The other day I opened my front door to yet another real estate person asking if we wanted to sell our home. We live in a neighborhood in Los Angeles where builders are eager to buy homes merely for the property so that they can demolish the existing home and build huge 5,000+ square foot homes in its place. The city seems to love this trend because of the added monies to the tax roll.

So today, our cute 1,300 square foot bungalow has a giant McMansion right next door, and right behind it as well. Some call this progress.

This conversation really activates me! I have moments of “Yes, sell already! This will give me the security that I have been looking for my whole life. This will finally calm my anxiety!”

While my bank account would certainly swell for a while, I know at my core that this is not what’s most important here. I love our house. I love our neighborhood. I love our friends who live nearby. Why would I want to leave behind so many things I love?

I know that when I have moments of doubt, like cashing out to “fix” everything, I’m not at my best. I feel insecure. I’m looking for a quick “fix” instead of looking at the big picture and the deeper root of my desire.

Here’s what I know… the source of our security is our creativity. Let me repeat that. The source of our security is our creativity!

Creativity is endless, boundless, effortless, and most importantly, fun.

I have heard that the true definition of success is not the ability to make a boat load of money and keep it in the bank, but rather to be able to create success, lose it all, recreate it, lose it all again, and then generate it again. Now that is a definition of success that speaks to my heart, my imagination and to my creative self.

I remember this when I get scared (and believe me I do) and think that the quick fix is to sell our house and cash out.

The next time you want to shrink your life or shrink your budget or sell a house or sell things you love for the sake of feeling secure, please slow down, take a breath and ask yourself, “Am I doing this to feel secure, or is it time to up my game and be creative with myself? What could I create in my life that would be fun and would bring me a deeper sense of real security and prosperity?”

This question is way more interesting more generative and way more compelling.

More to come-
Rick