John Pape Online Blog

by: Malkeet Singh

You have some great ideas. You toss them around in your mind. You tell friends about them. They go nowhere. Why? They go nowhere because of what your friends said or because you have the misconception that only a select few are able to unleash a steady flow of creative genius. And, you, of course, couldn’t be one of that select group. That is not true at all.

Anyone who has creative genius will tell you that creativity is very much like a muscle that needs to be developed in order to perform at top efficiency. If you don’t learn how to develop creative thinking, this skill, like a muscle will become withered and useless to you when you most need it. On the other hand, keep working at it and this skill will soon be ready for action whenever you need it.

So how do you develop your own personal style of creative thinking?

Well, the first thing is to realize your brain has a greater capacity and speed than the world’s biggest and fastest super computer. That’s right! Even the world’s biggest and fastest super computer cannot store as much information or handle it faster than your brain. You are not limited like a super computer because your brain is not limited and that’s where creativity comes from – your brain. It doesn’t come from thin air, it comes from within you and you already have the tools needed to exercise it.

So, the first thing is to begin absorbing as much information as you can every day. Grab as much knowledge and learning as you can find. Read, watch, and listen to everything available — good and bad. Don’t judge anything at this point of development because it’s not the content that is important, only the process of absorption. Keep your mind open to the infinite possibilities that each piece of information presents. The more you know, the more you’ll want to know, and the more your brain will be exercised. Prepare to be amazed at little facts that add a bit of color to your conversations with people. They will begin to see you in a new light.

Next, focus on a creative activity every day. This is as simple as doodling. Doodling is a creative activity. Don’t let anything hinder you. Just doodle away, mindlessly. You will unleash a little bit of creative thinking and it will be encouraging to see something you created. In addition to doodling, practice drawing something specific for a couple of minutes each day. You might unleash the artist in you.

Or, grab a camera and start snapping photos of anything and everything. Don’t try to be “artsy,” just snap away! You might find you have a knack for photography.

Keep a journal and make a point to write in it at the end of each day. Describe your experiences using words that capture your five senses. What did it smell like, taste like, feel like – you get the idea? You may discover a writer lurking in your brain.

In a short time you’ll have built yourself a tiny portfolio or doodles, art, photographs and writings and you’ll be amazed at the growth of your creativity. You might actually enjoy those exercises so much that they will become a part of you and you’ll be addicted to them.

You’ve heard it said – Think out of the box. Well, not just yet. Be aware of constraints or blocks to your creative process. Constraints are actually a good thing. It’s your brain telling you it needs more knowledge about that which you are struggling. Constraints are the brain’s mechanisms to force discipline upon you. Discipline forces you to be more resourceful. Creative freedom is great, but limitations are too. There must be balance.

Oscar winner, Anthony Hopkins, would just get in his car and drive across country alone with no destination in particular. It helped him experience different people in different parts of the country, away from the unreality of Hollywood. These little trips helped him to become a better actor.

Try something new every day and let your experiences broaden your view of the world and people around you. Explore a new neighborhood in your town. Spend an afternoon in a museum to which you’ve never been before. Chat up someone in the checkout line at the store. You need to open up to the people around you. You need to step out of your comfort zone more and more each day. This will heighten your sense of adventure and your zest for life.

Think about it. When was the last time you did something out of your comfort zone? When you stay in your comfort zone, you miss out on a whole lot of experiences that could add to your growth – emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually.

I would love to try bungee jumping and skydiving but I’m a coward when it comes to risking life and limb. If you have the courage, go for it! At the very least, you will have plenty of exciting stories to share, enabling you to develop your storytelling skills, making you the life of any gathering. People will love to hear you tell about doing the things they only dream of doing.

This next thing will seem nutty. It is. You need to embrace insanity. I’m not talking about the kind that will land you in a rubber room. As John Russell once said, “Sanity calms, but madness (insanity) is more interesting.”

History shows that nearly every creative thinker was once deemed insane by “normal” people. Lucky for us, the critics couldn’t stop the creative geniuses from changing the world. Being “normal” confines’ people to think – normally, that is, to think within limits society has deemed to be normal. Creativity is essentially ignoring those limits, within the Law, of course. Your creativity may seem bizarre and downright strange to the “normals.” Ignore them and seek out others who also ignore the “normals” of this world. They will know how to help you to cultivate your new sense of creativity.

Now, a word of caution as you step out in your search for creativity. Don’t strive to develop a creative “personality.” There is a difference between a creative personality and creative thinking. Examples of wacky creative personalities would be George Washington, who often rode into battle naked, or James Joyce, who wrote “Dubliners” with beetle juice because he had an intense fear of ink, or Albert Einstein, who thought his cat was a spy sent by his rival. They were all great men, for sure, but a little wacky at times because they lost touch with reality.

It’s important that your creativity doesn’t blind you to the real world. Keep your feet on the ground and your head in the clouds! (Look familiar?)

Starting today, begin thinking beyond your “limits.” Follow these steps and you’ll soon be living a life full of interesting and exciting adventures. Your new level creative thinking will bring about a new zest for living life.

Who knows, your idea might be the next great idea to change the world.

About The Author
My name is Malkeet Singh. I am 26 years old. I belong to Himachal Pradesh. I am living in Delhi. I working in BPO. I enjoy to listening to music and playing cricket & watching TV. I am a hardworker and honest person. The author invites you to visit: http://www.theglobalnetworld.com

Seth Godin: Quieting the Lizard Brain from 99% on Vimeo.

“What you do for a living is not be creative, what you do is ship,” says bestselling author Seth Godin, arguing that we must quiet our fearful “lizard brains” to avoid sabotaging projects just before we finally finish them.

Entries for an art contest at the Hirshorn Modern Art Gallery in DC.

The rule: the artist could use only one sheet of paper.

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.”
– Theodore Levitt

“Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way.”
– William James

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.”
– Mary Lou Cook

“Creativity is seeing something that doesn’t exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God.”
– Michele Shea

“God is really another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style. He just goes on trying other things.”
– Pablo Picasso

“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”
– Vincent van Gogh

“I began by tinkering around with some old tunes I knew. Then, just to try something different, I set to putting some music to the rhythm that I used in jerking ice-cream sodas at the Poodle Dog. I fooled around with the tune more and more until at last, lo and behold, I had completed my first piece of finished music. ”
– Duke Ellington

“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.”
– Albert Einstein

“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.”
– Edward de Bono

“You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.”
– Jack London

“There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.”
– Edward de Bono

“Creative power, is that receptive attitude of expectancy which makes a mold into which the plastic and as yet undifferentiated substance can flow and take the desired form.”
– Thomas Troward

“Every day is an opportunity to be creative … the canvas is your mind, the brushes and colours are your thoughts and feelings, the panorama is your story, the complete picture is a work of art called, ‘my life’. Be careful what you put on the canvas of your mind today … it matters.”
– Innerspace

There is no use trying,” said Alice. “One can’t believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
– Lewis Carroll

“When you are describing, A shape, or sound, or tint;
Don’t state the matter plainly, But put it in a hint;
And learn to look at all things, With a sort of mental squint.”
–Lewis Carroll

“Life is trying things to see if they work.”
– Ray Bradbury

“An artist paints, dances, draws, writes, designs, or acts at the expanding edge of consciousness. We press into the unknown rather than the known. This makes life lovely and lively.”
– Julia Cameron

When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.
-Buckminster Fuller

“Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”
– Franklin D. Roosevelt

“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
-Pablo Picasso

“Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way. ”
-William James

“The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas.”
– Linus Pauling

“Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work.”
– Rita Mae Brown

“You become more divine as you become more creative. All the religions of the world have said God is the creator. I don’t know whether he is the creator or not, but one thing I know: the more creative you become, the more godly you become. When your creativity comes to a climax, when your whole life becomes creative, you live in God. So he must be the creator because people who have been creative have been closest to him. Love what you do. Be meditative while you are doing it – whatsoever it is!”
– Osho

“Creativity arises out of the tension between spontaneity and limitations, the latter (like the river banks) forcing the spontaneity into the various forms which are essential to the work of art or poem.”
– Rollo May