Secrets of a Creative Person

Secrets of Being Creative

Creative persons are curious and need to know is simply overpowering. They have insatiable curiosity to know of everything they come across. Their interest lies in multiple areas and is not limited to their professional area alone

The Japanese people have very high curiosity to know and learn different things. When you go to Japanese bookstores in Japan, you will notice that their bookstores are at least four times bigger that what you see inIndia. One will also notice large number of people being immersed in the books in the book stores. One gets a feeling that they are extremely curious to know of new things. Most of  American best sellers have been translated into Japanese language. While traveling very late in evenings on the metro, you can notice Japanese people reading technical books. They are very curious to know things so they read a lot. This partly explains why Japanese are very creative and innovative people.

The curiosity to know shouldn’t be limited to work areas but should extends even to your recreation time.  For instance, while watching programs like American Idol, you should be curious to know things like, why the program so popular worldwide? . What is the concept behind the program? What draws audiences to the program? By continuously trying to understand everything around them, the creative persons accumulate huge amount of knowledge on all issues.

When innovators are looking for solution to the problems, they are able to tap into large reservoir of knowledge they have accumulated. The elements of knowledge can now be combined in new and imaginative ways. If not for all the elements they have stored in their brains, they would never come up with out of box thinking. Creativity is about making connection about things you know, the things you have done and things you have seen. A person is creative if he can combine different elements in new and imaginative ways. If you don’t have large number of element to fall back on, then your ability to come up with box thinking is limited.

The question is how to build vast array of elements so that you can draw on them for coming up with solutions.  Do something that is entirely different to what you have been doing. Take a different path to office. Go out for lunch with someone different – away from your usual group. Read books and magazine on subjects you have never read before. Visit store, museum, a restaurant, a mall which you have never visited before. Gain new experiences in new areas. In today’s world, the more experiences you have on variety of things, the better equipped you will be as a creative person.

Many times in our daily life,  we see things but we don’t notice them. For instance, if you want to buy a particular car, you will start noticing the car (you are planning to buy) every time you are on the road. Before your intention to buy a particular type of a car, many times on the road the cars will pass you without you taking a notice of the passing cars. If you don’t notice things they will not be registered in your mind. And if they are not registered in your mind they will not become the elements (described above) which you can use to create ideas.

Many times I make notes of interesting things as I see them. Later in the day, I do Google search to understand further some interesting things I have seen that day. I make notes on interesting subjects on a register. So over a period, I have lot ideas to fall back on when I am in a brainstorming session.

So you need to start registering things in your mind. I would advise you to buy a small notebook. Everyday start writing on it something you have seen that date. After notebook is full, sit down and read it. Then start filling another notebook. And continue to do it for ever and ever. Build your database elements – a prerequisite for out of box thinking.