When I think of all the different aspects of the work that I do, the one that gets me most excited is when people open up to a different perspective or awareness. I am very passionate about collaboration, creativity and communication. One of the tools that I share in my workshops is a tool called "Yes and..." Often we will shut down the ideas of others and our own internal ideas by saying "Yes but..." This will often shut the door to creativity and possibilities. When we think of the word YES we often think that it means agreement. In relation to Yes and... the yes is an energy of acceptance, appreciation, acknowledgement and encouragement. If you think of working collaboratively the yes is about being open to the creative suggestions of someone else and trying them on even if they don't feel like a fit. The word "and" is about blending your ideas with your energetic yes which opens the door to a greater possibility or idea. So here is a really simple example. Person A's favourite colour is "Yellow" and Person B's favourite colour is "Blue". Person B says "let's blend our two favourite colours and see what happens? Person A says I like the idea of experimenting and mixing colours is exciting. The end result is "Green". Green represents the unknown possibilities that can't emerge unless we energetically create the space for their existence. Think of where in your life you may have internal or external conflict? Or think of your relationships? Where can you create the space for "Green"? All of this reminds me of a very collaborative initiative called "Playing for Change". I had the pleasure a few years ago of witnessing the beginnings of this project when they played for us live at a Starbucks leadership conference. Enjoy the two selections below. I love Grandpa Elliott and saw him play "Amazing Grace" live in New Orleans. Enjoy!