Creativity On The Fly!

Telling It Like It Is (Or Can Be)

When you hear, "tell me a story," does your mind suddenly go blank? Don't panic.  The good news is, you're already a natural storyteller! Surprised? You shouldn't be. It's built right into our genetic code. Human beings are a storytelling species. Of all the creatures on Earth, we're the only ones that share past memories and future dreams as a way to get to know others, build friendships, plan an endeavor, inspire a group.

In fact, we're usually telling ourselves some kind of story all the time - about our job, a relationship, the kids, neighbors down the street, our next vacation. You name it, and we're probably making up a story about it!

So, with all that creativity just naturally flowing, the secret is how to channel it into crafting a story that's interesting and fun for others to hear.

How, in other words, do you go from being a "natural" storyteller to being a good one? Here are 10 tips that will get you started in the right direction.

Write and Make Your Creativity Pay

Can you make a living as a writer, artist, designer or other creative soul? Yes, you can, if you learn a few tricks.

The most important trick is to learn to think of yourself as TWO people. The first is the creative person who writes, paints, photographs or designs, without a care for anything except the creative work itself. The second person is a sharp-eyed, clear- thinking marketer.

In many creatives, the sharp-eyed marketer is in embryonic form. Fear not. You can nurture your inner marketer.

Write For Cash

Clutter & Creativity

Take a look around you right now. Look away from the computer screen and scan around you – the surface of your desk or table, now scan farther to look at the rest of the room. Close your eyes and imagine the rooms you can’t see from here; particularly the space where you most often work on your creative projects. Take a deep breath and really take in the image. What’s the impact?

If you’re like me, a reformed pack rat and clutter-magnet (and I think many creative people are), you might even find it difficult to breathe - almost like the piles, mess, unwanted and un-useable items are taking up air. Well, they are!

Practice Creativity

Imagine someone asking you “How many hours a week do you spend working?” or “What do you do?” you are likely to answer something like, “I am a full-time student and I work part-time at a department store,” or “I am a full-time mom of three boys,” or I am a professor,” or “I am a computer analyst”, etc. Your answer describes the daily routine of what you do for a living, which is a job that gives you income, a social identity, a certain professional status and, sometimes, public recognition. However rewarding, very often a job includes duties, tasks and requirements that we are obliged to perform, whether we like them or not. Our freedom to do only what we like in our job is almost always limited. This is a main reason why so many people suffer from job-related dissatisfaction and see their work as the necessary evil they must endure in exchange for a monthly paycheck.

Now, imagine someone asking you “How many hours a week do you spend creating something that gives you joy?” or “Do you have a creative habit that helps you handle stress?” Think of your answer: you may take a little longer to give a reply and, when you do, you may say something like: “Hmm, you know, I’d like to be creative but, truth is, I’m too tired”, or “Well, I’d love to have some time for creativity, but I’m too busy with other things,” or “It would be awesome to have a creative habit but that’s a luxury for the rich and I have bills to pay” or “Me, creative? But I’m not an artist, I am an office manager!”

Expand Your Creativity: Stop Thinking

Want a fast way to get creative? Stop thinking! Most of what we call "thinking" is simply labeling. We're repeating old tapes in our head. This type of thinking is not creative, and there's no way to access our true creativity from this mindset.

Like most adults, you probably lost the skill of dropping into a creative mindset at around eight years old. It's time to reclaim this skill. Here's how to access your innate creativity.

Fear & Creativity

My fears are most powerful when they’re simmering just under the surface of my awareness. I’m resistant to a new idea, I’m defensive about holding on to my old ways, I feel excited and panicked at the same time – these are sure-fire signs that there’s some fear under there.

Shining a spotlight on my fear has been the best (and only) way to get to the other side of it.

"Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love" - Ranier Maria Rilke

My fear is there for a good reason – to protect me. If I can have compassion for my fear, and understand what it’s looking for, I’ll be more ready to let it go.

Creativity - How To Have More

To have more creativity, follow this two-step plan:

1. Encourage creativity.

2. Train your brain to be more creative.

Start on both of these right now, and you can experience greater creativity today.

Encourage your creativity and you'll increase your creativity. Of course, this is true of most things you want to see more of in your life. Encouragement can work wonders, but how do you encourage creativity?

Yes, You ARE Creative! 3 Ways to Explore Your Creativity

Are you one of those people who claim ‘not to have a creative bone in your body?’ If so, you’re going to love this newsflash: Yes, you ARE creative!

Why am I so confident in telling you this? For the simple fact that I’ve observed countless people in my life— friends, family, and co-workers — make this same claim only to later realize how wrong they were! Oh, and guess what? I used to be one of those “I’m not creative” people too.

I’ll tell you what. If you still don’t believe my claim that, Yes, you ARE Creative!, I challenge you with the following exercise.

So You Need Some Inspiration? Try Some RPC: Risk, Passion and Creativity!

You want to write. You really do. But the passion you feel never gets translated into actual writing. And if it does, it doesn’t last very long. You run out of steam.

There are reasons for this. First, you may be writing out of your conscious mind. Another problem for many writers is that they don’t have enough technical facility with the craft of writing to know how to develop a piece. That can be taught, but technical facility alone won’t do the trick. Technical facility lies in the domain of the left brain, and you’ll give the Inner Critic an open season if you fixate on technique alone. But technique fed by passion is unstoppable.

Implement Your Idea Today Lest Someone Else Does

Thoughts are energy and energy moves.  I always find it amazing me how someone somewhere implements an idea I’ve had or currently have.  My belief is that in any given moment an idea thought of is also formulating somewhere else at precisely the same time.

I’ve had some great ideas in the past, as a matter of fact I had some really huge ideas – only problem was in the past I didn’t make things happen, others unfortunately, did it for me.