Let’s demystify what may seem like a difficult challenge, how to be more creative. First demystification; creativity is not a thing, as in person, place or thing (noun). If my mom’s reading this, and she usually does read my blog posts, then I’m already in trouble. Because technically, ‘creativity’ is a noun. But if you think of being creative as a given thing that you either possess or lack, then you’ll doom yourself to creative failure. We’re all inherently creative and we all have the ability to get better at using our creative powers. Don’t tell yourself you’re just not creative. That would be a lie and it’s not fun to lie to yourself. Read on and get some tips on how to be more creative.

Step By Step

  • Input – I wasn’t feeling creative this morning, so I went on input. I used stumbleupon to search articles about creativity. I found reinforcement for my creative instincts and justification for my procrastination. Sometimes wasting time is part of the creative process.
  • Craft – As a professional pianist I have a skill-set acquired through study and practice. As a hit songwriter I have a skill-set acquired through study and practice. If you’re an accountant, you have a skill-set acquired through study and practice. Only after you have a skill-set can you begin to do some creative accounting, ha ha. But seriously, learn something first. Creative types know that the creative process starts with imitation and moves from imitating the stuff that’s already been done, to creating things in your own original way.
how to be more creative

Do something new, dare to fail – that’s creative

  • Fear and Error – I’m scared. In fact, fear is what gets me out of bed in the morning, and motivates me to work as hard as I do. Fear fuels my need to explore new ideas, to create more creative things; whether it’s the next hit song or a new musical team building program. But I am not fearful of error or of failure. In fact, sometimes I need a big large failure to recalibrate my creative instincts. When talking about how to be more creative, entrepreneurs and artists often brag about their failures and how those failures led them to a new kind of success. Don’t be safe – get messy – fail!

How To Be More Creative & really do it

Time – You have to carve out time to do all of the above. And remember, problem solving in business requires creativity. If you have problem, you’ll be using creativity to work your way through that problem, to identify and consider solutions and them implement solutions to create something new. New…solutions…Now that sounds creative to me.

Use it, build on it, practice… and repeat.

About Billy Kirsch

Billy is a Grammy & Emmy nominated, CMA & ACM award winning songwriter with numerous Top 10 hits to his credit. His team building programs and keynote speaking presentations help people tap into their creative abilities to become more innovative and engaged in their work. Clients include Fortune 100 companies and organizations throughout the world.