I was in the backseat of a car this weekend on my way home from the Newport Folk Festival when I caught this image along the I-95. The sun was setting and my creative curiosity kicked in.  This photo captured the moment for me…the beauty of the world shows up all the time in random ways and my brain loves to engage with it.

In my new book Grow or Fold, which will be published in January, I tackle the challenges of Midlife by sharing my stories and my toolkit to help people with their own personal journey. And as I was writing the book, I realized that in addition to investing in personal, professional and emotional growth, we must invest in our creative growth to stimulate new brain development to act as the antidote against the natural decline we face as we age.

There are so many ways to stimulate your creative side. It can be an art class…or music…or cooking…or woodworking…or writing or photography or one of many other options. Think about this: you are either growing or folding. It is that simple. And without a doubt, Creative Growth is the X Factortm..