Creativity begins and ends with reality

Maybe the saddest mistake about creativity is that it is some kind of lala land with no realtionship to reality.  The image of the creator as a lost child is a disservice to the actual process and meaning of creativity.

For example, legendary creator Leonardo da Vinci was a genius at observation.  When he went out to the country and sat by a burbling stream, he spent his time cataloging the different shapes water made when it flowed around rocks, and used that information to transform his era's understanding of everything from how to build a lumber mill to how blood flows through the human body.  When da Vinci looked, he really saw what he was looking at.  Most of us don't do that--everything we see is filtered through a set of assumptions and habits that blind us to opportunities to discover and create. 

Creative people (those who actually succeed in creating things) are not just dreamers; they are wilfull and persistent.  They see possibilities that are overlooked by other people, and they sacrifice to bring their ideas to life in the real world.  Maybe it's that sacrifice that leads those around them to scorn them as dreamers.  I think that's sad--being willing to sacrifice for a vision is heroic, not foolish.

All work and no play... 3 ways to energize creativity

For a century, there's been a saying that "all work and no play makes John a dull boy".  Well lately, science has proved it's true.  To be creative, the brain needs to signal enjoyment and fun--to get technical, creativity uses the dopaminergic reward system that creates enjoyment.

The great news is that you can stimulate the play function of your brain consciously, instead of waiting for the mood to strike you.  Here are three ways to generate a sensation of play:

1. Develop a positive attitude to taking risks.  That doesn't mean being foolish or destructive to yourself or others, just embracing the thrill you experience when you're on a ride at a theme park, for example, or when the plane is just taking off for a vacation to somewhere you've never been before.  It's the enjoyable risk of trying new things.  The more you tap into that feeling, the more creative you will be in taking on challenges.
2. Learn something new. It doesn't matter what, as long as you enjoy it.  Mastering new material or skills uses the creative part of your brain, which is very rewarding and enjoyable.  Can you remember the first bike ride with no training wheels?  What a rush!  That's what you're going for.
3. Use the entertainment you enjoy to spark ideas.  If you really enjoyed a movie or concert, use it as a platform for your imagination.  This is what children do when they "play house" or imagine that they are astronauts and super-heroes.  Who knows what inspiration you will discover when you let your enjoyment stimulate new ideas?

It shouldn't be  hard to motivate yourself to play, should it?  Have fun!

Creativity really matters when you're stuck

Caught up, as we are, in the practical demands of daily life, creativity naturally takes a back seat.  But there are times when you simply have to be creative.

The clearest of these is when you're stuck.  If you find yourself having the same arguments over and over again, making the same mistakes again and again, unable to solve a work problem, moving from diet to diet and never getting anywhere, or otherwise feel like you're stuck on repeat, then you absolutely need to be creative.  Your life is too precious to waste on dead-end patterns.

Here's what I suggest:  at the very moment you realize you're stuck, stop.  Just stop and let the reality sink in.  Realize what a sad waste this pattern is.  If you really feel sad about it, make a commitment to change it.

Motivation is absolutely everything to creativity.  Use your motivation to spark a creative process of exploration.  Tap into all of the parts of your life that do work.  What are your strengths?  What are the strengths of others involved in the problem?  What inspires you?  A particular movie, book, your religion, someone in your life?  How could that help you? 

Along the path of this exploration, you will find inspiration.  An insight will emerge that helps you to climb out of your rut.  Seize the opportunity and create an open space for your life. 

The great idea-finding secret

Well, not so secret now!  Read this line from Shakespeare:

"That time of year thou mayst in me behold/Where withered leaves, or none, or few do hang/Upon these boughs that shake against the cold/Bare, ruined choirs, where late, the sweet birds sang."

In that short quotation, Shakespeare paints a vivid portrait of age, comparing growing old to the season of winter, a branch that has lost its leaves, and a ruined church choir.  If he'd just said "I'm sad that I'm getting old" it might have been clearer, but of course it would not be a poem.

Creative ideas are often found at the strange intersections between one kind of idea and another.  While poets use these intersections as metaphors, you can use them in a different way.

Creative ideas for one topic can come from another topic.  The connections are not meant to be literal, but rather to spark an idea.  For example, I can connect marketing and child psychology.  If children play in order to experience the satisfaction of mastery (as psychologists believe), does that suggest how I could use online games or experiences to help adult customers imagine themselves using a product?  Of course it does.

The biggest secret is that your mind is amazingly good at making these connections.  If you love two topics, you can connect those ideas in creative ways.  For example, if you love gardening and baking, you can use that intersection to come up with new cake or cookie decorations.  Isn't that fun?

Why we create, and how to do more of it

Creativity is not the sole province of geniuses and artists; it is an essential human impulse. Creativity is how your brain explores new experiences and information and integrates them into your understanding of the world. If you were not creative, you would not have been able to adapt to the changing circumstances you have faced in your life; you would still be an infant.

Creativity starts with an inner motivation. It may be stimulated by external inspiration, as when a painter dips a brush into the wrong pot, but finds that the unexpected color brings new life to her work. But what seems to be external stimulus has to find a positive, receptive place inside a human being.

The key to being creative is to find something that motivates you deeply.  Wishing is worth nothing; to create we need to be willing to invest time and effort, and to accept risks.  Without motivation, creative ideas will rise and fall like leaves in the wind. 

Creativity is founded in desire.  A child sees its mother walk, and is determined to gain that freedom and strength.  A poet yearns for the perfect way to say something.  A reformer is willing to sacrifice everything to make the world a better place.  Find what motivates you, and you are on the road to creation. 

Do you see what I see? The three traits of perception.

Creativity requires perceptions that open the mind and awaken it to unforeseen possibilities.  Perception isn't just passively taking things in:  it is conscious awareness or understanding of input from our senses.   You can train yourself to be more perceptive just as you can train yourself to be more decisive, or more organized.  The only requirement is the will to do so.


Being perceptive means seeing more than others see.  Typically, the reason we miss what's right under our noses is that we are distracted or operating on automatic.  The way to train yourself to be more perceptive is to focus and really look, listen, and strive to understand. 


As you go through your day, set aside time (such as a walk to the coffee shop) to develop these three traits:

• Actively observe. Clear away your assumptions and see your world with fresh eyes.

• Be curious. Why are things they the way they are? Do they have to be that way? How would you want them to be different?

• Perceive. Strive to internalize and understand what you observe, letting what you learn lead you to new ideas.

The more you practice, the easier you will find it to perceive.  And within those perceptions, you will find creative gold.

Courage and creativity

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you took any one of your amazing ideas--any one of them--and actually started working on it?  Well, what's stopping you?

If you're like me, most of what's stopping you is fear.  It comes in many guises, from "I don't have time" to "You know, I don't think that's such a great idea after all."  But it's really fear of what would happen if you changed they way you work, for example, or if others saw your idea and didn't respond positively.

The question of the day is how to find the courage to be creative?  My favorite recipe is:  Love, Self-Awareness, Commitment.  When I start feeling all dizzy about the risks I'm taking, I go to my family for love and support.  Then I look at myself and ask, what on earth am I scared of?  What could I do to change my attitude about risk?  And last, I am very firm with myself.  I must keep my commitments, especially those I've made to myself.  Otherwise, what am I?

So straighten up and look danger in the eye.  You can do this, and when you do--it's gonna be great.