So as I mentioned in my previous post, on the whole scientific evidence suggests that there are activities that a person can regularly engage in to become more creative. That's right, there's hope for all of us (even pre-meds and accountants). Although myth would have us believe that "creativity emerges from the unconscious in a sudden burst of insight", the truth is that it is mostly the product of "concious, persistent, hard work". Interesting, right?
There are 8 identifiable habits of creative people, that fit into the nifty acronym EQUATION.
Experimenting: No need for explanation (insert obvious joke about exploring sexuality here)
Questioning: Great innovations have resulted from people asking great questions. Someone once must have asked, "What if I could have the comfort of a blanket, that won't slip and slide, and my hands won't get trapped inside?". And voila, the Snuggie was invented.
Unplugging: Stepping back and taking time away from your ideas to refresh before going back and tackling them again.
Associating: Connecting seemingly disparate or unrelated things to create solutions or ideas.
Teaming: Normally most of us think of group assignments as a total waste of time. But believe it or not, our professors are on to something. Working in teams and fostering the group creative process correctly has resulted in Pixar consistently producing critically and financially successful movies time after time.
Improvising: I mean come on, there was a whole TV series about it called MacGyver. Oddly enough, the creator of the show made up the concept for it on the spot, after his originally idea for a show wasn't warmly received by network execs.
Observing: Get a notebook. Go somewhere unfamiliar. Creep on people. There's a guy named Paco Underhill who's famous for studying people's actions in retail settings. He now makes boatloads of money consulting stores on how to maximize revenue based on the stores layout.
Networking: No, nerds reading this who like LAN parties should not be celebrating. This means the real kind, the kind that actually involves talking to other people. Don't just exchange business cards, exchange ideas.
AND SO, with this blog, I intend to engage in all 8 of these activities, and record my exploits. Of course, some of them activities might be harder than others, but HEY, those should make for some pretty zany entries.
On top of that, I'm also going to use this blog to record ideas I have. There's definitely going to be a "Stupid Idea" series, where I put my ideas for new products/making money on blast for the world to see, even if they aren't feasible. And if I ever feel moved to draw something, go take pictures, write a poem or a short story, those will most likely be put up here as well.
I'm embracing the fact that not all creative ideas are good ideas. That's totally fine. THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE THE ONES WHO GENERATE THE MOST IDEAS. Einstein wrote hundreds of papers, Edison got a lot of patents, and Doug Horn will say and think thousands of stupid things that will end up in this blog.
I really think it'd make for a sweet reality show if a bunch of people were thrown in a house, and then had to survive through a simulated natural disaster.
See, there's one stupid idea taken care of.
So that's it for now...all 2 people reading this. My next entry is going to cover the 10-year theory, and also provide a baseline for where my creativity is at right now, then the fun can really get started.
(Ok, I really think I could sell the natural disaster show idea if all the contestants were also morbidly obese.)
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