“Make new mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before.” -Neil Gaiman
Some say there are creative people and there are not-so-creative people. But I say this is simply not true!
How many times have you heard this before? Or what about the theory of right/left brain people, claiming that some are more logical while others are more creative? Also, not true.
I believe that we are all capable of crafting creative solutions for a particular problem.
If we take a quick look at history, we’ll find that most of the revolutionary ideas, initiatives, movements and products were creative solutions to an existing problem or a need. We are all wired and capable of being creative and it only takes a small amount of time and practice to unleash and cultivate our most creative side.
I grew up in a non-creative house. I grew up within a culture and community that didn’t cultivate creativity enough to make people want to pursue it. I fell into the traditional career path by enrolling in business school (and spent three years there), before realizing it was not for me. During those years, visuals and color coded graphs explaining market theories and probability were more appealing than reading the black and white text books we were assigned. I loved my classes, don’t get me wrong. I always sat in the first row and took notes with at least five colored pens in my left hand, eagerly translating all the information the professor shared. I used my visual sensitivity (thanks to the many years I trained as a painter) to translate all of this abstract and analytical information into something more human and easy to understand. I was practicing data visualization without even knowing it.
Many of us wish we’d discovered certain tools, platforms or communities earlier in our personal and professional lives. We’ve all been busy doing things the way they should be done instead of taking a different, more creative approach.
Even Picasso had to master realism first in order to later become a master in Cubism. He was eager to experiment and understood portraits and reality from a different point of view, making him the master we are all familiar with these days. He experimented with tridimensionality, using geometric figures and unexpected shades of colors to represent things as familiar as the human face.
Picasso is, of course, considered a creative being, but not just because he was an artist. He was creative because he was capable of taking an idea and an interest, and applying the following process to them: test, fail and iterate.
Creativity is not only related to the field or type of work you do. Creativity is a mindset, a way to approach problems, come up with solutions and deliver products or services in such a way that will resonate with people and will break through any market (tweet this!).
So next time you start to think that you’re not creative enough to start your own business, build a brand or even start a new hobby, remember that you are all capable! All it take is some testing and practice to watch the magic unfold.
I suggest creating something every day, no matter how big or small you may think it is. Just get into the habit of creating and let your imagination flow- it will enrich your life and your business, guaranteed!