Many people think creativity and business don’t go together. The thought is that business is a practical pursuit, while creativity is indulgent and prone to chaos, which is the antithesis of what we want our businesses to be. This is a matter of how creativity has been defined for us.
The first mistake people make is misunderstanding the creative process. We think of it as something that is haphazard. A creative person waits around for an inspiration to hit and can do nothing until that happens. Many artists are guilty of furthering this misconception because it makes their lives seem that much more romantic and dramatic. The truth is that the most creative artists are the ones who simply produce art, all the time, without waiting for the muse to whisper in their ear.
The second mistake is thinking that creativity is reserved for gifted people and not available to us run-of-the-mill human beings. The truth is that everyone is creative. If it seems otherwise, it's simply because someone, somewhere along the way, convinced us that we weren’t. By believing in this un-truth, we limit our joy and become more close-minded.
Reawakening our creativity is fairly easy once we realize it isn’t dead, we've simply put it to sleep. By increasing our awareness - allowing our self to see when we've come up with a creative idea, or solved a problem creatively, or dealt with a troublesome individual in a creative way - we can reawaken our creativity and begin to grow.
So, what does this have to do with business? What is a business besides a mechanism to make money by solving a particular problem? That's exactly it! Expanding our creativity at work allows us to be better problem solvers. Creativity is required to first see the problem that needs solving. Then, it's required to devise a solution. Once you know you're creative, begin to waken it up, you will see that your business life will begin to explode in unexpected and wonderful ways.
Another problem with losing our creativity at work is that work it becomes dull, the daily grind, something we dread going to every day. So how can we get back to that excitement? Here are a couple tips to get you started -
Daydream - It's here that our great ideas show up. As an exercise, for 1 week, set aside 5 minutes a day to just to sit back and daydream. After a week of this, you'll notice that you have more energy, your ideas are beginning to flow again and you may even find you have new, creative ways to solve the latest problems or issues you’re encountering. It isn’t magic, it’s just you allowing the communication to your subconscious mind to open back up again.
Matrix Brainstorming - This is a simple yet incredibly productive ways to generate new ideas. Start off with a blank sheet of paper. On the top of your page, write a question which is the concept you're wanting to generate ideas for. For example, a question like “How can I increase sales?”. Think about your question for a moment, then give yourself 10 minutes to come up with 20 answers to your question. You must come up with 20 answers no matter what. The first 7-10 answers will be extremely easy to come up with, but then naturally it will start to get more difficult. If you find your mind is completely blank, don’t stop. Stay patient and come up with everything and anything you can. Once you have your 20 ideas, its time to turn this into a matrix by adding a new layer of ideas. This means that for every answer you had to your question, you will find 5-7 specific and unique ways of achieving and implementing that answer. This may also require some serious thinking, but will be well worth it. Once you’ve completed the exercise, you will have over 100 ideas to your question. All done in the space of 30 minutes or less! Using this technique consistently will help you to generate lots of ideas extremely quickly, and naturally. You will find your mind is a lot sharper and your concentration, memory, and focus will be greatly improved. Try the exercise and see for yourself.
The first mistake people make is misunderstanding the creative process. We think of it as something that is haphazard. A creative person waits around for an inspiration to hit and can do nothing until that happens. Many artists are guilty of furthering this misconception because it makes their lives seem that much more romantic and dramatic. The truth is that the most creative artists are the ones who simply produce art, all the time, without waiting for the muse to whisper in their ear.
The second mistake is thinking that creativity is reserved for gifted people and not available to us run-of-the-mill human beings. The truth is that everyone is creative. If it seems otherwise, it's simply because someone, somewhere along the way, convinced us that we weren’t. By believing in this un-truth, we limit our joy and become more close-minded.
Reawakening our creativity is fairly easy once we realize it isn’t dead, we've simply put it to sleep. By increasing our awareness - allowing our self to see when we've come up with a creative idea, or solved a problem creatively, or dealt with a troublesome individual in a creative way - we can reawaken our creativity and begin to grow.
So, what does this have to do with business? What is a business besides a mechanism to make money by solving a particular problem? That's exactly it! Expanding our creativity at work allows us to be better problem solvers. Creativity is required to first see the problem that needs solving. Then, it's required to devise a solution. Once you know you're creative, begin to waken it up, you will see that your business life will begin to explode in unexpected and wonderful ways.
Another problem with losing our creativity at work is that work it becomes dull, the daily grind, something we dread going to every day. So how can we get back to that excitement? Here are a couple tips to get you started -
Daydream - It's here that our great ideas show up. As an exercise, for 1 week, set aside 5 minutes a day to just to sit back and daydream. After a week of this, you'll notice that you have more energy, your ideas are beginning to flow again and you may even find you have new, creative ways to solve the latest problems or issues you’re encountering. It isn’t magic, it’s just you allowing the communication to your subconscious mind to open back up again.
Matrix Brainstorming - This is a simple yet incredibly productive ways to generate new ideas. Start off with a blank sheet of paper. On the top of your page, write a question which is the concept you're wanting to generate ideas for. For example, a question like “How can I increase sales?”. Think about your question for a moment, then give yourself 10 minutes to come up with 20 answers to your question. You must come up with 20 answers no matter what. The first 7-10 answers will be extremely easy to come up with, but then naturally it will start to get more difficult. If you find your mind is completely blank, don’t stop. Stay patient and come up with everything and anything you can. Once you have your 20 ideas, its time to turn this into a matrix by adding a new layer of ideas. This means that for every answer you had to your question, you will find 5-7 specific and unique ways of achieving and implementing that answer. This may also require some serious thinking, but will be well worth it. Once you’ve completed the exercise, you will have over 100 ideas to your question. All done in the space of 30 minutes or less! Using this technique consistently will help you to generate lots of ideas extremely quickly, and naturally. You will find your mind is a lot sharper and your concentration, memory, and focus will be greatly improved. Try the exercise and see for yourself.
"First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination." - Napoleon Hill
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