Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

I sit on a panel of entrepreneurs at the University of Calgary where we share our journeys and encourage students.

One day we were asked, "If we could recommend one book to the students what book would that be?" This was the recommendation of one of our most inspiring panel participants. She has recently successfully transformed one of our country's national bank's recruitment and on-boarding process. I was especially interested to find out what had inspired her.

The book may at first seem as though it is more of a self-help book than a business tool, but it in fact adds a lot of value to those of us that struggle with their creative side in all areas of life.

This book takes us through a journey into our own intuition and creativity. It teaches us not to fear failure or disappointment, to push forward anyways with our unique and innovative ideas. Everyone fails in life at some point and it's nothing to be ashamed of, but living without creativity and courage, well that doesn't seem like a healthy, pleasant or satisfying alternative.

Through the author's personal experience, she explains that we all get unexpected "great ideas" throughout life. They somehow find us, on a whim. If we decide to table these ideas, they simply pass on to the next willing recipient almost as if they have a mind of their own, as if there is some sort of force or energy behind this transfer. Inspiration follows us and if we don't acknowledge it, it will simply move on to someone else. This explains all those times that we say, "hey, that was my idea, I thought of that years ago"...

This book promotes following our creative path in life and to never stop educating ourselves. It tells us that it is never to late to start. I really enjoyed this book and the concepts that I found within it, still haunt my thoughts. Embrace your creativity, have courage in following your dreams, don't let your "great ideas" be swallowed by someone else, and LIVE BEYOND FEAR.

Book Review by Alicia Bolton, President & CEO @ OutsourceHR

OutsourceHR is a Canadian HR Consulting and Recruitment firm. Follow OutsourceHR on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn today for employment updates.