The spark is within

CONTRARY TO POPULAR PERCEPTION, CREATIVITY IS AN OPEN DOOR FOR ANYONE WILLING TO ENTER, SAYS NIR BASHAN, FOUNDER AND CEO, THE CREATOR MINDSET LLC; RECIPIENT OF A CLIO AWARD AND AN EMMY NOMINATION FOR HIS CREATIVE WORK ON ALBUMS, MOVIES, AND ADVERTISEMENTS; AND AUTHOR, THE CREATOR MINDSET: 92 TOOLS TO UNLOCK THE SECRETS TO INNOVATION, GROWTH, AND SUSTAINABILITY

- NIR BASHAN

Creativity can sometimes feel like it is shrouded in mystery. Like a sacred mountain top hidden in secrecy where mere mortals are not allowed to go. Like there is just a chosen few people controlling creativity, and the rest of us will never get it. Wow! No wonder most of us think,“Oh, how in the world am I ever going to be creative?”

But in reality, creativity is not that way at all. That is why it is so important to bust creativity myths, once and for all, to unleash real creativity that can be used by everyone in their career or business.

MYTH 1: I am not a creative person

Okay, I know what you must be thinking, because lots of people think the same way: “I’m not a creative person. I don’t draw portraits, do ballet, or play the saxophone. That is just not me. I am not a singer or an actor or artist or someone in the creative field. I am a lawyer or an accountant. I am an engineer or a nurse. I am a call centre executive or a corporate events planner. So, how will this creativity help me?”

Well, as it turns out, we are all born creative. Creativity is found in our very DNA. It is part and parcel of our experience as human beings. It is that spark deep inside us—one that most of us have extinguished as we grew older. And that spark must be reignited because as adults we are told that creativity has no place in maturity. It is not serious business acumen. It is frivolous because it cannot be measured and quantified.

But nothing can be further from the truth.

What we lose by believing this myth is significant. Our ability to compete in the hyperconnected economy of the 21st century—a new economy where ideas and innovation are the most valuable equity we produce—absolutely depends on creativity.