought-management and thought-mastery. Seeing awkward experiences as having value allows us to express words of appreciation and kindness to others involved, or related to the experience. It also allows us to embrace our creativity and to alter our own moods. Instead of being put off balance and feeling miserable about a certain event, we can feel joyful that it happened, that it had some (or a lot!) of value for the world, and we can continue rocking life and spreading smiles and all other sorts of good things. Reaching for value helps you, as well as everyone else.

So Start Now

All children don’t doubt that they are artists and creators of value, and all adults can consciously understand this as well. The trick is learning how to create value out of bullshit. We were all kids once and we all still have access to the skills we had instinctually when we were little. It’s like learning to ride a bike, you never forget how to see value in others… unless you wanna…

… remember?

*Photo: Clement Soh

Jason helps you successfully bridge the gap from where you are to where you want to be, using his clarity & insight to help you rise in all areas. He speaks, writes, and offers success-coaching at http://RyzeOnline.com. He’s been featured on Firepole Marketing, Building Digital Empires, PuttyLike and IntuitiveSoul Radio. Follow him at @jasonfonceca.

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