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Mind Mapping: Visuals To Help Your Teen Learn To Plan Ahead

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Mind Mapping: Visuals To Help Your Teen Learn To Plan Ahead

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This app is quite different from a plain mind-map program. This one is ideal for creating concept maps which quite a bit more complicated than mind-maps.

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Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear - Kindle edition by Gilbert, Elizabeth. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

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Jeff DeGraff is the Professor of Management and Organizations at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He teaches MBA, EMBA, BBA, and Executive Education courses on leading creativity, innovation and change. Jeff's research and writing focuses on innovation strategy, change and innovation competency development, creativity and innovation practices and methods, creativity communities and innovation networks, and leadership development.

He is an author and co-author of the books Innovation You, Creativity at Work: Developing the Right Practices to Make Innovation Happen, Leading Innovation: How to Jumpstart Your Company's Growth Engine and Competing Values Leadership: Creating Value in Organizations. His book, Making Stone Soup, is a finalist for several book awards. In his newest book Innovation Code: The Creative Power of Constructive Conflict, he argues that diversity of thoughts is an essential to innovation. He urges everyone to practice constructive dialogue and work in diverse teams to find hybrid solutions and develop unique approaches to solve difficult problems. In "The Creative Mindset: Mastering the Six Skills that Empower Innovation," he and his wife, Staney, give all readers practical techniques and tools to be creative. It will be published in September 2020.

Jeff's mission is "the democratization of innovation." He brings innovation to everyone, every day and everywhere through his books, his public television program (Innovation You), columns (Inc.) and radio program (The Next Idea). His articles and thought leadership on contemporary business matters have been covered by Business Week, US News and World Report and the Wall Street Journal, to name a few.

Jeff's client list reads as a 'who's who' within the world of innovators, including, among many others, General Electric, Coca-Cola, American College of Surgeons, and Google. In working with these prominent firms, he has developed a broad array of widely used change and innovation methodologies and tools. Jeff's creative and direct take on making innovation really happen have made him a world renowned thought leader and have prompted his clients and colleagues to dub him as The Dean of Innovation.

Jeff is a Managing Partner of Innovatrium, an innovation center and consulting practice that specializes in helping organizations make change and innovation happen. He serves as an advisor to think tanks and governments. He has worked all over the world, with significant experience in Europe and Asia, and in most industry and market segments.

Jeff was a member of the executive team at Domino's Pizza when it was one of the fastest growing businesses in the world in the 1980's. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For more information visit www.JeffDeGraff.com.

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The Creative Mindset: Mastering the Six Skills That Empower Innovation

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"Jeff and Staney emphasize that small acts of creativity can have huge consequences and that ordinary people can do extraordinary things if they can see the opportunities in front of them." -Mitch Jacobson, Executive Director, Austin Technology Incubator, UT Blackstone LaunchPad, University of Te...

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Let's start with the creative thinking definition.

Many people associate being creative with being able to paint, sing or write, but someone who is not good at any of these things could still be a creative thinker.

How? Because creative thinking is the process of coming up with something new; looking at a problem from a new light and finding an innovative solution or a solution that hasn't been thought of before. Or in other words, thinking outside the box.

Although some people are more creative than others, creative thinking can be developed with practice. It's a skill that is indispensable to everyone whether you are still learning or working.

Creative Thinking is not a luxury, It's a necessity.

In my own criteria, and based on the fact that every single person has creativity, we need to think out of the box, we need to think creatively because of our dignity as human beings. Imagine for instance a scenario where we all possess the same information, the same knowledge, the same skills. Is this an evolution of our race or Is it something terrifying? If we all have the same mindset, the same ideas, What is our differentiator? - For that reason, I truly believe we need to add the creative thinking to take all the knowledge we have and create our own version and perspective, generating ideas and creating things following our own gut, our own version of reality. This is a need we have and a commitment with our race.

Creative ideas don't just pop in your head. If you need to come up with innovative ideas you need to set the circumstances for it to occur or give your brain the right material to work with.

According to the book The Art of Thought by Graham Wallas, there are four stages to creative thinking.

Preparation: This is where you define the problem you want to solve or the need. Then you start gathering as much knowledge about the subject as you can.

Incubation: In this stage, you'll be processing the information you have gathered. Instead of consciously trying to solve the problem, you'll let your mind wander on its own, working its way through the subject. This will lead to more creativity. Basically, your unconscious mind will be at work here.

Illumination: This is the "Eureka" moment that really occurs when you are not actively thinking of a creative solution. You could be literally having a shower when all of a sudden you have found the answer you've been looking for.

Verification: Now it's time to see if your idea will really work out or not. In this last stage of the creative thinking process, you need to test your idea. Use your critical thinking skills to fine-tune your idea and ready it to reach the audience.

Now the Interaction Design Foundation ( https://www.interaction-design.org) also explains the process this way:

Preparation: This first stage is all about gathering information. This is the stage where you do user research and empathize with the users in order to define the problem and your users' needs. Some people think that creative ideas just pop up from a vacuum, but creative ideas are always solutions to a problem or a need. At this stage, you also use various ideation methods to help you understand, attack and build your design problem and creative idea from various angles. You provoke your habitual thinking in order to better understand your design problem, your idea and your design space.

Incubation: At this stage, you take a step back from the problem and allow your mind to wander to let it contemplate and work the problem through. You nurture the unconscious thought process, for example, by staying open to the ideas that come to you while you do the dishes or go for a walk. You open your mind to all ideas - even the crazy ones.

Illumination: This is the third stage. This stage essentially describes the classic "eureka!" or "aha" moment of insight. However, the fact that illumination has an entire stage devoted to it shows that it's essentially not just a quick moment of insight and helps us understand that it's something we can - and should - work towards achieving. The third stage is what most people think is a classic characteristic of a creative person, but creativity is a process which even the most seemingly unimaginative people can learn to manage and nurture.

Verification/implementation: At this fourth stage, you build on the "aha" solution. You evaluate, analyze and build on your idea. You then polish it to make sure that it's both useful and novel. At this stage, you would also often choose to prototype and test your idea in order to find out if it meets the users' needs which you defined at the preparation stage - and, if so, polish it as needed.

Creative Thinking is about thinking "out of the box"

Creativity is normally associated with the arts, but even in the arts you can become very, very conformal to styles and trends. There are many examples of artists, for example in music, who come out with a first album let's say, and then once that reaches success, they become trapped in that style. And if they try to change, the audience gets nostalgic for the first album. So even in the arts, creativity is not to be taken for granted. Vice tversa, there are disciplines you would not think of as creative, like science or in math, but if you read books from great thinkers like Henri Poincaré, you can discover his method to find solutions to very difficult mathematical problems that is an excellent description of the creative process. So really, there is no boundary. All disciplines can be the subject of creative thinking.

Organic creativity means that when you're being creative, you can reach a status of wellness, a balance between imagination and control. And this equilibrium is what we mean by "organic". There are many examples of the fact that creativity is beneficial for health and wellness. One I can tell you concerns people that have had strokes in their brain: If they engage in creative activities in the first four-five days after the event, then they have much higher probability to regain most of their functionalities in the long term.

When we train for creativity inside of companies, we can measure the level of perceived wellness, and the benefits are evident.

Another important aspect, which I think is critical in today's society, is the fact that when you train for creativity you're developing an ability to change your point of view. Creative abilities depend strongly on this flexibility. Flexibility has an indirect, but measurable and statistically valid effect on the perceived distance between different groups in society. Which means that if you train and distribute creativity in society, you will reduce discrimination! You will reduce racism without ever talking about discrimination. People will feel closer to one another simply because they are trained at looking at reality from different points of view.

Creativity Is a Process, Not an Event

They can be seen as different stages of a process. Creativity can involve be generating large numbers of ideas, because fluency is an important metric. More original ideas are remote. . Only a small percentage of these ideas will take the path of R&D. The innovation stage requires the development and actual implementation of an idea to change portfolio of products and services of a company. But it is possible to have creativity without innovation, for pure wellness, and innovation without creativity, for example by implementing ideas developed by other pioneers.

I truly believe in developing Creative Thinking through multiple techniques, processes, methods and the most important piece: organizational culture. Where you should be creating the environment to allow people develop a real creative mindset, promoting innovation, allowing failure, teaching people how to learn from the mistakes and how to iterate from there and move further.

Creativity is a process, not an event. It's not just a eureka moment. You have to work through mental barriers and internal blocks. You have to commit to practicing your craft deliberately. And you have to stick with the process for years, perhaps even decades like Newton did, in order to see your creative genius blossom.

I've been promoting a creative thinking mindset within all the teams that I've been part of during my whole career. Using frameworks like Job-to-be-done, Thinking Out-of-the-box, Enhancing collaboration process, adding Problem-First approach during the ideation sessions, Collective Smartness Sessions and many others techniques. If you want to learn more about this, don't hesitate to reach me out, I'll be happy to share and multiply my experience, know-how and thoughts about this amazing topic.

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Many people associate being creative with being able to paint, sing or write, but someone who is not good at any of these things could still be a creative thinker. How? Because creative thinking is...

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Creativity is a necessary trait for change: almost any type of change, be it technological, societal or just personal.  But creativity challenges the status quo and that causes chaos so creativity is controversial.
This webpage attempts to bring together resources that can be used to improve one's creativity.

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These are my collected notes on creativity.  Most are copied from books and articles.  Some are my own.  All are short and easily read.

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The Laws of Creativity: Unlock Your Originality and Awaken Your Creative Genius

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The Laws of Creativity: Unlock Your Originality and Awaken Your Creative Genius - Kindle edition by Cofone, Joey. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Laws of Creativity: Unlock Your Originality and Awaken Your Creative Genius.

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These three perspectives are poison to the mindset we need in order to be creative. Authority should be questioned; it’s how the current authority came to be. Rules aren’t infallible; they’re best guesses, and—if a good authority is in place—they’re constantly evolving, allowing us the opportunity to affect and contribute to their evolution. And lastly, the finish line—in the real world—is almost always invisible at the start. We are taught at a young age that once we complete our assignments—which have been clearly laid out for us—then all our work is done. This teaches us not only to look outward rather than inward for direction but also to expect to know the end result before we even lift a finger.
Laws of creativity

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“Creativity is Intelligence Having Fun.” -Albert Einstein.

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It's the ability to make or otherwise bring into existence something new, whether a new solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic object or form.

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Mind-mapping program

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Whenever I come across a problem or have a new idea, I explore it using a white board or a mind-map.  Sometimes my scribbling on a white board will lead to a mind-map to further document the solution or expand the idea.
My mind reacts to information presented graphically and these two techniques almost always work for me.

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Failure is not something to be ashamed of.  Failure is a great way to learn by examining why you failed and use it to modify the next attempt.
Remember: a really good baseball hitter fails to get a hit about 7 out of 10 times at bat.

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This is a guest post by Katie Brenneman. Thank you Katie for writing this for me.
Brainstorming, or brain squeezing as some like to call it, is an excellent tool that businesses can use to unlock new ideas. If done well, these sessions can help energise your teams, get them excited about new projects, and increase creativity and productivity. Unfortunately, not all brainstorming sessions are successful.

Group and one-on-one brainstorming can be highly collaborative and help bring your employees together to get them on the same page while also enabling them to bounce their differing ideas off one another. However, poorly organised sessions can do the opposite. Instead of inspiring your team, a bad brainstorming session can discourage them and leave them feeling deflated and uninspired.

If you're determined to have a successful brainstorming session, don't get give up just yet. A good brainstorm session can be highly beneficial and help your company improve its productivity. With a little guidance from the tips and strategies below, you can turn your brainstorming sessions around and have all of your staff wanting to join in.

Tips and Strategies for a Successful Brainstorming Session

One of the most common pitfalls for new businesses and even well-established ones is an inability to adapt and think on their feet. When you run a business, there are always going to be changes and things coming at you left and right. Having a team that is creative, flexible, and able to adapt will enable you to handle whatever comes at you and run with it.

Brainstorming sessions are what help you and your team learn to think on your feet and pivot with new ideas and solutions when needed. They also allow you to learn more about one another to allow for a more collaborative and synergistic environment. The following strategies can help you organise more successful brainstorming sessions to benefit your employees and your business:

If you wait until the brainstorming session to define your topic and establish goals, you aren't making good use of your time. What you want to discuss, what you want to achieve, and what problems you need to address should be defined before starting the session. It can be helpful to even outline these details and send them out to staff ahead of time so they can come to the table prepared and ready with ideas.

Brainstorming sessions should allow for flexibility, but you also don't want to go into it without any sort of structure or agenda. Try breaking the session down into three sections. The first is when you will briefly review the goals and what you want to achieve - this includes talking about what you already know, key terms of the central topic, and valuable context.

The second section is when you will essentially open the floor for ideas. Encourage your team to call out anything that comes to mind. No idea is a bad idea. Let the juices flow and write down all the ideas that are spoken. The third section will then be about sorting through the ideas, choosing the best ones, and discussing them in further detail.

This tip is relatively straightforward. Basically, don't rush and use a space that is open and free of distractions. You want to block off a good chunk of time to allow for the ideas to flow. You should also have the session in a closed-off room or office where there is room to spread out and to avoid external distractions from everything else going on in the office.

If one technique hasn't worked for you, don't be afraid to branch out. There are lots of different brainstorming techniques, and some might work for your team better than others. For example, you can go around the room using the stepladder technique and ask to hear from everyone, one person at a time. Or, you can use brain-writing, which is where one person stands at the front to write down all of the ideas that are called out. You should also use visuals to help, such as sticky notes, a physical whiteboard, or a digital whiteboard, so all of the ideas are visible to everyone in the room.

Focus on quantity over quality - at least at first. As mentioned above, no idea is a bad idea. You want to encourage your team to speak their mind and call out whatever comes to them. Even if their idea doesn't get chosen, it doesn't mean it is bad or wrong, and it could be a good idea for something else in the future. Essentially, you want to get as many ideas on the board as possible. Write everything down. You can circle back later to narrow ideas down and vote on the ones that work best.

Above all else, you should encourage positive words and actions. Again, no idea is bad. So avoid using negative words that make staff feel like their idea wasn't good. For example, try saying, "I like that idea, but what about this?" instead of simply saying "no" or "I don't like that." You want your team to feel comfortable speaking up and contributing their ideas - which won't happen if they are constantly getting shot down.

Teaches you to adapt and think outside the box

Encourages creative and critical thinking

Builds better teams and positive collaborative environments

How Businesses Can Benefit From Using Brainstorming Sessions

Brainstorming can benefit teams and businesses in several ways, but the three most important benefits are that it:

The key to achieving success and experiencing these benefits is having confidence when running your brainstorming sessions and not being afraid to make mistakes. Fear of failure can keep you and your team from making decisions and make them feel insecure about speaking up and voicing their opinions and ideas. It's essential to set a good example during brainstorming sessions to show your team that it's okay to make mistakes and encourage them to have the confidence to speak up and make decisions to get things done.
Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in lifestyle, mental health, education, and fitness-related content. When she isn't writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. To connect with Katie, you can follow her on Twitter If you would like to receive all the productivity and time management content I create each week in one convenient email, you can subscribe to my weekly newsletter here .
Final Thoughts

If you have struggled with brainstorming in the past, don't be afraid to give it another go. There are lots of different tools and strategies you can use and play around with until you find a method and structure that works best for you and your team. Some of the best ideas come out of brainstorming sessions. If you put a little more thought into planning and structuring your sessions and creating a positive environment that welcomes all ideas, you can benefit and achieve success.

Thank you for reading my stories! 😊 If you enjoyed this article, hit those clapping hands below many times👏 It would mean a lot to me, and it helps other people see the story.

You can also learn more about what I do here on my website

Finally, don't forget to say hello on Twitter, YouTube or Facebook

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Strategies for Having an Organised and Productive Brainstorming Session

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This is a guest post by Katie Brenneman . Thank you Katie for writing this for me. Brainstorming, or brain squeezing as some like to call it, is an excellent tool that businesses can use to unlock new ideas. If done well, these sessions can help energise your teams, get them excited about new projects, and increase creativity and productivity.

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The First Principles of Visual Note-Taking

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Mind-mapping is a visual technique that involves mapping out ideas and information in a hierarchical and organized manner. It is typically used for brainstorming, organizing thoughts, and problem-solving.
To get started, choose a central idea and write it in the center of a blank page. Then, draw branches that radiate from the center and add related ideas to each branch. Use keywords and simple phrases to keep it concise. Color-coding and images can also enhance the map. There are many online tools and software available to create mind maps, but you can also start with a pen and paper.

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Whiteboarding is a technique used for brainstorming, problem solving, and visualizing ideas. It involves using a whiteboard or a similar surface to draw diagrams, sketches, or notes.
To get started with whiteboarding, you will need a whiteboard or a large piece of paper, markers, and an idea or problem to work on. Begin by brainstorming and mapping out your ideas visually on the whiteboard. Use different colors and shapes to organize your thoughts and create a clear visual representation of your ideas. Don't be afraid to erase or modify your work as you go along. Whiteboarding is a highly collaborative tool, so encourage others to contribute their own ideas and perspectives to the board.

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The essence of creativity is to embrace the new. New ideas. New concepts. New people. New ways of approaching familiar things. Open your mind to new possibilities.

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You've known analog whiteboards for years and may have already used interactive whiteboards, but chances are you may still be wondering what a digital whiteboard is. Think of it as a solution that offers a fantastic opportunity to modernize classrooms and workplaces. There are many applications that can help leverage group learning, content sharing, and team efforts. If you're interested in learning the difference between digital whiteboards, interactive, online, or analog ones,the distinctions are quite simple, and we'll break it down for you right now.
Keep reading to learn more about digital whiteboards and their key features, or explore ViewSonic's myViewboard and discover how you can seamlessly integrate digital whiteboards into your classroom.
A digital whiteboard is a great tool for distance learning, hybrid education, and remote work models as it reimagines participation, lesson planning, productivity, and knowledge acquisition.

It's important for students and employees alike to collaborate in various hybrid configurations, using online and offline tools. With the growing digitalization of schools and workplaces, traditional whiteboards don't cut it anymore. It's time for their interactive successors, whose features and intuitive interfaces are reimagining teamwork and teaching.

Also referred to as a virtual or online whiteboard, a digital whiteboard is a software solution that replicates the functions of an analog whiteboard. Put simply, it's a whiteboard you can use on a computer, smartphone, tablet, or any compatible electronic device. All that you share in a classroom or during a meeting, can be viewed in real-time or later online. The most advanced software offers graphic and annotation features and can even integrate a broad range of media such as videos, interactive content, or 3D models.

A digital whiteboard, in other words, is a content-rich interactive platform that everyone has access to, at any point. All students and team members feel included in the lesson at any stage of the project regardless of their location. Everything that participants create can be easily saved, so you can finally say goodbye to notebooks, pencil sharpeners, or pens. With a digital whiteboard, everyone is always prepared.

The concept of digital whiteboarding is deeply rooted in education. However, similar solutions have become increasingly popular in the workplace. In office settings, they're called "online whiteboards" or "digital whiteboarding apps."

Digital whiteboards are tools designed to present, interact, and collaborate. But, contrary to their analog counterparts, they offer a whole range of features that foster engagement and bolster preparation. Let's take a closer look at the most distinctive ones:

The best digital whiteboards have the possibility to save to cloud storage everything that's been displayed on-screen. Online access to files offers unparalleled peace of mind and convenience for all. It facilitates business meetings, project updates, and distance or hybrid learning.

As participants, trainees, or collaborators don't feel the pressure to note everything down, they can utilize newfound time and energy to actively focus on the lesson or task at hand.

Our lives are strongly connected to digital reality, and that only expands with engaging visual content. Online visual displays offer exciting possibilities that can transform the way we work, teach, and learn. Videos, pictures, 3D drawings, or diagrams increase performance productivity while making the whole experience more fun for everyone involved.

When students enjoy the class, they pay more attention to the lesson material and retain more of its contents. Teachers, on the other hand, can effortlessly access a rich content database and plan high-quality, engrossing lessons.

With a digital whiteboard, you can also streamline your board in real-time and have everyone participate simultaneously. Brainstorming sessions and meeting recordings enhance remote learning and collaboration. Students and colleagues alike can contribute to ongoing projects by making annotations, uploading their work from home, and seamlessly redesigning visuals across devices. As a consequence, e mpowered cooperation creates an inclusive ecosystem for those teaching, learning, or working remotely.

A digital whiteboard encourages its users to integrate diverse multimedia. With a few clicks and a connection to the internet, teachers can view online resources, browse the content library, and find information faster. On top of that, they can include animated widgets, 3D models, and sticky notes by directly dropping them onto a limitless canvas.

Having so many different eye-catching assets truly elevates any collaborative experience from passive observation to active engagement.

While the digital whiteboard is the software, the interactive whiteboard is the hardware. Also called an interactive flat-panel display, this is the physical object you get to literally interact with.

In simple words, an interactive whiteboard is a traditional whiteboard taken from meeting rooms and classrooms, and converted into a huge touchscreen display. It allows you to write, touch, and draw while instantly accessing different multimedia. To be able to fully benefit from it, though, you need a compatible program that will allow you to integrate and process all the material you wish. This is where digital whiteboards come into play.

If an interactive whiteboard is the body, then a digital whiteboard is the brain and the mind - the operational headquarters that allow all the processes to happen. You can combine notes, create documents, artworks, lessons, and presentations, and later store content on embedded storage or on the cloud. Together, interactive and digital whiteboards create a fully functioning whole.

An analog whiteboard is the old-school whiteboard that comes with markers and an eraser. While it provided a smooth transition from the blackboard of the past to modern solutions, it poses many limitations in today's technologically advanced world. Interactive whiteboards with a built-in online learning platform (digital whiteboard) and an infinite canvas offer so much more than their non-computerized predecessor.

Not to mention great flexibility thanks to its digital format. You can simply open it up on your phone or a laptop during a meeting, review content on a bus ride, or access it while teleworking. Having a portable whiteboard creates new ways of collaborating, learning, and teaching.

A digital whiteboard's assembled tools usher in high quality teamwork, coursework, and project management. It transforms any setting where people get together to share knowledge.

Using a digital whiteboard gives way to seamless employee participation - in remote, hybrid, and in-office configurations. Thanks to easy content creation and annotation tools, preparing and presenting, even under tight deadlines, is simple and painless. This virtual platform is also very useful when team members are scattered across countries or time zones.

Make sure to look for enterprise-level data protection that will provide for secure data sharing. Then, with just a few clicks, you can unbury important information from under a pile of e-mails and find lost attachments or files in the downloads folder. This is a huge time-saver.

The digital whiteboard is revolutionizing education, bringing historic change to solutions. It fosters engagement, attention, and focus. Any lesson topic can now be visualized, gamified, and presented in breathtaking ways. The classroom use of such online sharing platforms also cultivates digital citizenship. Furthermore, it helps develop skills needed for future-facing jobs in (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) or arts and design.

If you're looking for something tried-and-tested, one of the best tools you could go for is ViewSonic's myViewBoard, a visual learning platform that streamlines lesson planning and evaluation methods. With a rich content library called , it boasts premade lessons, interactive backgrounds, and games. Teaching material template and quizzes on a vast selection of topics empower efficient preparation, presentation, and participation. As a result, teachers have less work to do, and students get to engage more deeply through gamified content on an infinite canvas.

Another noteworthy benefit of myViewBoard is that its digital whiteboard files are saved in a cross-platform Open Learning Format (OLF) . Usually, whiteboard files are tied to one device or software and do not allow any additional integration. Outdated or non-flexible media formats limit schools' or offices' capacity to adapt to the ever-changing digital landscape. ViewSonic's OLF files work on any device or software and support the latest media on an infinite canvas. They future-proof the modern classrooms, so collaborators can work on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and the web.

When discussing digital whiteboards, it's important to remember the distinction between hardware and software. Interactive whiteboards are flat panel displays that work as physical hardware and digital whiteboards are virtual learning platforms that work as software. Thanks to these tools, educators and students can create, brainstorm, and visualize information in new and technologically advanced ways.

In these exciting times, collaboration and learning are becoming more efficient, fun, and convenient for all kinds of learning and working environments. Digital whiteboards pave the way for modern workplaces, classrooms, and collaborative spaces.

If you enjoyed this article, you may also be interested in reading our complete guide to technology in the classroom or exploring ViewSonic's Education solutions.

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What Is a Digital Whiteboard? - ViewSonic Library

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You've known analog whiteboards for years and may have already used interactive whiteboards, but chances are you may still be wondering what a digital whiteboard is. Think of it as a solution that offers a fantastic opportunity to modernize classrooms and workplaces. There are many applications that can help leverage group learning, content sharing, and team efforts.

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Getting uncomfortable with the status quo is a powerful way to challenge ourselves and create positive change in our lives and in the world around us. It means recognizing that what we have been doing or accepting as normal may not be the best or most eective way of living, and that there is always room for growth and improvement.

To get uncomfortable with the status quo, start by questioning your assumptions and beliefs. Ask yourself why you think or act in a certain way, and consider alternative perspectives or approaches. Challenge yourself to try new things, take risks, and step outside of your comfort zone.

Remember, discomfort is a natural part of growth and learning. Embrace it as a sign that you are pushing yourself and expanding your horizons. And always be kind and compassionate with yourself along the way. With patience, perseverance, and a willingness to explore the unknown, you can break free from the limitations of the status quo and create a life that truly fulfills you.

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Creativity is an amazing gift that not everyone possesses. However, just like any other gift, it comes with its own set of challenges. One of the biggest challenges of creativity is the fear of failure. When you are trying to be creative, you are often taking a risk, and that risk can be scary. It can be dicult to put yourself out there and be vulnerable to criticism.

Another challenge of creativity is the pressure to constantly come up with new ideas. It's easy to feel like you've run out of creativity, and that can be frustrating. Additionally, creativity can be time-consuming, and it can be hard to find the time to devote to it.

However, despite these challenges, creativity is worth pursuing. It allows us to express ourselves, solve problems, and connect with others in meaningful ways. The key is to embrace the challenges and push through them. Remember that failure is a natural part of the creative process, and that it's okay to take breaks when you need them. With patience,practice, and a positive attitude, anyone can overcome the challenges of creativity and unlock their full creative potential.

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Sara Zarr (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Courageous Creativity: Advice and Encouragement for the Creative Life

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Amazon.com: Courageous Creativity: Advice and Encouragement for the Creative Life eBook : Zarr, Sara: Kindle Store

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Stephen Sondheim Knew One of the Big Secrets of Creativity

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I met him in 1990 at a New York City restaurant—in 5 minutes he gave me a writing insight I’ve never forgotten

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This page pulls together my most essential information about creativity. I'll share how creativity works, how to find your hidden creative genius, and how to create meaningful work by learning how to make creative thinking a habit. I've tried to present the basics of everything you need to know to start mastering creativity, even if you don't have much time.

At the end of this page, you'll find a complete list of all the articles I have written on creativity.

What is Creativity?

Let's define creativity.

The creative process is the act of making new connections between old ideas or recognizing relationships between concepts. Creative thinking is not about generating something new from a blank slate, but rather about taking what is already present and combining those bits and pieces in a way that has not been done previously.

While being creative isn't easy, nearly all great ideas follow a similar creative process. In 1940, an advertising executive named James Webb Young published a short guide titled, A Technique for Producing Ideas.

Young believed the process of creative connection always occurred in five steps.

The Creative Process

1. Gather new material. At first, you learn. During this stage you focus on 1) learning specific material directly related to your task and 2) learning general material by becoming fascinated with a wide range of concepts.

2. Thoroughly work over the materials in your mind. During this stage, you examine what you have learned by looking at the facts from different angles and experimenting with fitting various ideas together.

3. Step away from the problem. Next, you put the problem completely out of your mind and go do something else that excites you and energizes you.

4. Let your idea return to you. At some point, but only after you have stopped thinking about it, your idea will come back to you with a flash of insight and renewed energy.

5. Shape and develop your idea based on feedback. For any idea to succeed, you must release it out into the world, submit it to criticism, and adapt it as needed.

Read more: For a More Creative Brain, Follow These 5 Steps

Is There Such a Thing as 'Naturally Creative'?

While we often think of creativity as an event or as a natural skill that some people have and some don't, research

actually suggests that both creativity and non-creativity are learned.

According to psychology professor Barbara Kerr, "approximately 22 percent of the variance [in creativity] is due to the influence of genes." This discovery was made by studying the differences in creative thinking between sets of twins.

All of this to say, claiming that "I'm just not the creative type" is a pretty weak excuse for avoiding creative thinking. Certainly, some people are primed to be more creative than others. However, nearly every person is born with some level of creative skill and the majority of our creative thinking abilities are trainable.

Read more: Creativity Is a Process, Not an Event

3 Lessons on Creativity from Famous Creators

The 15-Minute Routine Anthony Trollope Used to Write 40+ Books: Beginning with his first novel in 1847, Anthony Trollope wrote at an incredible pace. Over the next 38 years, he published 47 novels, 18 works of non-fiction, 12 short stories, 2 plays, and an assortment of articles and letters. Let's break down why Trollope's simple strategy allowed the author to be so productive and how we can use it in our own lives.

The Weird Strategy Dr. Seuss Used to Create His Greatest Work: In 1960, the founder of Random House publishing firm challenged Dr. Seuss to write an entertaining children's book using only 50 different words. The result was a little book called Green Eggs and Ham. Here's what we can learn from Dr. Seuss...

How Creative Geniuses Come Up With Great Ideas: Best-selling author Markus Zusak estimated that he rewrote the first part of his popular book "The Book Thief" 150 to 200 times. His work ethic and dedication tell us something crucial about how creative geniuses come up with great ideas.

You can also check out creativity articles about Albert Einstein, Martha Graham, George R.R. Martin, and Maya Angelou.

How to Be Creative

Step 1: Give yourself permission to create junk

In any creative endeavor, you have to give yourself permission to create junk. There is no way around it. Sometimes you have to write 4 terrible pages just to discover that you wrote one good sentence in the second paragraph of the third page.

Creating something useful and compelling is like being a gold miner. You have to sift through pounds of dirt and rock and silt just to find a speck of gold in the middle of it all. Bits and pieces of genius will find their way to you, if you give yourself permission to let the muse flow.

Read more: What Every Successful Person Knows, But Never Says

Step 2: Create on a schedule

No single act will uncover more creative genius than forcing yourself to create consistently. Practicing your craft over and over is the only way to become decent at it. The person who sits around theorizing about what a best-selling book looks like will never write it. Meanwhile, the writer who shows up every day and puts their butt in the chair and their hands on the keyboard - they are learning how to do the work.

If you want to do your best creative work, then don't leave it up to choice. Don't wake up in the morning and think, "I hope I feel inspired to create something today." You need to take the decision-making out of it. Set a schedule for your work. Genius arrives when you show up enough times to get the average ideas out of the way.

Read more: The Difference Between Professionals and Amateurs

Step 3: Finish something

Finish something. Anything. Stop researching, planning, and preparing to do the work and just do the work. It doesn't matter how good or how bad it is. You don't need to set the world on fire with your first try. You just need to prove to yourself that you have what it takes to produce something.

There are no artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, or scientists who became great by half-finishing their work. Stop debating what you should make and just make something.

Read more: Why You Should Make Things

Step 4: Stop judging your own work

Everyone struggles to create great art. Even great artists.

Anyone who creates something on a consistent basis will begin to judge their own work. I write new articles every Monday and Thursday. After sticking to that publishing schedule for three months, I began to judge everything I created. I was convinced that I had gone through every decent idea I had available. My most popular article came 8 months later.

It is natural to judge your work. It is natural to feel disappointed that your creation isn't as wonderful as you hoped it would be, or that you're not getting any better at your craft. But the key is to not let your discontent prevent you from continuing to do the work.

You have to practice enough self-compassion to not let self-judgement take over. Sure, you care about your work, but don't get so serious about it that you can't laugh off your mistakes and continue to produce the thing you love. Don't let judgment prevent delivery.

Read more: It's Not Your Job to Tell Yourself "No"

Step 5: Hold yourself accountable

Share your work publicly. It will hold you accountable to creating your best work. It will provide feedback for doing better work. And when you see others connect with what you create, it will inspire you and make you care more.

Sometimes sharing your work means you have to deal with haters and critics. But more often than not, the only thing that happens is that you rally the people who believe the same things you believe, are excited about the same things you are excited about, or who support the work that you believe in - who wouldn't want that? 3

The world needs people who put creative work out into the world. What seems simple to you is often brilliant to someone else. But you'll never know that unless you choose to share.

Read more: Lessons on Sharing Your Gifts With the World From Someone Who Didn't

How to Find Your Creative Genius

Finding your creative genius is easy: do the work, finish something, get feedback, find ways to improve, show up again tomorrow. Repeat for ten years. Or twenty. Or thirty.

Inspiration only reveals itself after perspiration.

Read more: How to Find Your Hidden Creative Genius

Best Creativity Books

Want more great books on creativity and business? Browse my full list of the best business books.

All Creativity Articles

This is a complete list of articles I have written on creativity. Enjoy!

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How to Master Creativity and Uncover Your Creative Genius

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This page pulls together my most essential information about creativity. I'll share how creativity works, how to find your hidden creative genius, and how to create meaningful work by learning how to make creative thinking a habit. I've tried to present the basics of everything you need to know to start mastering creativity, even if you don't have much time.

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Creativity is one of those traits that people seem to have an intrinsic understanding of, but if you actually ask them to define it, they get tripped up. It's easy to come up with a list of creative people (Frida Kahlo, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Einstein), and the outcomes of creativity (a novel, an invention, a new way of looking at the world), but it's difficult to wrap your head around the actual concept of creativity. The more I researched this article, the more I realized creativity is an incredibly nuanced phenomenon.

But you have to start somewhere, so let's begin with a definition:
Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ways of thinking or acting, and to develop new and original ideas, methods or objects.
Let's break that down:

It's an ability
It's also an ability to run a mile, or to do calculus or recite a Shakespearean sonnet (Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?). So creativity is a skill that is specific to an individual. For some people, it might seem to come naturally, but it is something that anyone can improve at if they give it the time and effort.

It transcends traditional ways of thinking or acting
Transcending means you're going above and beyond. It's recognizing the limitations of what already exists, and trying to improve upon it.

It develops new and original things
I think the key word here is develops. Creativity goes beyond imagining: it's about developing. If it's an idea, you go out and do the research to prove it. If it's a new process you try and test it to see if it works. If it's an object, you build it.

Great! And now that I've provided you with that enlightening definition, let's wade a bit deeper and try to really understand what creativity is (and why you should or shouldn't care).

Creativity is a relatively new phenomenon
-

Creativity has only been a thing for the past 60-80 years or so.

"But wait," you say, "what about all those amazing artists and inventors of yesteryear. Are you telling me you don't think Mark Twain and Sir Isaac Newton weren't creative? Preposterous!"

I am certainly not one to dis the fathers of Tom Sawyer and gravity. What I'm saying is that the concept of creativity as we understand it-even though it seems so ubiquitous-wasn't really part of the popular lexicon until midway through the last century:

In many ancient cultures, ideas or advancements that we would attribute to an individual's creativity were deemed "discoveries." Even artwork was seen as an imitation of nature rather than a form of creation.

In the medieval Christian world, creative ideas were positioned as divine inspiration. Did you do something awesome? You owe god a high five for sending that fantastic idea your way, my friend.

With the dawning of the enlightenment, we started to see a gradual shift towards individual responsibility, but even then the focus was on imagination and intelligence-both of which are definitely part of the modern definition of creativity, but not quite the same thing.

Where we really begin to see the emergence in the idea of modern creativity is in the 1920s. With the birth of psychology at the end of the 19th century, paradigms in the western world shifted to focus more intently on the individual, and our unique capabilities and personalities. (Another one of those things that we think as innate- personality wasn't really a thing until Freud.) Creativity as an ability, or a personality trait, first gained popularity after Graham Wallas' book Art of Thought. In this work, Wallas presents a model for how humans approach problems and think creatively.

And thus, the modern idea of creativity was born. Since then, psychologists and researchers in other disciplines have only continued to develop the idea into what we understand today.

So does that mean that no one was creative until the 1930s? No, clearly humans have had the ability to think outside the box and develop new ideas for a long time. What the current focus on creativity does show is that it's a valued quality in our culture right now. The focus on it as a coveted trait can probably be linked to the rapid development of new ideas and technology in the past century.

Creativity is a pattern of thinking
-

So we know that creativity is an ability that allows people to develop new ideas, but that still feels a bit vague and intangible (kind of like saying swimming is the ability to not drown in water-technically true, but not particularly useful if you're going for a deeper understanding, or ya know, wanting to not drown). Put on your floaties and let's dive into the deep end.

All skills originate in our brains: whether it's physical (learning to do the breaststroke) or mental (learning to solve an algebraic equation), it's all about neurons in the right part of your brain firing over and over again until what you're doing becomes ingrained.

Creativity is the skill to transcend traditional ways of thinking and come up with new ideas. But where do these new ideas come from?

Forget left vs. right brained, it's all about the networks.

Like the persistent " we only use 10% of our brains" myth, the concept of left-brained = creative vs. right-brained = analytical is total pseudoscience.

Yes, there are parts of our brain that have specific functions, but it's the connections between these areas, and the subsequent networks they create which creates cognition. For example, if you're trying to climb over a log that's fallen on a path, you're likely engaging the network which links the parts of your brain that process visual images and govern motor coordination. If you're explaining to a friend how to climb over said log, add in the parts of your brain which control language.

When it comes to creativity, neuroscientists have identified three large-scale (and aptly named) networks of the brain that are important:

1. The executive attention network helps you pay attention and focus

2. The imagination network allows you to daydream or imagine yourself in someone else's shoes

3. The salience network let's you identify when things you have buried deep in your brain are salient to the world around you (e.g. you're going for a hike and taking in the scenery, and you notice this plant... realize it looks familiar... and that it's poison ivy! And you just saved yourself from a terrible itchy rash.)

The more active these networks are in your brain, and the more they work together, the more creative you are.

So going back to our original question: what is creativity? Creativity is a skill that allows you to draw understanding of the world around you, connect those observations to your existing knowledge reservoirs, and imagine new applications of your knowledge on the world.

Is there a connection between creativity and intelligence?
-

So if it's all about what's going on in certain brain networks, does that mean that creative people are smarter? I wish I had an easy yes or no answer for you, but the study of creativity is still a pretty new thing, and the research isn't entirely settled on this matter yet.

In 1999, researchers Sternberg and O'Hara provided a framework of five possible relationships between creativity and intelligence:

1. Creativity is a type of intelligence

2. Intelligence is a type of creativity

3. Creativity and intelligence are overlapping constructs (they have some traits in common)

4. Creativity and intelligence are part of the same construct (they're basically the same thing)

5. Creativity and intelligence are distinct constructs (there is no relationship between them)

There are studies that provide evidence in favor of each of these perspectives, but thus far none has been overwhelming in its conclusions. So essentially there's nothing that shows if you're smarter you're more creative. But there's nothing showing that there's not a correlation either.

Are children more creative than adults?
-

If you do a Google search on creativity, you'll pretty quickly run into an article that mentions a study run by Professor George Land that seems to show that children become less creative over time.

The gist: Land worked with NASA to develop a creativity test that would help them select innovative engineers and scientists for the space program. In 1968, he and colleague Beth Jarmen gave the same test to 1,600 children and found that-shock-98% of five-year-olds were apparently creative geniuses. And we all just got less and less creative as we aged, until only a measly 2% of us adults qualify as creative geniuses.

Now, maybe I'm just bitter because I'm jealous of all those child prodigies and their ideas that would allow them to be astronauts, but I'm a bit skeptical of these results. Sure, they make for great clickbait and feel-goodry (just embrace your inner child, ignore the pressures of society and you might be able to qualify to go the moon!) but have you spent any time with a five year old recently?

My colleague has a son about this age: this past weekend he linked together a Barrel of Monkeys to create a ladder for his green army men to climb.

Not only is this adorable, but it's an amazing example of out-of-the-box creative thinking. But real world application? Maybe not so much. (Though I'm having a fantastic time imagining this scenario!)

Fewer synapses = fewer monkeys?

Young children have amazing brains: they develop literally trillions of neural synapses in the first few years of life. Then, through a process called synaptic pruning, those connections decrease over time, as some of these synapses are used and others aren't.

In other words, kids connect all sorts of weird things together in their minds because they haven't learned that these things don't necessarily go together yet. This ability to make connections between seemingly unrelated things-also called divergent thinking-is an important tennant in creative thinking. But it's just one part of it. And probably why I'm not quite ready to trust the Space Program to child geniuses just yet.

But this highlights an important question:

How do we test for creativity?
-

The original creativity tests developed in the 1960s are tests of divergent thinking. A couple examples of these include alternative uses (how many different ways can you think of to use a paperclip; the number and originality of your ideas impact your score) and incomplete figure tests where you're given a line on a paper and asked to finish the drawing (uncommon subject matter, implied stories, humor and originality earn high marks).

Other researchers have tried to measure creativity through self-reported creativity questionnaires and social-personality approaches (where they look at a mix of other personality traits and try to find a "formula" for a creative person). Both of these methods have some inherent biases.

So while divergent thinking tests have been criticized, they are currently the most accepted measure of creativity. (Though I'm very curious to see where the neuroscience takes us.)

Why should you care about creativity?
-

I hope I'm not being to presumptuous when I say everyone wants to develop new skills or grow their abilities. (Who wouldn't want to be a faster runner or a better poker player?) But we all have limited hours in the day, so you can't practice to get better at everything. Why is creativity one of those skills you should spend time developing?

Well, if you care about your career, it's probably worth the investment. Both individuals and businesses value hold those with creative qualities in high regard. According to a survey by Adobe, people that identify as creative earn 17% more money than those who don't. Similarly, in a survey of 1,500 CEOs, IBM found that creativity is the number one trait needed for business success.

And yes, the data from these surveys is based on opinion or self-reported creativity levels, but even if the scientists might squawk, it's probably worth paying attention to. Basically, your boss and your boss' boss both think creativity is important. And that makes sense as the definition of a creative person is literally someone who comes up with good ideas and can bring them to fruition. In today's world, that is exactly the fuel that drives business success. So if you want to get ahead, start churning out those ideas like a barrel of monkeys. (Am I doing it right?)

Can you become more creative?
-

Absolutely! Creativity isn't a magical gift bestowed to just a few lucky individuals, it's a skill that you can hone and develop. The trick is figuring out how to flex your creativity muscles.

1. A number of things happened at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries that shifted our world view, from the discover of relativity to the invention of mass, fast transportation, new ways of communicating across long distances, and of capturing reality (i.e. photography and filmmaking).↩
2. This TED Talk on how to practice effectively is great. It offers a great explanation of the impact of practice on our brains.↩
3.All that being said, there are some compelling evidence that our current education system is not setup to nurture the type of creative thinking that we value in today's society. Which makes sense if you consider that the basic structure and curriculum of schools (at least here in the United States) comes from the 19th century.↩
4. Interested in more? 99U has a great article with 5 classic creativity tests you can try.↩

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What is creativity? The ultimate guide to understanding today's most important ability. - 99designs

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It's easy to come up with a list of creative people or ideas, but it's difficult to wrap your head around the actual concept of creativity. Here we explain what creativity is, how it works and why you should care.

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https://medium.com/writers-blokke/5-things-creative-people-dont-do-65abc94f83f5

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This is a more advanced view of creativity

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Ever been labelled as the 'creative' person in the room, but found yourself falling dismally short of anything that feels like an original idea?

Preach.

When you work as a designer (or any other creative) people assume you're the go-to for all exciting new ideas and inputs. Unfortunately, that's a stigma that's not going to change any time soon.

Even if we educate people otherwise, establishing a mindful realisation around what creativity actually is, will only makes you look even more like a creative genius with all the answers.

So what's the solution? Well, it's elementary, you become an unstoppable creative force...

...At least, that's what would happen in an ideal world.

But how does that even happen? How do you learn how to be a creative genius when the idea of creativity (in itself) seems shrouded in mystery? Where do good ideas come from and how do we have more of those incredible lightbulb moments?

Well my dear reader, that's where this handy little pocket guide comes in. It's a brief (but immediately useful) overview of my years of reading and experimentation around the subject of creativity.

Thankfully, being creative on demand isn't as tricky as it used to be-and I have this guide to thank for that.

Whenever you're in doubt or struggling with the creative process, visit this little guide and follow the corresponding ideas and techniques to improve your creativity process.

It's made a monumental difference to my life (and my sanity too).

Spoiler alert: The entire creative process boils down to a simple little acronym - ISIIVE.

ISIIVE stands for:

Insight
//Understanding the problem at hand

Saturation
//Absorbing information and inspiration

Incubation
//Allowing your mind to piece together ideas

Illumination
//The cliché light bulb moment

Verification
//Filtering solutions and making things work

Exploration
//Moving deeper through ideas and solutions

ISIIVE is a culmination of theories taken from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Betty Edwards, both of which are authors I highly recommend reading from.

ISIIVE has been a shining light in understanding how the creative process works, and how to make the most of it.

It works without fail (dare I say).

As with all theories, ISIIVE isn't rigid, you'll find yourself moving through the process in your own unique way based on context and the task at hand.

However, once you're conscious of the process itself (insert hammer shattering glass) you'll notice it every time you start a creative task.

Understanding the problem at hand (in great detail) is insight.

Before creativity starts, you need to ask yourself what you're aiming to change, add value to or solve. Only after you've identified the problem are you able to begin questioning it and developing insight.

Insight is an analytical step, so don't be disheartened if you're not thinking or finding the answers you need right away. Instead focus on asking more questions.

The more questions you ask, the better your assumptions will be and that in turn will create greater insight into the problem at hand.

Realistically, there are no stupid questions, so if you're curious about something, ask.

Let's work through a typical UI/UX problem together using ISIIVE.

Problem
We need to design a checkout process that has a lower abandonment rate. At the moment, people are leaving the checkout process too early and this is affecting our revenue and scalability.

Example Questions
Remember, the more questions you ask, the better your insight becomes. In the list below, you'll see that the first few questions are relatively obvious, but become more interesting as you begin digging deeper.

Why are customers leaving the process early?

When are customers leaving the process?

How long do they spend on the process?

Is there an issue in the process which is jarring?

Is the process too long for customers?

Does the process make sense to customers?

Are the right customers going through the process?

Do they have enough information to finish the process?

Is there a problem with the payment methods in the process?

Is there a persistent error in the process?

Is the product too expensive?

What type of process are our customers used to seeing?

Is there a checkout flow our customers are used to?

Is our flow weird compared to standard checkout processes?

With questions, we start to seek answers and when we start to seek answers we can begin the process of saturation.

The process of researching and discovering potential ways to solve the problems is saturation.

During saturation you'll be looking for as much information as possible to solve the problem, and to answer the questions you've created during insight.

How do you find information? Research, research and research.

A typical saturation process will involve digging, reading, googling and creating a pile of notes related to the problem in question.

The idea of saturation, is to fill yourself with potential new ideas. Whether that's through competitor research, creating a Pinterest board or saving a metric ton of PNGs, it doesn't matter.

What matters, is that you're conducting relevant research with quality resources, as garbage in, garbage out applies here.

The better the information you saturate yourself with, the better your final outcome and ideas will be.

Example saturation methods

Competitor research-what are other people and businesses in the industry doing and why?

Topical research-if it's e-commerce, what are other e-commerce sites doing?

Visual and conceptual research- looking through inspiration sites for interesting new ideas (Behance, Dribbble, LAPA, DS)

Asking friends-have they seen or had any ideas for this problem before, if so how have they solved it?

Asking internet-you'd be surprised how many clever people exist on twitter, reddit and other social sites.

Reading online articles and publications-is there any high-level research or interesting insights that could be used here?

Offline reading -some of the most valuable design information you'll ever read can only be found in books, check them out.

Revisiting past work-have I solved this problem before? If so, how? Are my solutions contextually relevant?

There's no time limit on the saturation process other than the time limit you impose on yourself, saturation could be quick or it could be exhaustive.

But, the hint is in the name. Your goal is to learn as much as possible to allow your brain to create new high-level ideas and insights.

Often referred to as selective forgetting, incubation is the little rift in time where your brain creates high-quality connections (and ideas) using the information it's been fed during saturation.

For incubation to take place, you need to step away from the problem-literally.

Take a walk, switch tasks or grab a bite to eat. Incubation cannot happen if you're rushed off your feet and working your mind overtime.

Ever wondered why your best ideas come to you when you're about to sleep?

Incubation.

For most of us, sleep is the only time we allow ourselves to stop being busy and incubate ideas. Want good ideas? Respect the process of incubation.

Whether you're a freelancer or a full-time designer, giving your mind space to think is incredibly important.

Remember, incubation doesn't need to take hours or days. Anytime spent thinking will move you in a positive direction towards your goals.

Quick ideas for incubation breaks

Go for a 30-minute walk

Go for a workout

Go for lunch or dinner

Grab a coffee

Sit down and doodle

Wash dirty dishes

Sweep or vacuum the floor

Take a shower

Have a power nap

Cook lunch or dinner

Smell the roses

Whatever you do, allow yourself to consciously step away from the problem.

Yes, you're busy and yes, there's deadlines, but I promise that the 30 minutes you've spent giving yourself freedom to think will pay 10x in dividends in the future.

Spoiler alert #2: the 'aha! Moment' isn't real.

At least, it's not a stroke of genius as much as it's a culmination of all the hard work you've put together to get to that moment.

Through insight, saturation and incubation, illumination is created.

Why do clever people tend to have lightbulb moments? Because they're masters of their field and are able to see what is and what isn't an original new idea.

Depending on how complex the problem you're solving is (and how much incubation has occurred) will often define how long it'll take to reach illumination.

Are you able to rush the illumination phase? Yes and no.

If you've followed the above process subconsciously, then they'll be no need to rush (it'll happen). If you're using following the above process consciously then yes, you can speed up illumination by focusing on the problem at hand after a short incubation phase.

Example illuminations for the previous insight
Remember the checkout problem we're solving? Well, now we've been through the process, here are some example ideas that we could've come up with:

We could implement pay with Amazon to reduce the need for the customer to enter additional details

We could collect less personal identifying details to speed up the process and reduce friction

We could create a one-click checkout for existing customers or account holders from payment gateways

We could incentivise users who've been on the site for a certain amount of time with a discount code

We could allow users to return to the checkout process if they abandon their cart by saving their progress

We could add fun animations and illustrations to make the process more bearable and exciting

We could create an illusion of a shorter checkout through staggering the larger steps into smaller bitesize steps

We could get customer to add some of their delivery information when they add an item to their shopping basket

We could get gather some personal details from Google if they're signed in to their gmail account

We could checkout with Stripe or Paypal to shorten the process, mimicking some competitor sites.

Illumination is the part of the creative process that's most memorable and the part that'll make you look like a creative genius, so theoretically you could stop here and still look like a super hero.

But, the reality is that it's still your job to make these creative ideas work, because after all-ideas are easy ;).

This is the part where your ideas live or die, literally.

Up until now, we've focused on the creation of creative ideas, but we've not focused on evaluating them-why?

Because creative ideas come from a safe place free from judgement.

Being pre-maturely judgemental halts the process. It makes things stilted, staggered and prevents your best ideas from having the chance to come to life.

Some ideas start as ugly ducklings and need a little time to grow before they become beautiful swans. By judging these ideas too soon, we stop these ideas from manifesting and ultimately, that leads to potentially great ideas being cast aside.

This isn't to say you should be precious of your stranger ideas, but instead, be mindful that verification is the only part of the process where your ideas should be objectively judged.

Once you have a set of ideas, then it's time to validate those ideas against the original problem you're looking solve, and whether or not they solve the problem at hand.

Verification on our ideas list
Here's what an objective verification process looks like based on our previous ideas list.

We could implement pay with Amazon to reduce the need for the customer to enter additional details
//Has potential, we'd need to pay additional fees to Amazon but it's likely most of our users have an Amazon account

We could collect less personal identifying details to speed up the process and reduce friction
//Again, good idea, there's no need to collect this information for marketing purposes if we're not making sales

We could create a one-click checkout for existing customers or account holders from payment gateways
//Doesn't solve the immediate problem, we need something more global and beneficial for all users

We could incentivise users who've been on the site for a certain amount of time with a discount code
//Devaluing the product isn't necessarily a fix for the checkout process, if a user hasn't converted after x minutes then value proposition issue

We could allow users to return to the checkout process if they abandon their cart by saving their progress
//Seems intrusive but could work, this is more of a job for the marketing team to test and feedback on though

We could add fun animations and illustrations to make the process more bearable and exciting
//Could work, there's no harm in adding this in if there's an appropriate use case for this and it's not time-consuming

We could create an illusion of a shorter checkout through staggering the larger steps into smaller bitesize steps
//Has potential, but we'd need to do a lot of testing here to get it right, this could be something for later down the line

We could get customer to add some of their delivery information when they add an item to their shopping basket
//This is an interesting idea, if we implement this correctly, it'll also create an investment effect towards the purchase

We could get gather some personal details from Google if they're signed in to their gmail account
//Not sure if possible or even how to go about this in a way that isn't seen as a dark pattern

We could checkout with Stripe or Paypal to shorten the process, mimicking some competitor sites.
//Similar to Amazon, this could work. Paypal wouldn't require too much additional tweaking to add to the existing checkout flow

Already, it's clear that verification sets apart the stronger ideas from the weaker ideas.

From here, we're able to take the better ideas and move them into the final stage of the creative process.

This is where the ideas we've verified as possible and plausible solution are implemented.

This process is exciting and often leads to the evolution of new ideas. Why? Because on paper, every good idea could work if it meets set criteria.

Unfortunately (and fortunately) during implementation you'll run into a whole host of problems that previously never existed.

Now, additional problems aren't necessarily a bad thing. Creativity tends to thrive under constraints (as long as they exist for the right reasons). So look at the additional challenges during exploration as a way to continue improving your ideas.
Let's explore a little further with this idea...

We could get customers to add some of their delivery information when they initially add an item to their shopping basket.

...it's the most interesting on the list and it's one that will come with a lot of interesting challenges too.

Let's say the most obvious challenge to implementing this solution, is that it's an extra step for customers to take before the checkout-so, what can we do to make this additional step worthwhile?

Implement a system that offers free delivery to the locations of users that bounce the most.

Implement a system that offers free delivery to all users once they've entered their postcode.

Implement a system that checks their postcode, offers free delivery and then autocompletes all address information (as much as possible during the checkout process).

Do you see the evolution of ideas? It's interesting that from such a simple problem, we've managed to create an entirely unique solution which is likely to deliver interesting results.

Exploration never ends, and in a way, the entire ISIIVE process is incredibly circular.

Exploration will bring about new and exciting ideas, as well as new and exciting problems to solve (which ultimately restarts the process).

If you enjoyed this post, I'd recommend reading the 5 (major) books that contributed to its inception.

While there are many more incredible books in the field, these are the 5 books that've made this pocket guide what is it today.

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Ever been labelled as the 'creative' person in the room, but found yourself falling dismally short of anything that feels like an original idea? Preach. When you work as a designer (or any other creative) people assume you're the go-to for all exciting new ideas and inputs.

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The 6 Habits of Exceptionally Creative People

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The 6 Habits of Exceptionally Creative People

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The 6 Habits of Exceptionally Creative People

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Creativity is one of those traits that people seem to have an intrinsic understanding of, but if you actually ask them to define it, they get tripped up. It's easy to come up with a list of creative people (Frida Kahlo, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Einstein), and the outcomes of creativity (a novel, an invention, a new way of looking at the world), but it's difficult to wrap your head around the actual concept of creativity. The more I researched this article, the more I realized creativity is an incredibly nuanced phenomenon.

But you have to start somewhere, so let's begin with a definition:
Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ways of thinking or acting, and to develop new and original ideas, methods or objects.
Let's break that down:

It's an ability
It's also an ability to run a mile, or to do calculus or recite a Shakespearean sonnet (Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?). So creativity is a skill that is specific to an individual. For some people, it might seem to come naturally, but it is something that anyone can improve at if they give it the time and effort.

It transcends traditional ways of thinking or acting
Transcending means you're going above and beyond. It's recognizing the limitations of what already exists, and trying to improve upon it.

It develops new and original things
I think the key word here is develops. Creativity goes beyond imagining: it's about developing. If it's an idea, you go out and do the research to prove it. If it's a new process you try and test it to see if it works. If it's an object, you build it.

Great! And now that I've provided you with that enlightening definition, let's wade a bit deeper and try to really understand what creativity is (and why you should or shouldn't care).

Creativity is a relatively new phenomenon
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Creativity has only been a thing for the past 60-80 years or so.

"But wait," you say, "what about all those amazing artists and inventors of yesteryear. Are you telling me you don't think Mark Twain and Sir Isaac Newton weren't creative? Preposterous!"

I am certainly not one to dis the fathers of Tom Sawyer and gravity. What I'm saying is that the concept of creativity as we understand it-even though it seems so ubiquitous-wasn't really part of the popular lexicon until midway through the last century:

In many ancient cultures, ideas or advancements that we would attribute to an individual's creativity were deemed "discoveries." Even artwork was seen as an imitation of nature rather than a form of creation.

In the medieval Christian world, creative ideas were positioned as divine inspiration. Did you do something awesome? You owe god a high five for sending that fantastic idea your way, my friend.

With the dawning of the enlightenment, we started to see a gradual shift towards individual responsibility, but even then the focus was on imagination and intelligence-both of which are definitely part of the modern definition of creativity, but not quite the same thing.

Where we really begin to see the emergence in the idea of modern creativity is in the 1920s. With the birth of psychology at the end of the 19th century, paradigms in the western world shifted to focus more intently on the individual, and our unique capabilities and personalities. (Another one of those things that we think as innate- personality wasn't really a thing until Freud.) Creativity as an ability, or a personality trait, first gained popularity after Graham Wallas' book Art of Thought. In this work, Wallas presents a model for how humans approach problems and think creatively.

And thus, the modern idea of creativity was born. Since then, psychologists and researchers in other disciplines have only continued to develop the idea into what we understand today.

So does that mean that no one was creative until the 1930s? No, clearly humans have had the ability to think outside the box and develop new ideas for a long time. What the current focus on creativity does show is that it's a valued quality in our culture right now. The focus on it as a coveted trait can probably be linked to the rapid development of new ideas and technology in the past century.

Creativity is a pattern of thinking
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So we know that creativity is an ability that allows people to develop new ideas, but that still feels a bit vague and intangible (kind of like saying swimming is the ability to not drown in water-technically true, but not particularly useful if you're going for a deeper understanding, or ya know, wanting to not drown). Put on your floaties and let's dive into the deep end.

All skills originate in our brains: whether it's physical (learning to do the breaststroke) or mental (learning to solve an algebraic equation), it's all about neurons in the right part of your brain firing over and over again until what you're doing becomes ingrained.

Creativity is the skill to transcend traditional ways of thinking and come up with new ideas. But where do these new ideas come from?

Forget left vs. right brained, it's all about the networks.

Like the persistent " we only use 10% of our brains" myth, the concept of left-brained = creative vs. right-brained = analytical is total pseudoscience.

Yes, there are parts of our brain that have specific functions, but it's the connections between these areas, and the subsequent networks they create which creates cognition. For example, if you're trying to climb over a log that's fallen on a path, you're likely engaging the network which links the parts of your brain that process visual images and govern motor coordination. If you're explaining to a friend how to climb over said log, add in the parts of your brain which control language.

When it comes to creativity, neuroscientists have identified three large-scale (and aptly named) networks of the brain that are important:

1. The executive attention network helps you pay attention and focus

2. The imagination network allows you to daydream or imagine yourself in someone else's shoes

3. The salience network let's you identify when things you have buried deep in your brain are salient to the world around you (e.g. you're going for a hike and taking in the scenery, and you notice this plant... realize it looks familiar... and that it's poison ivy! And you just saved yourself from a terrible itchy rash.)

The more active these networks are in your brain, and the more they work together, the more creative you are.

So going back to our original question: what is creativity? Creativity is a skill that allows you to draw understanding of the world around you, connect those observations to your existing knowledge reservoirs, and imagine new applications of your knowledge on the world.

Is there a connection between creativity and intelligence?
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So if it's all about what's going on in certain brain networks, does that mean that creative people are smarter? I wish I had an easy yes or no answer for you, but the study of creativity is still a pretty new thing, and the research isn't entirely settled on this matter yet.

In 1999, researchers Sternberg and O'Hara provided a framework of five possible relationships between creativity and intelligence:

1. Creativity is a type of intelligence

2. Intelligence is a type of creativity

3. Creativity and intelligence are overlapping constructs (they have some traits in common)

4. Creativity and intelligence are part of the same construct (they're basically the same thing)

5. Creativity and intelligence are distinct constructs (there is no relationship between them)

There are studies that provide evidence in favor of each of these perspectives, but thus far none has been overwhelming in its conclusions. So essentially there's nothing that shows if you're smarter you're more creative. But there's nothing showing that there's not a correlation either.

Are children more creative than adults?
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If you do a Google search on creativity, you'll pretty quickly run into an article that mentions a study run by Professor George Land that seems to show that children become less creative over time.

The gist: Land worked with NASA to develop a creativity test that would help them select innovative engineers and scientists for the space program. In 1968, he and colleague Beth Jarmen gave the same test to 1,600 children and found that-shock-98% of five-year-olds were apparently creative geniuses. And we all just got less and less creative as we aged, until only a measly 2% of us adults qualify as creative geniuses.

Now, maybe I'm just bitter because I'm jealous of all those child prodigies and their ideas that would allow them to be astronauts, but I'm a bit skeptical of these results. Sure, they make for great clickbait and feel-goodry (just embrace your inner child, ignore the pressures of society and you might be able to qualify to go the moon!) but have you spent any time with a five year old recently?

My colleague has a son about this age: this past weekend he linked together a Barrel of Monkeys to create a ladder for his green army men to climb.

Not only is this adorable, but it's an amazing example of out-of-the-box creative thinking. But real world application? Maybe not so much. (Though I'm having a fantastic time imagining this scenario!)

Fewer synapses = fewer monkeys?

Young children have amazing brains: they develop literally trillions of neural synapses in the first few years of life. Then, through a process called synaptic pruning, those connections decrease over time, as some of these synapses are used and others aren't.

In other words, kids connect all sorts of weird things together in their minds because they haven't learned that these things don't necessarily go together yet. This ability to make connections between seemingly unrelated things-also called divergent thinking-is an important tennant in creative thinking. But it's just one part of it. And probably why I'm not quite ready to trust the Space Program to child geniuses just yet.

But this highlights an important question:

How do we test for creativity?
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The original creativity tests developed in the 1960s are tests of divergent thinking. A couple examples of these include alternative uses (how many different ways can you think of to use a paperclip; the number and originality of your ideas impact your score) and incomplete figure tests where you're given a line on a paper and asked to finish the drawing (uncommon subject matter, implied stories, humor and originality earn high marks).

Other researchers have tried to measure creativity through self-reported creativity questionnaires and social-personality approaches (where they look at a mix of other personality traits and try to find a "formula" for a creative person). Both of these methods have some inherent biases.

So while divergent thinking tests have been criticized, they are currently the most accepted measure of creativity. (Though I'm very curious to see where the neuroscience takes us.)

Why should you care about creativity?
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I hope I'm not being to presumptuous when I say everyone wants to develop new skills or grow their abilities. (Who wouldn't want to be a faster runner or a better poker player?) But we all have limited hours in the day, so you can't practice to get better at everything. Why is creativity one of those skills you should spend time developing?

Well, if you care about your career, it's probably worth the investment. Both individuals and businesses value hold those with creative qualities in high regard. According to a survey by Adobe, people that identify as creative earn 17% more money than those who don't. Similarly, in a survey of 1,500 CEOs, IBM found that creativity is the number one trait needed for business success.

And yes, the data from these surveys is based on opinion or self-reported creativity levels, but even if the scientists might squawk, it's probably worth paying attention to. Basically, your boss and your boss' boss both think creativity is important. And that makes sense as the definition of a creative person is literally someone who comes up with good ideas and can bring them to fruition. In today's world, that is exactly the fuel that drives business success. So if you want to get ahead, start churning out those ideas like a barrel of monkeys. (Am I doing it right?)

Can you become more creative?
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Absolutely! Creativity isn't a magical gift bestowed to just a few lucky individuals, it's a skill that you can hone and develop. The trick is figuring out how to flex your creativity muscles.

1. A number of things happened at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries that shifted our world view, from the discover of relativity to the invention of mass, fast transportation, new ways of communicating across long distances, and of capturing reality (i.e. photography and filmmaking).↩
2. This TED Talk on how to practice effectively is great. It offers a great explanation of the impact of practice on our brains.↩
3.All that being said, there are some compelling evidence that our current education system is not setup to nurture the type of creative thinking that we value in today's society. Which makes sense if you consider that the basic structure and curriculum of schools (at least here in the United States) comes from the 19th century.↩
4. Interested in more? 99U has a great article with 5 classic creativity tests you can try.↩

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What is creativity? The ultimate guide to understanding today's most important ability. - 99designs

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It's easy to come up with a list of creative people or ideas, but it's difficult to wrap your head around the actual concept of creativity. Here we explain what creativity is, how it works and why you should care.

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The Creative Nudge: Simple Steps to Help You Think Differently

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The Creative Nudge: Simple Steps to Help You Think Differently - Kindle edition by Chesters, Kevin, Mahoney, Mick. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Creative Nudge: Simple Steps to Help You Think Differently.

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Intelligence isn’t what you know; it’s how you think

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Most people are born creative. But over time, a lot of us learn to stifle those impulses. We become wary of judgement, more cautious, more analytical. The good news is we can rediscover our creative confidence. The trick is to overcome the four big fears that hold most of us back: fear of the messy unknown, fear of judgement, fear of the first step and fear of losing control.
CN

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Great creative brains make the kind of connections that no one else can.

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Weird means you’re different. Different means you’re unique. And unique means you are original. Being weird, then, simply means letting your originality shine through rather than hiding behind a socially prescribed mask. Every person discussed in this book is, without a doubt, weird. They dared to be different, and that difference allowed them to make a difference.
Laws of creativity

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It doesn't matter who you are, how old you are or what you do for a living, you were born with the ability to think creatively.

Creativity is something that we unlearn. Re-learn it!

CN

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These are books I've read about creativity and are recommended to broaden one's creative horizons

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There are a lot videos on creativity.  These are ones that I recommend you watch.

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This column is a list of recommended articles on creativity.  Some are written by me, some are written by others.

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This section consists of two topics: white boarding and mind-mapping. Both are essential tools to foster creativity.

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According to a recent IBM survey of chief executives around the world, creativity is the most sought-after trait in leaders today.

HR Creativity

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Freeform is an official Apple app that comes free with macOS, iPadOS, and iOS. It's a great way to jot down creative ideas thanks to an endless sea of blank space that extends as you need it.

You can also draw, sketch, and add color to your ideas, then share them in real-time or chat over your work using the integrated FaceTime feature.

Besides being a lot of fun to use, Freeform also has a lot of creative potential for times when inspiration strikes. So, here are some ways that you can use the app.

What Is Freeform?

Freeform is Apple's take on a whiteboard app that comes pre-installed in macOS Ventura 13.1, iOS 16.2, and iPad 16.2. In the app, you can create boards with an endless blank canvas extending as far as you like in all directions.

With the drawing tools, you can handwrite notes or doodle on the page using your finger or an Apple Pencil. It also has features that allow you to add media like audio, photos, or links. This makes it suitable for brainstorming ideas visually or note-taking in a less structured way.

Finally, Freeform boards are easy to share with other Apple users, and you can add up to 99 people to the same board to work on a project simultaneously. In the app, you can also use FaceTime to collaborate with others, and boards can be synced across other devices that are logged into the same iCloud account.

If you need a quick start guide to get you up and running, head over to our dedicated article on how to use the Freeform app.

6 Ways to Use the Freeform App Creatively

Once you learn how to create a board and use some of the basic tools, you might be left wondering where to start. A blank page can be intimidating, but here are a few ways you can use the Freeform app for day-to-day tasks.

1. Brainstorm

The first way to use Freeform is for brainstorming ideas. Naturally, having a blank page lends itself to a non-linear way of jotting down inspiration as it comes. Younger generations, in particular, might appreciate going paperless while still having a place to scribble and write freely.

There are no page layouts to worry about, just one large, extendable canvas. If you find yourself bumping up against the edge of the page, simply zoom out to reveal more space or drag the page in any direction to get to reach a blank spot.

Try connecting objects in your brainstorm using the arrow from the shapes library. You can also drag the arrowhead near an item to connect it to the object automatically. This will keep the two objects connected even if you move them to a new position.

2. Create a Mood Board

Another good way to use Freeform is to create mood boards. You can add images to the board by importing them from your hard drive; however, it's even easier to drag and drop images onto your board from the internet.

On an iPad, this works best by using Split View to display Freeform on one side and a browser window on the other. You can drag images into Freeform by holding a finger on the picture until a menu appears. Then, without lifting your finger, drag the image into Freeform.

This saves you the hassle of individually downloading each file to your device and importing them manually. You can add this trick to the list of iPad tips to boost productivity.

While you can organize your images using a dedicated mood board app like Pure Ref, the average user will find that Freeform does the trick, especially given that it comes installed and ready to go on up-to-date Apple devices.

3. Plan a Vacation

If you have a whole family of Apple users, then you may want to check out the live collaboration features that Freeform has to offer. When it comes to planning something like a vacation, it could prove to be a fun way to share your thoughts.

The first feature that makes this possible is the ability to share your board with up to 99 other people. When someone joins the board, they can add things to it, and the rest of the group can view the changes in real-time. In other words, any changes to the board are updated instantly.

For families living across different states or countries, Freeform is a valuable tool to gather everyone's ideas. If you wanted to have a video chat while you scribbled down your ideas, that's also possible, thanks to the integrated FaceTime feature.

4. Sketch

Freeform has a few basic drawing tools that are great if you use an iPad with an Apple Pencil. For anyone who prefers sketching out their ideas, as opposed to typing out their thoughts, it's a great tool to make use of on the go.

You can also use the drawing tools on an iPhone by using your finger as an input. Sadly, this isn't the case for Mac users, and you won't be able to use the drawing tools at all. Hopefully, this will change with future updates, although it could be Apple's way of pushing more people to buy an iPad.

Mastering Procreate on an iPad is still a better option for illustrators or designers who need a rich set of features, but where Freeform works well is getting ideas down fast. The tools are simplified, and the board only shows you a few visible menu items while the rest is hidden.

The next time you have an idea for a new artwork or design, get the sketch down in Freeform before you forget it.

5. Teaching Tool

Freeform can be used as an app for teachers in the classroom, especially since it's free to use, making it an affordable resource if you already use Apple devices.

You can send a link to students to grant them access to the board. Anyone with the link can make changes to the board unless you change the board settings to view only.

As a teacher, you might want some elements to be locked so that students can't remove them. In this case, select the item(s) to bring up the editing menu, then press the more icon that looks like a circle with three dots inside. This will show you the extended menu, which includes the option to Lock an element in place.

On a Mac, the process is similar; Control-click on an item and select Lock from the menu. Students can then work on the board simultaneously without removing the main elements. Without a doubt, it's a fun way to get kids to work on a digital project together.

6. Just for Fun

At the end of the day, having an endless blank canvas is just a lot of fun for doodling, jotting down colorful notes, or exercising that creative muscle in general.

It's a good option for casual users because it's free to access, quick to open, and keeps things simple with just a few core features. With the ability to share your boards with others, you can open up a page for yourself and a friend and simply draw together.

No matter how you choose to use it, there's no pressure to be a professional artist or perfect planner. With a few pen tools and a library full of shapes, you can capture your thoughts in a more bright and exciting way than simply creating a text document.

Get Creative With Apple's Freeform App

Joining Apple's lineup of free apps is Freeform, a tool that can help exercise your creativity. Use it to brainstorm ideas, create a mood board, or plan your next vacation.

Freeform makes it quick to share boards with anyone who uses an Apple device, plus having FaceTime integrated into the app makes discussing your project much easier.

Since you can sketch, doodle, or handwrite notes, it can be a valuable teaching tool. But if you can't find any other reason to use Freeform, try simply doodling on the canvas for fun.

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6 Creative Ways to Use Apple's Freeform App

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Freeform is an official Apple app that comes free with macOS, iPadOS, and iOS. It's a great way to jot down creative ideas thanks to an endless sea of blank space that extends as you need it. You can also draw, sketch, and add color to your ideas, then share them in real-time or chat over your work using the integrated FaceTime feature.

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This set of notes lists software and apps that are useful to enhance the creative process.

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Creativity and chaos often go hand in hand, as the best ideas often emerge from a state of disorder and unpredictability. Whether it's brainstorming for a new project or exploring a new hobby, embracing a bit of chaos can lead to some truly inspired moments of creativity. To harness the power of chaos in your own life, try shaking up your routine, trying new things, and stepping outside of your comfort zone. Who knows what kind of magic you might uncover when you let go of control and allow yourself to embrace the unknown. Remember, chaos can be your ally, so don't be afraid to embrace it!

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One way to think creatively is to brainstorm ideas without any limitations or constraints. Allow yourself to think freely and without judgment. Write down every idea that comes to mind, even if it seems silly or unrealistic. Another way to spark creativity is to try new experiences and expose yourself to different perspectives. This can be as simple as trying a new food or hobby, or as complex as traveling to a new country. Finally, don't be afraid to collaborate with others and bounce ideas o of each other. Sometimes, the best ideas come from a group effort. So go ahead, let your imagination run wild and see where it takes you!

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‎Unleash the power of your creative brain to solve problems, overcome blocks, and spark brilliant ideas. Join hundreds of thousands of creatives, coaches, facilitators, and managers across the globe who are using our app to improve idea generation, team creativity, mind mapping, brainstorming, creat…

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1) posing a question or presenting a puzzle

2) exposure to a sequence of events with an anticipated but unknown resolution

3) the violation of expectations that triggers a search for an explanation

4) knowledge or passion of information by someone else

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Creativity demands that you force your brain out of autopilot. Engage it. Train it to accept new ideas. Creativity is being brave enough to do new things in new ways-exhilarated by the challenge and the fear. It's about taking risks. Being open to new ideas. Following your path. Turning your back on the familiar and the ordinary. It's about being extraordinary.

CN

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Creative problem-solving: Don’t get seduced by the sexy part

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Most entrepreneurs love to brainstorm ideas. But only the top 5% realize there’s a better way that produces radically higher-value ideas.