The Creativity “Secret”

Is creativity a talent that only some are blessed with? Or are there creativity secrets we can all learn? The answer to both questions is “yes.” Albert Einstein admitted, “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” Here are four ways to help you explore your creative potential.

Observation
Examine how people you admire come up with their ideas. Observe how they implement them. Take note of the results. It may be the spark you need to think, “I can do something like that.” Steve Jobs once said, “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it. They just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.”

Analysis
Dissect something you admire, and discover what makes it unique. Is it the process? Is it the approach? There are clues everywhere. The key is to gather these clues and determine why they work. Once you understand the “why,” you can see if the same approach makes sense for your work.

Reorganization
Disassemble sets of ideas and reassemble them into something new. The creative process can be a construction process—a collaboration of ideas organized and built into a new method. An example would be taking different, or even divergent, notes on an idea and then combining and organizing them into an outline for a new and more cohesive plan.

Replication
Take the model you found and adjust it to fit your own needs. Just replicate a process, but adopt it to work with your specific situation. Anthony Robbins believes, “If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want, and copy what they do, and you’ll achieve the same results.”

Creativity isn’t magic. While individual talents and abilities certainly play a role, we all have the ability to be creative thinkers and gain creative confidence.