I was in shock and disbelief last Thursday when I heard the news in the Minneapolis skyway, Prince is dead at age 57. Seeing one other gentleman, I blurted, “Have you heard? Prince is dead!” He snarled at me, grumped under his breath as his pace quickened in an attempt to walk away and muttered, “NOT a fan.”
Fan or not it is hard to deny that Prince was a fascinating, complex, creative soul. Since the news of the passing of the homegrown Minnesota music icon, who happened to be my age, I have been reflecting on what it means to me. I encourage you to do the same when something strikes you as emotionally significant in your life.

According to Dr. Izzy Justice, adults are blessed with an average of 80 potentially life-changing experiences in one year. The key is to take time to reflect upon them to learn, grow and expand our wisdom to inform how we might change our lives. For me, Prince’s passing is one of those opportunities that is causing me pause. I feel compelled to reflect.

A great opportunity for reflection can come from an emotional response to a life-changing or life-challenging event. By listening to your inner voice that wants to address it, creativity you seldom tap into or maybe never knew you had, can emerge. One of the first things I learned in pursuit of my master’s degree in creativity is that we are all creative beings. Creativity is not a special gift bestowed on just a select few. Some people may be more well-versed in it than others so for those who struggle, know that research indicates that you can stretch your innate creative juices. Please allow me to channel Prince to demonstrate how this process works to inspire my creativity.

Personality
He inspires me to be myself and define my personal brand in colorful ways. No one has a more powerful brand than Prince. As Jimmy Fallon said on the SNL tribute to Prince, “He even has his own color. Who else has their own color?”

Questions I’m asking: What is your brand? Is it consistent? Is it reinforcing your purpose and mission on this earth?

Persistence
His career reminds me to be persistent. Prince was not always successful in the eyes of critics or certain audiences, but he clearly owned a creative vision that he was unwilling to compromise. According to several reports, he was booed off the stage and never was able to complete his set as an opening act to The Rolling Stones Tour in 1981.
This experience obviously did not stop him. He possessed persistence. It’s one of the key ingredients to Grit, which Angela Duckworth’s book of the same name defines as perseverance plus the exclusive pursuit of a single passion. Her book is mentioned in The Atlantic’s article, Is Grit Overrated. Grit, to be released in May, explains that all too often we have this view that everything successful people do magically turns to gold. The truth is, everyone has setbacks and rejection in their life and those who succeed do so because they persevere no matter how many disappointing roadblocks are put in their path. Prince was certainly one of those individuals.

Questions I’m asking: What are my roadblocks? How can I demonstrate perseverance?

Passion
He inspires me to pursue my passion. Prince was so passionate about making music and creating a close-knit community to share experiences with that he was known to play into the wee hours of the night and do almost anything in the name of entertainment for his fans.

A few years ago I was sure my passion was fashion and image consulting. I shifted my business to do just that. Funny thing is that I hated so many parts of that idea. I felt I was judging people on their clothes, which I was, yet personally my value was not to judge people. I found myself buying books on fashion, yet reading about everything but fashion. I am now thankfully back to doing what I am truly passionate about: helping people uncover their brilliance by working with others to create amazing things for this world.

Questions I’m asking: What is it you love to do and you can loose all track of time doing? What single item keeps cropping up over and over again in your life? That is the thing to pursue.

Dearly beloved, I encourage you to take time to reflect on what inspires you, even if it’s not Prince. Ask tough, probing questions that rev up your creativity like a little red corvette. Use my example as framework to uncover your brilliance like a favorite jewel of your choice, whether a diamond or pearl. #Prince