Nurture Creativity: Look for Unusual Combinations (Keytar = Guitar + Keyboard)

“There is only one way in which a person acquires a new idea:  by the combination or association of two or more ideas he already has into a new juxtaposition in such a manner as to discover a relationship among them of which he was not previously aware”

(Francis A. Cartier)

Sometimes, the best way to be and to nurture your creativity is to combine things not usually combined. For example, the miner’s cap (flashlight + protective hat), the wheelchair (chair + wheel), the radio clock (obvious!), the iPhone and all of smart phones (alarm clock + mobile phone + camera + video + voice recorder + video games + endless stuffs). These combinations result in invention. Perhaps the most common example of this kind of invention is the recipe. Every time a cook blends different ingredients to make a dish differently, he or she is inventing by combination. Last Christmas, me and my brother we fascinated by Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Christmas TV series show. Chief Ramsay is a genius and for me personally he is the most creative chief in the world. He is good at combining ingredients and his recipes are superb and yummyly-creative!

Look for unusual combinations. Let me gives another example. Let says there is a problem (maybe it’s true) in the increasing cost of our prison system. The Prison Department of Malaysia might well consider combining prisons with factories. The idea is, having convicts work for private industry behind bars and the money that they earned collectively can be used to cover the cost and to maintain prison’s facilities (or the government can help the convicts to start a fresh by allowing them to reimburse their wages once they are free. Maybe a bad idea, but this is just an idea though). Combine the unusual. In chemistry class, I learned that water, H²O, is the combination of two hydrogen atoms and one atom of oxygen. In my art class, I learned that blue plus yellow will creates green colour. In my geography class, I learned that my country Malaysia is the combinations of peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.  

“Where do good new ideas come from?” asked Nicholas Negroponte. “That’s simple – from differences. Creativity come from unlikely juxtapositions.” Arthur Koestler agreed. He wrote in his book The Act of Creation: “the thesis that creative originality does not mean creating or originating a system of ideas out of nothing but rather out of a combination of well-established patterns of thought – by a process of cross-fertilization.” He further explains, “The creative act… uncovers, selects, reshuffles, combines, synthesizes already existing facts, ideas, faculties, skills.”

Look for unusual combinations

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Reverse Your Thinking

“Reversals destabilize your conventional thinking patterns

and frees information to come together in provocative new ways”

(Michael Michalko)

I have a love-hate memories when I think of Singapore (Whatever!) It is an interesting place, of course. There they have the world first nocturnal zoo and is one of the most popular tourist attractions. It is called the Night Safari. What amazing about this zoo is that, ‘unlike traditional nocturnal houses, which reverse the day-night cycle of animals so they will be active by day, the Night Safari is an entire open-air zoo set in a humid tropical forest that is only open at night.’* The concept of a nocturnal park in Singapore was suggested in the 1980s by the former executive chairman of the Singapore Zoo, Dr Ong Swee Law. Instead of having a day zoo, they reversed the situation to having a night safari. If you haven’t been there, I encourage you to experience it yourself.

Reverse thinking. It is looking at your problem and reframes it by reversing the order of the problem in order to view it from a completely different angle. Creative people sometime come up with great ideas by reversing the problem by reversing their thinking about that problem. For example, a student came to me one day and ask if we can get more helpers during the camp because he said that based on the program we have a shortage of manpower. Instead of looking for more helpers, and obviously we had not enough people, I reversed his thinking and asked him, “Can we decrease some of the program activities instead?” By doing that we managed to organize the camp with no unnecessary extra helpers, lower budget and relaxing-well-planned program.

Marelisa Fabrega, lawyer and entrepreneur, writes, “Start at the end; think of what you don’t want; flip it on its head… these are all examples of reverse thinking. Now think of a problem that you’re having or an obstacle that you’re facing, and apply reverse thinking. You might be surprised by the ideas you come up with.” Consider other possible areas in which reverse thinking are prove useful. Just read how this statement by John F. Kennedy can impact our lives: “Ask not what the nation can do for you but ask what you can do for the nation.” Reverse thinking. Powerful, isn’t it? Now let’s be honest, you cannot practise reverse thinking all the time but there will be opportunities to do so. “Reversing the way you look at things encourages you to consider things that may not be considered at all,” said Michael Michalko in his book Cracking Creativity. “Reversals break your existing patterns of thought and provoke new ones. You take things as they are and then turn them around, inside out, upside down, and back to front to see what happens.”

Do you want to nurture and be more creative? Think in reserve.

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Keep It Simple

“Making the simple complicated is commonplace;

making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity” (Charles Mingus)

To create complicated thing is not the same thing as creating complexity. For example, even though internal software and electronic stuffs in the phone are complex (at least for me), the use of phones like iPhone is insanely simple. iPhone is a complicated product made easy to use. Making our ideas take shape does not necessarily have to be so complicated. Have you ever get annoyed by a difficult-hard-to-use tool or get bored by a looooonnnnggg elaborate project presentation or browsing website with too many options or answering that full-of-never-ending questions of your friend survey paper for his research project? What a waste of time!

One day after I shared in a Bible Study, a student came to me and said, “Wow, thank you brother. All this while I find it’s hard for me to understand this part of the Scriptures, now you make it so simple that I just can’t missed it!” Of course I thank God for his response. But behind the scene, it took me hours to reread, understand, prayed, asked God for wisdom and studied the text to present it in such a way that it will be easy for people to understand. Sometime I’m amazed (negative kind of) that people are making the simple complicated rather than simplify it. Common people tend to love complicating stuff; creative people however will think and ask: What does people want or need? Can I make it simpler? How can I remove ‘clutter’? Highly creative people understand that simplicity is not necessary the absent of complexity but the removal of unnecessary distractors and clutters.

Marty Neumeier author of The 46 Rules of Genius writes, “People tend to view simplicity and complexity as opposites. But this isn’t strictly true. The enemy of simplicity isn’t complexity, but disorder. And the enemy of complexity is also disorder. While complexity seeks order through addition, simplicity seeks it through subtraction. A goal of design is to drive out disorder by maximizing both simplicity and complexity. In most designed products, what we respond to best is a rich, layered experience (complexity) combined with ease of use, ease of understanding, or ease of purchase (simplicity).” He continues, “Most people have a build-in bias toward addition instead of subtraction. For some reason, the concept of ‘more’ comes naturally to us. Yet the innovator knows that the value of any design doesn’t lie in how much is piled on, but how much is discarded. More is more, but less is better.” Spot on!

We have reached the peak in creativity not when we have nothing more to add, but when there is nothing to subtract. Like many habits, simplicity is a hard thing to do initially. But in the long-run, it is worth the fight. “Simple can be harder than complex,” said Steve Jobs, “You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” How to be creatively simple? Buy books on the subject or/and start to think and live simple. In the meanwhile, do this: look around you. What are the project, presentation, work and ideas that you can make it simpler today? How can they be improved? What can you do to reduce it to bare essentials? Could some of them be removed? Is there something missing?

Keep it simple.

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Laugh Out Loud (L.O.L.)

If you're not laugh or at least smile by this photo, you're too serious... Repent!

“If you lose the power to laugh, you lose the power to think” (Clarence Darrow)

Jack Foster in his book How to Get Ideas writes that having fun is one of the best ways to get our minds into idea-condition. He tells that usually in creative departments of advertising agencies a writer and an art director work together as a team on a project. In some departments and occasionally in the ones that Jack is headed, three or four teams work on the same project. “When that happened in my departments,” write Jack, “I always knew which team would come up with the best ideas, the best ads, the best television commercials, the best billboards. It was the team that was having the most fun.” He observes that the ones who were having fun – smiling and laughing – generally always did find great ideas. He continues, “Were they enjoying themselves because they were coming up with ideas? Or were they coming up with ideas because they were enjoying themselves?” What do you think? “The latter. No question about it,” he answered.  

How many times have you walked secretly observing your office or classroom and noticed that people are laughing and having fun? Probably not many. My girlfriend said that her class was never boring because she always make sure that her students are having fun while studying. No wonder her students like her very much. She is creative. And creative people are not boring (most of them). My work also deal with students. I know that if I want my students to be more creative, I should give them more time to play and think.  If you are negative, you can´t be creative. Your thoughts affect your attitude, which in turn affects your behaviour. Negative behaviour almost always will block your creative juices because in turn, it will affect your attitude. And your attitude will affects other’s attitudes too.

Albert Einstein know the important of having fun when he said that “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” I once read that children laugh more than 300 times a day, whereas adults laugh less than 20 times a day. It tells me that somehow people become too serious and lose the ability to laugh while growing up. “Serious people have few ideas,” said Paul Valery, “people with ideas are never serious.” If you’re too serious, try to regain the lost joy of childhood by becoming more playful and humorous. You must be serious about not taking yourself so seriously. Laugh out loud. Smile a little bit more. Jokes around. Learn to be humorous. It will boost your immune system, reduces stress, give you a natural feel-good high, and nourish your brain and helps keep it alert and active but most important of all – you’ll become more creative.

Of course there are such people who are creative but don’t know how to have fun. These people are either rare or if they exist at all, aren’t worth to be your role model. You, have fun. You, please smile. You, laugh out loud! You, be creative. Michael Schrage says, "Serious play is not an oxymoron; it is the essence of innovation."

Yes, laugh out loud!  

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Have Crazy Idea, Don't Give Up!

Fred Smith, founder of FedEx

“I think there are two keys to being creatively productive.

One is not being daunted by one’s fear of failure, the second is sheer perseverance”

(Mary-Claire King)

“It’s so crazy, it might just work,” said Fred Smith optimistically. He was an undergraduate at Yale University in 1965. As part of the coursework, he wrote an economics paper exploring the process of transportation of goods in the United States. Fred Smith wrote “crazy” idea on paper how a company carrying small, essential items by plane could be a much better business. He, however, did not go into details about how to actually run such a company.

As expected, his professor gave the paper a grade of “C”. Just like Smith’s professor, other people thought that the idea was indeed deserving a “C”. Some even thought that it was “crazy”. It was, but not for Fred Smith. Therefore, Smith held on to the crazy idea despite what others thought of it. He believes in his idea. To cut the story short, in 1971, the company was launched. It is called FedEx Express. Throughout the years, will all the challenges and failures, Smith never give up. “Today,” wrote Abhash Kumar, in YouStory.com, “FedEx is a global giant with operations in more than 220 countries and territories and an annual revenue of US $45 billion.”

What I learned from Fred Smith’s story is this: Logic will dictate that we stay away from crazy ideas. True, but the crazy ones are dared to go beyond what is “logical” and what is “safe”. They were the ones who have ventured out of the boundaries of the norm. Highly creative people are basically crazy. And once they believe in the idea, they will never give up. Remember Steve Jobs’ famously quote: “the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Are you crazy enough? Do you have “crazy” idea that you believe in despite people’s negative criticisms about it? Do you want to change the world? Then, stay on. Don’t give up.

Many ideas deemed as crazy at first may just turn out to be very creative and innovative. “Nearly all creative ideas can sound crazy when first presented,” write Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari. He continues, “Most people don’t have creative imaginations, so most people don’t get what the creative is saying. And people tend to be fearful of things they don’t understand.” Here is the fact: Not all crazy ideas have worked out – but most do. Add that crazy idea to perseverance and believe. Remember, some will just laugh at your idea. Don’t give up. If it is a worthy idea, make it work despite how silly it may sounds.

Have crazy idea. Don’t give up.

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Ideas Worth Sharing

Pic from: andrewkonrad.com

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” (George Bernard Shaw)

I love watching TED Talks whenever I need inspirations to write or simply just curious to know random-but-informative stuffs. TED is a non-profit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). Very interesting! TED believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. Their agenda is to make great ideas accessible and spark conversation. Their tagline is my favourite: “ideas worth spreading.”

We must learn to share ideas. I remember when I was in a primary school, teacher asked us to study and do our homework alone. No copying or discussing. Maybe that was why I refused or reluctant to share my ideas and have this spirit of competitiveness with my friends throughout my schooling years. Only after I went to the university, I slowly learn to share ideas. The history of great inventors and creative people proof that nobody is a self-made. No musician, artist or writer ever achieved greatness without studying the works of earlier masters and discussing thoughts with their contemporaries. Ideas are meant to be share.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak shared ideas together and foundered Apple (They also shared a love of practical jokes and technological challenges). Bill Gates and Paul Allen shared ideas and Microsoft was born. Malaysian Christian students then studied at University Malaya in Singapore saw the potential of students impacting students in campus. They shared ideas and their burden for the student ministry. Hence Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES) Malaysia came to be. All of these happened because people share ideas.

Many people are worried about sharing ideas with others. They get very protective of those ideas. They afraid that people will steal their ideas. It's okay. I understand, it happened to me. But I know this very well also that it’s better to share ideas and work collaboratively than isolate yourself. Take risk. Of course, I’m not encourage you to share everything including all the finest details of your ideas. What I want us to do is to be more open about an idea or two and asking for feedback – especially, that constructive criticisms – has always work better than working alone. Present your ideas. Consider asking your trusted friends, peers and colleagues for their thoughts. Try your online friends as well. Now, steal those ideas. In many cases, they might be able to connect you with someone else who can help turn your idea into reality. But, you won’t know unless you talk to others openly. “For good ideas and true innovation,” write Margaret Heffernan, “you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.”

The more you share your ideas,

The more ideas you’ll get,

The more options and adjustments you can make,

The more choices (that’s matter) you’ll have to make a good decision and action.

There is a time to keep secret, there is a time to share your idea.

That’s what creative people do.

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Steve Jobs said "Creativity is Just Connecting Things"

Picture: Credits to Hugh MacLeod & Vitor Bellote  

“You cannot force creativity to happen—every creative person can attest to that.

But the essence of creativity is making connections and solving puzzles”

(Nancy C. Andreasen, Neuroscientist)

Creativity is connecting things. In other word, making connections where none existed before is what creativity is all about. The world is our field. Thus, there are practically unlimited possible connections that can be made. We are making connections all the time as part of our learning process. For example, a lot of things happen when I’m doing one thing and I’m not thinking about what my mind is doing. I’m either watching movie, I’m reading a book, eating my lunch and then – I make a connection. It may have nothing to do with what I am doing, but somehow or other I see something or hear something or do something, and it pops that connection together. People use to say, millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked, ‘why?’

“Creativity is just connecting things,” Steve Jobs, late CEO of Apple told Wired magazine. “When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people… Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem.”

Jobs told a story when he took calligraphy in college, a course with no practical applications to his life then. But after he came back later he used his knowledge and skills to added Macintoch, the first computer with beautiful typeface, fonts, and calligraphy. The dots were connected. Creativity is connecting things. Can be few years from now, can be months from now, can be in a minute later. So how to connect the dots? Here are my suggestions (at least, these are the things that I do myself):

§  Carry a notebook and keep track of everything – especially in the toilet (sometime I just write ideas on tissue!)

§  Read to add more knowledge. Logically, the more knowledge you have, the more connection you can make.

§  Play or try to experience more things in life. Most of the time, connections just happen when you least expected it.

§  Review the last sermons or scratch or whatever notes you had wrote before. Recalling and reminding are the best way to spark creative connections.

§  Try observation skill. Just look around you and try to make connections between things which may show similarity or maybe totally unrelated.

Don’t just stare the ceiling, make connections.

Don’t just read and play, make connections.

Don’t just eat and sleeping, make connections.

Maybe just relax, and there is a connection!

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Mixing with Like-Minded Creative People

Like laughter, creativity is contagious. There’s nothing like mixing with creative people to nurture your own creativity. Jenny Hare, writer of Unlock Your Creativity, explains, “[Mixing with creative people] is a kind of alchemy – as though your creative souls sparkle in the air separately at first as you recognize a common creative flair, and then are magnetized to each other and dance together for a while. Ideas flow and you both feel uplifted and energized, and when you part you look forward eagerly to riding on the wave of creativity you’ve mutually started.” It sound very lofty at first as you read this, but when you really have found like-minded people that you long to be with, you just can’t wait to come back to “dance together” again.

Even though I love to hangout alone talking to myself (it’s a real fun way to discover deep hidden thoughts inside my head), I understand that I also need to mix with people, especially with like-minded creative people. For example, I once attended a motivational talk seminars by Dr. Peter Chee, president and CEO of ITD world, at Damansara. The attendees are a diverse community of bright, caring, supportive, open-minded people who are generous with their time, their learning, and their attention. It's also a great group of creative people. We had teachers, artists, university students, business people, nurses, pharmacists, author and a retiree. We were like-minded in a way that we are hunger for success in life and pursuit for continuous learning. I was struck by how simply spending time with people in a variety of other creative endeavours re-sparked my own creative juices. I found myself being more curious, more open, more optimistic, more interested and more interesting – all as a result of attending the seminar and interacting with like-minded creative people.

One of the basic tenets of creativity is to do things differently, and to do different things. So if you need to reignite your creativity, do something completely new. A simply broadening your horizons by mixing with like-minded creative people will also broaden your mind. Thus, try something new today. Here are my suggestions. Look for communities within the things you liked to do. Ask your friends or check Facebook groups (social media are great tools to find community). You will make numerous friends and strong connections from these communities. Meet people at different places such as conferences, seminars, talks or class. If you’re an activist like my colleague, then join the peaceful rally. If you love to make a difference in your community, join others to volunteer for something others might find intimidating; homeless assistance or elder care for example. You will meet people who are made of sterner stuff, and you might just learn some more about yourself. When I say mixing with like-minded people it doesn’t mean that they have to have a dozen of common hobbies or interests like you, but one or two will do. Share ideas, having fun together and mutual encouragements is the point.

“Meeting with other creative people in a mutually encouraging atmosphere is a great tonic

for your soul as well as your creativity” (Jenny Hare)

Plus, mixing with like-minded creative people also can effects your happiness,

inspirations and sense of belonging.

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Hang Out in a Cemetery!

“Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected

and stepping outside your own experience”

(Masaru Ibuka)

By forcing yourself to go to places that may be outside your comfort zone or out of the ordinary, you not only find out new things or ideas, gain more experience and meet new people, but also it will let your creative juices flow with inspirations and refreshment. Let’s face it, even the most creative people go through a dry season once in a while. We all need to replenish the well of our inspirations. Here are some suggestions where you might want to try. Refill your creative well, get out and explore!

#1: Go to Waterfront and Watch Buskers Performing

Busking or street performance is the practice of performing in public places. Whether music, dance, art or theatre, these show have creativity written all over them. During a live band performance, for example, it's all about the performers, audience and the energy they created. Presentation skills, music skills, communication skills are all in one show. These are creative people. Be inspired and let your creativity nurtured by what you just saw and heard. Sometimes all it takes to get the creative juices flowing is to enjoy another art form. Hey, go to places to see buskers perform in town. You might be surprised how inspiring it can be.  

#2: Visit Sarawak Museum or Art Gallery

When was the last time you visit a museum? I assume in average – once in a life time. Unless you work in the museum or art gallery, you’re not quite likely to spending time there. Don’t worry, I understand. But even if you think you’re someone who just doesn’t enjoy museum or art exposure, you might want to ‘force’ yourself to do it at least once per year. You may be surprised and find that you actually enjoyed it. Extinct animals, ancient weapons and music instruments, mini model of longhouses, drawing and crafting by our local artists, masks for performing rituals, crafts design. Look at the old sampan (boat) design, for example, let your creativity take over and think about what does the craft or symbols means, why it was created the way it was. Ah, inspirations!

#3: Hang Out In a Cemetery

This probably my most uncomfortable place to visit. Admittedly, it may seem like an odd place to get your creativity flowing but I assure you, if you just let the scene stay in your mind, you can be inspired even by the tomb and grave. When I sat there and remembered my friend talked about how expensive coffin is, and how we spend lots of money to buy a beautiful and luxury coffin just to put it seven feet on the ground the next day, it doesn’t make sense! Then suddenly an idea came to my mind that may solve this issue of over-spending – recycle the coffin. Use it externally, but change it to plain, simple and inexpensive coffin for burial. Crazy? Idea is an idea after all.

Maybe you can try to image what their lives was. Pull out that pen and paper and start creatively writing their life stories. Where were they born, who did they marry, what did they do for a living, and how many kids did they have? Get as creative as you want. The idea here is to let the creativity flow and have fun with it.

#4: Get Back to the Nature

Many people find that simply taking a walk in a park or jog along a wooded trail is just what they need to refill the well of inspiration. I do this almost every day. Simply getting out in the fresh air and away from the computer and smart phone and external noises can cause you to relax and replenish your soul. If I feel a little less creative, or struggle to solve a problem or want to stop thinking about it for a while, I just get back to the nature.  Get out in the world and away from your day-to-day tasks for a bit, and you’ll soon find that those creative juices will gracefully flowing again.

Force yourself to go to places that may be outside your comfort zone.

Maybe, hang out in the cemetery? 

Wherever you can replenish your well of inspirations my friend.

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: "A" for Passion, "E" for Boring

“Passion drives creativity. Fuel it, protect it, tend it, grow it.

Manage it as the renewable resource it is”

(Marty Neumeier, The 46 Rules of Genius)

Passion is everything. Creativity that work doesn’t happen without it. Passion plays an important role in creative pursuits. At first, passion sparks our interest and a relentless desire to focus and learn. During the tough times and as idea development become harder, passion keeps us going. Yo-Yo Ma, a French and American cellist, said, “Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you're passionate about something, then you're more willing to take risks.” Many of the greatest ideas are fuelled by passion. For example, Google is fuelled by passion for information, Virgin is passionate about customer service, and Apple is for design.

When I was a kid, I have many interests and passions. I love drawing, playing video games, create my own toys, making Batman costume and gadgets (and tested it on my sidekick-childhood friend), watching Ultraman, and almost obsessive of becoming a Superman. My childhood passions then change as I walk into adulthood and I find new things to be passionate about. But as I get older, I become focused on my passions such as teaching, reading, writing, theology and creativity. All of these becomes key part of my life and actually almost defines who I am. If you want me to fall asleep while you’re talking, talk about car and clothes. But if you want to hear my sense of excitement and energy, talk about books and theology.

Now, everyone’s passion is different, I know. But let me ask: What is your passion in life? You must dig deep to identify your true passion. Remember, passion drive creativity. “Passion makes the world go around,” wrote Henri-Frédéric Amiel, “It is the juice that drives creativity. When you care enough to put your heart into your work, passion will keep you going through thick and thin.” Do what you love. The moment you find your passion can be one of the most fulfilling moment in your life. Doing what you love will lead you to success and sustain you when you fail. Ask yourself, ‘What makes your heart sing?’ Follow your heart.

When I think again about my first sentence above, I changed my mind.

Passion is not everything.

But then again, without passion life is boring.

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Read Widely like Google Search, Read Purposefully like Playing Archery

“Reading remains an unsurpassed vehicle for

the transmission of interesting new ideas and perspectives”

(Steven Johnson, TED Talks)

During my school time, there were three things that I hate in the world most: English language, writing and reading. Now strangely as it sound (and thankfully), I love all of them. I figure it out that if I want to grow I must challenge myself, keep pushing and do what I initially hate doing because I know that it is worth my investment, energy and time. Each and every one of us has the potential to grow. It's just a matter of practice and doing it regularly. In this way, we train ourselves to be more useful and – creative.

So now I love reading. One of the ways you can be more creative is by reading on a very wide range of subjects. Not just any reading will do, though. Blog posts, short articles, magazines, websites, newspapers and the like are all a fun diversion and beneficial, but they simply won’t turn on your creative juices as effective as the way good selective books will. “The reading which counts,” said Leon Gutterman, “is the reading which, in making a man think, stirs and exercises and polishes the edge of his mind.”

Let me give you an advice: you can learn anything, but you can’t read everything. So pick your subjects with a sense of purpose. For example, one of my goals this year is to write a book on creativity, so I should stuff my brain more by focus reading on the subject of creativity, innovations, ideas, arts, inventions, history and biographies/autobiographies of creative minds. Of course, insights and inspirations may come from other sources too. That’s for sure. So read widely (like Google search) and read purposefully (like playing archery). Randomly and focus reading. Both. 

Here are why reading can boost your creativity: Reading will:

§  Stimulate, nourish and broaden your mind (stagnant thinking is dangerous)

§  Help you to think out of the box (look at the things from a different perspective)

§  Add knowledge that can be used to spark ideas

§  Develop your vocabulary (especially for creative writings)

§  Enhance concentration and discipline (focus, focus, focus)

§  Sharpen language and communication skills (boring people are generally non-readers)

§  Helps you to think and gain more ideas from others

§  Improve your imagination (better than watching movies!)

§  Release your stress level and help you to relax

§  Build self-esteem, positive thinking and confidence (except when you read ghost stories)

§  Put you in the range of highly effective people all over the world (most successful people are readers)

§  Ignite your passion to read more. Reading is fun once you get into the habit (Fun = creative state).

§  Reading books, especially, will change your life!

“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” (Victor Hugo)

So, read widely like Google search and read purposefully like playing archery.

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Steal Like An Artist!

“Art is theft” (Pablo Picasso)

Great Artist Steal. Pablo Picasso is also often quoted as saying: “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” T.S. Elliot, poet and writer, admits, “Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn.” Nothing is Original. Jim Jarmusch explains, “Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent.”

Find Something Worth Stealing Today. “Every artist gets asked the question, ‘Where do you get your ideas?’” writes Austin Kleon, “The honest artist answers, ‘I steal them.’ How does an artist look at the world? First, you figure out what’s worth stealing, then you move on to the next thing. That’s about all there is to it. When you look at the world this way, you stop worrying about what’s ‘good’ and what’s ‘bad’ – there’s only stuff worth stealing, and stuff that’s not worth stealing. Everything is up for grabs. If you don’t find something worth stealing today, you might find it worth stealing tomorrow or a month or a year from now.” Don’t Neglect Ideas, Take It. As Mark Twain wisely suggests, “It is better to take what does not belong to you than to let it lie around neglected.”

New Idea = Combinations of One or More Previous Ideas. Carl G. Jung, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, observed: “Our souls as well as our bodies are composed of individual elements which were all already present in the ranks of our ancestors. The ‘newness’ in the individual psyche is an endlessly varied recombination of age-old components.” Austin Kleon also wrote, “Just as you have a familial genealogy, you also have a genealogy of ideas. You don’t get to pick your family, but you can pick your teachers… your friends… the music you listen to… the book you read… the movie you see.” Be Apprentice to Great Thinkers. “Chew one thinker – writer, artist, activist, role model – you really love. Study everything there is to know about that thinker.” “The great thing about dead or remote masters is that they can’t refuse you as apprentice. You can learn whatever you wants from them. They left their lesson plans in their work.”

The title of this article is 100% steal from Austin Kleon’s book Steal Like An Artist

95% quotes (a.k.a. steal) from various writers
3% edited and modified from people’s writings
only 2% my original words. Come on, steal like an artist!

“If you steal from one author, it’s plagiarism;

if you steal from many, it’s research.” (Wilson Mizner)

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Listen to Jason Mraz (or if You Prefer, Classical Music)

“When I sit down to write a song,

I really want the message of healing to thrive and transcend all ages”

(Jason Mraz)

Are you stuck of idea? Are you feeling overwhelmed and having a mental block? Do you feel the least bit creative? Then it’s time to get your creative juices flowing by listening to music. There are so many different things you can do such as take a walk, read a book or magazine, watch TV or movie, chat or talk to a friend. But let me focus on something that Albert Einstein loved to do – listen to music. When I read about Einstein I noticed that he listened to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Einstein have good taste of music after all.

The Mozart Effect by Howard Wright, author of 100 Great Innovation Ideas (Marshall Cavendish Business, 2012)

A Study conducted by a French researcher, Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis, and published in his 1991 book Pourquoi Mozart? found that listening to Mozart promoted healing and the development of the brain. Another study in 1993 by Shaw Rauscher, found that listening to Mozart helped with ‘spatial intelligence’ although it also showed that the enhancing effect of the music was only temporary. Although there are differing views on the benefits of classical and other types of music, the sheer act of sitting down and listening is enough to provide you with the time and space to think. If the music helps to stimulate ideas, it’s even better.

But probably you don’t like classical music. Listening to Mozart probably not you. I understand. At first I don’t like it either. Maybe you like to listen to rock music or traditional music or jazz or pop, whatever music that inspires and motivates you. Music has different effects on different people, so don’t think you have to cultivate a love for classical music just because I suggests you so. For me, Mozart is fine but I prefer Jason Mraz more. He wrote songs that have souls, great soothing voice, meaningful and heart-piercing lyrics. Mraz blend with his guitar so well that you can rely on the quality of his music either from studio recordings or live on stage. Most important of all, listen to Jason Mraz can be relaxing and therapeutic and help to clearing my mind of clutter. I can better concentrate and stimulate ideas (But I always end up sing along, whatever).

Listen to Mozart. Listen to Jason Mraz. Listen to music that will inspire you. Find your own music that suite you (btw, solitude is fine too). Find music that helps get you in that creative space, stick with it and listen to it over and over whenever you need to be in a creative frame of mind. This is important: Once you find the music that inspires and sparks your creativity, keep listening to it whenever you want ideas to flow. Say politely ‘Excuse me,’ grab that headphones and turn on the music!

Listen to music.
Listen to be in a creative frame of mind.

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

Nurture Creativity: Take a Sit, Drink Starbuck Coffee and Observe People

Pic from: jolingyeoh.blogspot.com, thanks!

“One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that

no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are

normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity” (Edward de Bono)

Off day. After work. Free time. With a cup of hot Starbuck coffee or simply bring one from home. Find a place to sit. At the mall, food court, the street, football field, in front of the church with pen and paper. This one is fun – people watching can be very interesting! Try this: set aside some time to hang out alone at a nearby park (or anywhere public as I mention above) and observe those around you. Pay attention to how they walk and talk, what they're saying and wearing, and how they interact with others. This is fun.

As you observe them, begin to write down different details. Pay attention to your senses and write about things you see, hear, feel and smell. Don't spend too much time thinking hard, just write or take notice whatever comes to your mind. This practice can help you improve your observation skills. It also helps you learn to focus and be mindful of what's going on around you. When you practise this and begin to write it down or pay attention to what comes to your mind, you'll start using those creative thinking brain muscles that need to be exercised.

If you want to nurture your creativity, be mindful and observant. Too often we go through life missing many of the details, but if you make it a point to notice what’s happening around you, you’ll soon find many creative ways to use what you learn in your writing, artwork, or other creative endeavours. I practise and use this observation skill to help me to bring home the Bible lessons to my hearers by translating the ancient Scripture into daily life, to generate ideas for blogs and to improve my alertness of what’s around me (I can be so absorb in my own world sometime).

Do people watching with a cup of coffee or tea, whatever you prefer

God, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)