How to Awaken Your Creativity

Anyone can create. Man is the only being in the world with the desire to leave a creative legacy—we were born as creative beings. Observe children under 10 years of age whose imaginations are running wild—imagination and creativity is natural. But often times as we get older, our creative imaginations are hindered. Below are some fun ways to awaken your creativity!

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Pablo Picasso

Creativity is best defined by two words: “What if.” Let this be the starting point. Tell yourself that anything is possible, then get up and see what it is. Creativity is the license to explore, to try things out, and to get things wrong.

5 Steps to Awaken Your Creativity

1. Be willing and able to transform your way of thinking. Developing new solutions and ideas requires a great deal of creative thought.
1. We must begin to see our mind in the same way and retool our ways of thinking to produce new results.
2. Think Big! Believe no idea is a bad idea—consider and be open to anything.

When you think small or are stuck in one frame of mind, look at what you miss:

1. In 1943 the then chairman of IBM famously predicted “that in his estimation there was a world market for ‘maybe’ five computers.”
2. In 1962, Decca Recording company said: “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” They said this about the Beatles.
3. In 1872, “Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is ridiculous fiction.” Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse
4. In 1927, HM Warner said: “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?”
5. “Inventions have long since reached their limit, and I see no hope for further development.” Julius Frontinus, Roman Engineer, first century AD
6. “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” Charles H Duell, US Office of Patents, 1899
2. Be inspired! Discover what gets your creativity flowing. I.e. Being out in nature, listening to a certain type of music, going to an artsy coffee shop, or sitting quietly at home….whatever it is, take the time to be inspired!
3. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or try something completely different.
1. Seek perfection too soon in the creative process and you’re likely to end up with a perfect failure instead of a rough but workable model.
4. Just do it! Every great journey begins with one step. Just get started and adjust and tweak it along the way. It’s art…there’s no right or wrong. It just is.

Additional Hints to Inspire Creativity

1. You gotta start somewhere. In creativity, even in a puddle a person can seem at first to be out of one’s depth.
2. The first step toward creativity is to acknowledge and accept that by applying ourselves, we can improve and even expand our ability to be creative.
3. Trust your own instincts, and if working in a team, trust the instincts of others.
4. Caution in creativity is often fatal.
5. Creativity generates mistakes. True art is knowing which ones are worth correcting.
6. Look at everything as though it were being seen for the first or the last time.
7. The magic of creativity kicks into play when you begin to take action.
8. Creativity is the least successful when it sets out to try and please everyone.

Some Beliefs Behind Creative Genuises

1. “I dream for a living.” Steven Spielberg

2. “Change only favors minds that are diligently looking and preparing for discovery.” Louis Pasteur

3. “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” Rudyard Kipling

4. “Life is not an exact science. It is an art.” Samuel Butler

5. “I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.” Harry Emerson Fosdick

6. “That which builds is better than that which is built.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Creativity is universal and can be harnessed anywhere, in any situation.

• In your job/business—creative innovation, ways of management, resolving challenges, creating new, innovative ways of doing things
• In everyday life—spicing up life; creating magic moments; creative ways to add more fun/joy in your life
• As an Artist—harness your creativity through the expression of art: photography, painting, drawing, sculpting, sewing, cooking, dancing, singing, playing an instrument, designing (clothes, buildings, etc), decorating, gardening, inventor, writers, actors/actresses, animators, graphic designers, etc
• In intimate relationships—creative ways to meet each other’s needs, creative ways of creating romance, etc
• In all relationships: family, friends, coworkers—creative ways to express gratitude, feelings, emotions

The Journey of Creativity

In creativity, there is as much, if not more, to be gained from the journey as there is from reaching the destination. The secret of creativity is that those who have gone off in search of it have ended up discovering themselves.