How was your day? We utter this question blithely every day, not realizing how monumental it is. Indeed, it抯 the single most important question you抣l ever ask. We talk about life being short, but 80 years is really a long time. Life抯 too long to fight evolution. When you have the opportunity to be fulfilled, life抯 way too long to be bored making mediocre stuff all day.

Are you tired of being stuck in the rut of doing things the way they抳e always been done? Are you ready to shake things up a bit, but hesitate because of the uncertainty in the economy?

You抮e missing the point if you抮e focusing only on what抯 gone. And you抮e missing the point if you bemoan the fact that the past 100 years of nonstop advertising has conditioned us into a constant thirst for the next new thing. This is actually good news for you!

The gap between boredom and novelty, along with the decentralization of power resulting from the Internet revolution, has created a huge opportunity for you to set yourself free to be more creative.

You can express your creativity in 3 ways:

?Innovate. Create something new based on something that抯 already on the market. You can upgrade?b>add to梐n existing model, like the recliner added new features to the chair. Or you can make something easier to use or more attractive by subtracting features, like the iPod stripped-down the mp3 player.

?Invent. Come up with something that has never existed before. Henry Ford didn抰 innovate a faster horse, he invented a whole new class of transportation: the automobile.

?Create. Express a talent or skill, like singing, painting, writing, building, etc.

As I抦 fond of pointing out, the marketplace has proven time and again: the thing that yields the highest ROI (return on investment) is passion.

When it comes to innovation, you don抰 need a permission slip signed by your mommy to change the rules, to raise the bar, or to play a different game. You have more individual leverage today than ever before.

Rattling the cage of the status quo can be profitable and fun. And it抯 a boost to your career to push the edge of whatever envelope you find intriguing.

However, when you抮e ready to embrace your innovative nature, self-doubt can creep in. Your desire to express your creativity will wither on the vine.

But remember, you抳e already disproved your doubts hundreds of times by going after and getting what you want. Like leg cramps, you can walk doubt off.

When you抮e passionate about something, your innate creativity is immune to doubt. It won抰 stop cranking out ways to get what you want until you抳e got it.

The main thing that prevents your passion from flowering is the confidence that you can do it, that it抯 worth doing or that you won抰 crash and burn in the process of doing it.

The old excuses that you抮e not motivated enough, smart enough or trying hard enough are only a smokescreen. Just as confidence plays a role in how capable you feel of attaining your desires, your level of confidence will dictate how creative you believe you are.

When your confidence is weak, your creativity will be, too. And you抮e just shooting yourself in the foot if you say: Oh, I抦 just not a creative person.

What you抮e really saying is that you抳e not yet discovered something you have passion for. Once you know your passion, the steps toward it will become clear as you head in that direction.

The old excuse梱ou don抰 got game梔oesn抰 hold water any more. A quick glance around any group of people will show you how passion inspires the genius to compensate for skills, talents, resources or genes you don抰 think you have, and thus to thrive in new situations. Using passion as your guide, you抣l be more creative, thereby offsetting any limitations of ability and novelty.

It抯 time. Make the choice. Everyone I抳e coached who made the choice was glad they did. Their only regret was that they didn抰 do it sooner. My only regret is that I don抰 have more feet, so I could wear more shoes (just kidding).

Coaching Question: What抯 the next step in expressing your passion in a more creative, innovative or inventive way?