The Zen of Creativity

On the afternoon of the first day of the TD Ameritrade conference, I attended one of the most amazing and inspirational sessions I have ever had the good fortune to attend. Our speaker was Dewitt Jones, a former photographer with National Geographic Magazine. He is now a speaker in much demand and I can certainly understand why. He took us on an extraordinary journey with the many beautiful and unique photos that he has captured over the years. However, instead of just showing us photographs he used each picture to convey his message of “falling in love with the world” and “celebrating what’s best in the world.” His purpose was to teach us how to be creative, to think outside the box and to always search for a better answer. He demonstrated this by showing us many photos of a particular scene that he was trying to capture. Most of the photos were very good but there was usually one that so clearly stood out and captured the essence of what he was trying to get the viewer to experience, that it took your breath away.


In my own financial planning practice, I am always looking for the right solution for the client and most of the time I can come up with the right one. But Dewitt showed us that while we may have the right or best solution, there might be a better one out there and don’t give up until you get it! In order to get that better solution, you need to let yourself be fully engaged and fully in love with the process so that the creativity can flow and you do come up with that better answer.


Dewitt is clearly a man who loves life and all that it offers. A man who always looks at the glass as “half full”, an eternal optimist who believes that our world is an extraordinary place. He used an example from a meditation class that he attended. He had a difficult time concentrating on his breath in meditation as his mind continually wandered. His teacher told him to try the one breath meditation. Take it all in with one breath and give it all back. Take in everything the world can give you and give it all back out again. As a yoga practitioner myself, this totally resonated with me and my yoga practice will never be the same again. Thank you, Dewitt, for a most inspirational afternoon.