Think you’ll never be creative? You’re wrong

Creativity is the ability to come up with fresh ideas. As a kid, you discover people, things and experiences, but you don’t pick up the parallel art of invention. Harnessing your creative power — natural or learned — can make you flourish in an ever-changing world and unlocks a world of possibilities.  Creativity consists of looking at the same thing as everybody else and thinking something different. It is looking for a new relationship between two ideas, and knowing that there are no new ideas, only relationships between old ideas.

The creative person is extremely curious. He is a know-it-all. Leo Burnett said, “Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” It is what prompts you to investigate new areas or look for a better way to do something. It drives your urge to invent, experiment, and build. Futurist Charles Handy reinforced the thought, declaring that “Necessity may be the mother of invention, but curiosity is the mother of discovery.”

Creativity is not only for great performers and performances. It is for everyone and everything you engage in.  You imbibe it and get better at it with practice, with inspirational support and with environments that arouse your curiosity.

Just like when a kid learns to walk, nobody criticizes him when he tumbles. He gets up and falls down, gets up and falls down again, but at some point he stands up and walks. All sorts of experiments along his way must be celebrated. You know that learning how to walk is a trial-and-error process, and coming up with new ideas is equivalent to that.

Everyone Can be Creative: Inspiring Habits From an Ex-Nun is a compact read on creativity written and illustrated by Merlee Cruz Jayme, a multi-awarded creative executive and sought-after judge in creative advertising festivals. She is currently “chairmom” and CEO of Dentsu Jayme Syfu, a creative agency that is part of the expansive Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN).  The tome shares practical tips and insights that allow you to discover, capture, build on and nurture your creative abilities. The author reveals important lessons learned from her exceptional beginnings, and how the discipline and values she acquired during her stay at the convent equipped, toned and toughened her in her journey to business and life success.

Everyone has the gift of creativity. It’s never too late to tap into its power and make it work to your advantage. Without creativity, you are trapped in a world that is not just stagnant, but goes backward. You and everybody else are responsible for inventing the future. Turn the pages of “the book for the creative in you” and learn from these “creatips”:

Never stop learning, whether you’re a natural or not.  As a kid you enter school as a question mark; the challenge is not to exit as a period. Pablo Picasso declared, “Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”

Master the rules before you break them. Experiment, from little changes to bigger ones.

Commit to giving yourself some silent time. Silence is a strategy. Savor the silence then move on to your creative work.

Make a mental note of everything you observe. Always have a pen and paper to document or draw everything you see. Master the techniques of idea capture. Have an idea journal to record your thoughts, illustrations, jokes, anecdotes, analogies, metaphors and quotations.

Disabuse your mind of the thought that limited resources limit your creativity. The greatest ideas happen when a creative mind is challenged.

Spend time with positive people. Positivity is the best stress-buster.

Create simple solutions to real problems. Let go of a self-serving attitude and inflated ego, and you’ll find that happiness and success are just around the corner.

Do something other than work, whether you’re hurting from a killed idea or simply looking for inspiration.

There is no room for mediocrity. Make your creative life difficult to perfect your craft.

Strive for greatness; be relentless. These are what separate a good creative from a great one.

You can train your brain to create, but it takes bigger power to sustain creativity.

Be restless.

Creativity is a rich resource, which starts with your own motivation to tackle challenges and seize opportunities. It’s endless. Anything and everything can spark your creativity, from words to objects and people. Indeed, everyone can be creative. It can be enhanced by sharpening our ability to observe and learn, by connecting and combining ideas, by reframing problems, and moving beyond the first right answers. 

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Everyone Can Be Creative is available at National Book Store.

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