I recently picked up a sweet new book, at the News and Research Communications Rummage Sale, called “The Most Valuable Book Ever Published”. With a title so bold you have to give it a second look. I bit the bullet and picked it up along with some Mardi Gras beads (you never know when they might come in handy around the office).
If I wasn’t convinced the tagline pushed me over the top. “Opening the door to understanding greater health, success and prosperity. This book promises a lot, and it delivers!”.
At first glance I thought the book was a giant ruse. However, it actually has some cool stuff in it. Including tips on how to avoid chronic health problems, how to enhance your sex drive, how to “Beat the Moody Blues”, natural cures for common ailments, personal finance, travel tips and a guide on just about any topic you can think of. It doesn’t have a published date, or even authors name for that matter, but it has a very nice 80′s feel to it.
So, I will try to share some of these golden nuggets from time to time. I suppose this is some form of copyright infringement, but I like to play fast and l0ose with rules so here we go!
(paraphrased in some sections for sanity)
10 Steps to Greater Creativity
1. Think about yourself and your past.
By thinking about your experiences, you can uncover new facts or new relationships among different data you’ve collected, which might lead to greater ideas. Also, you can rid yourself of any inhibitions about creativity you might have buried in your past.
2. Don’t get trapped in a role.
If you select a defined role, such as the businessman wiht the conservative three-piece suit, you might find it harder to break away and become the Picasso of the board room.
3. Think like a child.
According to legend, Albert Einstein discovered the theory of relativity by imagining himself flying at the speed of light.
4. Write down all your ideas.
Don’t worry if your ideas seem far-fetched or crazy. Just get some ideas on paper. Judge them for sanity later.
5. Confront your frustrations.
See if you can figure out what is stopping your creativity, and then write about it. This will help free up the flow!
6. Change your surroundings.
Go to another room, take a walk, change your clothes or maybe do a few chores. Sometimes it helps to get away from the problem entirely for a while by imagining yourself somewhere you would really like to visit.
7. Analyze your ideas.
Now is the time to review your ideas and see if any of them have potential.
8. Don’t worry about making mistakes.
Failure happens to the best of us. It is a well-known fact that Einstein did poorly in school, was fired from his first job, even his doctoral dissertation was rejected by his university. But he never gave up. If you fail, figure out what didn’t work and then try again.
9. There is no excuse for not being creative.
It doesn’t matter if you are 80-years-old, crippled or completely lacking in spare time, you can still be creative. If you don’t have spare time then be creative on the job.
10. Live with encouragers, not discouragers.
If a friend or family member tries to discourage your creative efforts by telling you your ideas will never work, find people to associate with who will support your ideas.
Creative thinking is not just one method of climbing the ladder of success — it is a way of life. When you open up your mind to the potential for new ideas, you learn the joys of exploring, experimenting and figuring things out for yourself. You learn how to live.
-Kegan
