My favorite reaction to anything creative I do is a laugh. If what I show someone—whether it’s something I’ve written or painted or programmed—can evoke a laugh, I know I’m onto something worthwhile. It’s easy to look at something creative and respond with a less than moved reaction. Having someone say “that’s clever” or getting… Read more »
When you’re surrounded by people who inspire you, what does that feel like? What do you immediately think of when you think of those who spark your creativity or curiosities? Are they creators or makers? How do you imagine they spend their time? Where do they invest their energies and how do they expose their… Read more »
A book without words can still have meaning as a book. If I were to hand you a book with no words anywhere on or in it, you’d still probably know what to do with it. In the time of the ancient Egyptians books were common, but they held no words you or I would… Read more »
To be creative is to be engaged. You can’t have creative ideas if you’re not paying attention to the world around you or engaging with the ideas you come up with. The requirement of engaging, or taking some action, with ideas is why it’s so easy to conflate creativity with the arts. The artist creates… Read more »
First, remember that feeling creatively uninspired is a lot like feeling you had too much to eat for your last meal. The feeling will undoubtedly subside and you’ll find yourself hungry for new ideas again. So don’t beat yourself up. Albert Einstein would often have bouts of procrastination. Earnest Hemingway was notorious for battling feelings… Read more »
The awards a movie actor displays in his studio are just as much for himself to admire as they are for friends or visitors. When you walk into a Michelin Star restaurant and see the number of stars proudly on display, that’s just as much for you as it is for the restaurant staff. Or… Read more »
How do you demonstrate creative ability on something like a resume or portfolio? The same way you demonstrate anything: show your work. What problems did you approach with creativity and what were you able to accomplish as a result? If ideas are worthless, what we do with them is where the value is. People are… Read more »
I’ve written on the importance of questions before, even going so far as to outline a combinatorial equation for asking better questions. But questions remain a complex and otherwise difficult problem to work around for creative thinkers. Questions—particularly when they’re investigatory in nature rather than fact-finding—keep our thinking open. They create spaces for ideas to… Read more »
There’s always been a struggle with pursuing creativity. Routine just comes too easy. Even if things aren’t as great as they could be, habits at least assure predictability, and there’s comfort in that. For as long as there’s been recorded history, it’s clear that the pursuit of creativity has eluded more people than it has… Read more »
When you’re looking upside down it’s easy to see things in a refreshing way. You almost don’t have to try, things just appear in ways you hadn’t thought of seeing them before. Suddenly parts of the ceiling architecture appear that you hadn’t realized exited because you’re now seeing them from a the perspective of being… Read more »