The Power of Creativity

The Power of Creativity
THE POWER OF CREATIVITY

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DELMICH MILLENIUM BOOKS

Copyright Bamidele M. P. Ogidan 2014.
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(1)
By: Bamidele M. P. Ogidan
(2)
PREFACE
TABLE OF CONTENT
Preface
Introduction
1.
What is Creativity (Definition)
2.
The Types of Creativity
3.
The Importance of Creativity
4.
Creativity Thinking
5.
Creative Potential
6.
Characteristics of Creative People
7.
Conditions Fostering Creativity
8.
Development of Creativity in Critical Period
9.
The Coverage of Creativity
10.
Blocks to Creative Development
11.
How to Stimulate your Creativity
12.
Self Text to Improve and Practice Creativity
13.
Inspirational Words and Quotes for Creativity
31
34
53
73
(3)
85
110
120
141
151
164
168
173
Creativity can enrich peoples live in every sphere

and help them to live fuller lives. Compared to
what we ought to be, we are only half awake. We
are making use of only a small part of our mental
resources. It is to activate your dominant potential
of creativity that this course has been designed. But
to be creative and to continue to be creative requires
constant effort which, unfortunately few are ready
to make. Thinking is the hardest work there is,
which is the probable reason why so few engage in
it. Creativity demands a person the effort to try to
see and judge things in a new way, to feel, listen,
read, think and deal with those around one in a
better manner. It helps a person to tackle problems
in new ways and to find the best solutions to them
creatively.
To help persons to become creative the many
exercises, self text, chiefly in divergent thinking, are
designed to stimulate the creative potential that lies
asleep in most people. The doing of the self text is
essential in order to acquire the habit of divergent
thinking leading to creative thinking. Many
authorities on creativity have been purposely
quoted lest the readers think that creativity is just a
fad of the author alone. Creativity is now being
offered and practices in most countries and
institutes. I sincerely give thanks to God for his
enlightening
in
wisdom,
knowledge
and
understand.
(4)
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of education and information should
be to enable individuals to discover and live a life of
harmonious balance between these dualistic
tendencies unfortunately, very small minority of
persons who are able to achieve this harmonious
balance to do so, not because of, but in spite of the
education they receive. Institutions such as schools,
churches, organizations, governments and political
organizations of every sort, all tend to direct
thought for ends other than truth, for the
perpetuation of their own functions, and the control
of individuals in the service of their functions.
In the subsequent pages of this book you will come
across the following rather disturbing statement.
Children are naturally creative till they go to
school. For a great many failure is avowed
absolute. Many others fail in fact if not in name.
They complete their schooling only because we
have agreed to push them up through the grades
and out of schools, whether they know anything or
not.
There are many more such student and youth than
we think. Close to forty per cent of those who begin
high school drops out before they finish. In most
modern education, what is actually happened is
that the blind concern for communication of subject
matter, in various areas of human knowledge, is so
(5)
absolute that teachers and elders tend to push the

real nature and potential of learners under the
carpet.
Our country is beset with tremendous problems.
Can our youth and adult be taught to find original
solution? Can we produce leaders who realize the
uniqueness of our problems and produce unique
solution? This then is the task before the educator to
identify, encourage and develop creative talents. I
would highlight three main aims of this book.
1.
This book has a message for all educators and

administrator that consistent training in the
exercise of our potential creativity through
divergent thinking improves the quality of
our learning, and of the scope and utility of
the work we do hard and honest work.
2.
This book reassures us that creativity is not

the exclusive preserve of a few individuals.
All of us possess a measure of creativity
understandingly in various degrees.
3.
This book also makes us aware that it is only

through constant exercise that our creative
potential is realized. Creativity therefore is an
outcome of hard and honest work.
(6)
All cultures believe, in one way or the other, in an

unfathomable source of all creation. A two way
communication is always available to all human
being with this primordial source of creativity. As a
matter of fact our essential of mind is a part if this
source. our creativity is like a fountain that flows
into itself how many of our educational
institutions are able to make how many leaders
aware of this unique legacy we are all born to?
Finally, illness or for that matter any other
handicap, is no impediment to creativity. It is just a
matter of faith and hope. I have no doubt that all
that buy and read this remarkable book will also
share my faith and hope in creativity thinking. This
book will empowered you and help you to
stimulate your thinking for a great creativity.
Be blessed!
Chapter One
WHAT IS CREATIVITY?
Creativity is the capacity of producing a result that
is new or original, of solving a problem in a new
way, or producing that which enriches and makes a
change in someones life or society. To be creative
means, to make something new and original. To
bring something old, past and novel into existence,
to give rise to something new.
Here are some popular concepts of creativity given
below.
One popular concept of creativity holds that what is
created is always new and different from what
already existed and, therefore, is unique. There is
ample evidence that this concept is not correct or is
only partially correct. Granted that all creativity
involves the combination of old ideas or products
into new form, but the old are the basis for the new.
The painter who produces a new red or blue makes
use of old colours just as the child, in creating a
daydream world, makes use of scene and actions
experienced in daily life, or observed in the mass
media.
Furthermore, uniqueness is a personal achievement
not necessarily a universal achievement. People can,
be created when they produce something they have
(7)
(8)
never produced before, although it may have been

produced in almost the same, or in even an identical
form by someone else. Another popular concept
regards creativity as synonymous with imagination
and fantasy and, as such is a form of mental play.
Rather, creativity is an organized comprehensive,
imaginative activity of the brain toward and
original outcome. It is thus innovative rather than
reproductive.
of this course is meant really to train the process of

thinking divergently rather than to produce a
concrete result as an act. The training is just to
activate the mind for divergent thinking. Also,
creativity comes from imagination as one of those
internal faculties that play a very important part in
many creative activities. The human race is
governed by imagination it is that picture making
power by which we can visualize objects and
events. It can span the past and the future.
Imagination is more important than knowledge
Imagination is very strong in children and adult,
and to leads to daydreaming in them and in
adolescents and in adults. All process is somehow
depending on imagination. Imagination can be a
blessing, and at times can become a course if care is
not taken.
Another popular concept of creativity is that all

people fall roughly into two major groups, the
conformers and the creators. Conformers do what is
expected of them without disturbing or causing
trouble for others. By contrast, creators contribute
original ideas, different points of view, new ways of
looking at problems and attacking them. They do
follow the social group. This concept implies that
some people are born creative and others are not,
many research studies contradict this view. All
possess varying degrees of creativity. Creativity
may be considered as a result or as a process. (a) As
a result, creativity gives us a new and useful
product, or a new experience. (b) As a process,
creativity activates the mind to produce something
new or to see and express new relationships.
We should therefore develop our own imagination

and that of those we educates, if we are leader,
teacher, parents and instructors.
The emphasis on the act of producing rather than

on the end result of the act is accepted today as
central of the idea of creativity. In fact, the exercise
THE PROCESS OF CREATIVITY

If you remember, I define creativity as the act of
turning new and imaginative idea into reality.
Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then
producing is the production or implementation of
an idea. If you have ideas, but dont act on them,
you are imaginative but not creative. Creativity is
the process of bringing something new into being.
(9)
(10)
Creativity requires passion and commitment. Out

of the creative act is born symbols of myths. It
brings to our awareness what was previously
hidden and points to nee life. The experience is one
of heightened consciousness with ecstasy
A study reveals that we are naturally creative and

as we grow up we learn to be uncreative. Creativity
is a skill that can be developed and a process that
can be managed. Learning to be creative is akin to
learning a sport. It requires practice to develop the
right muscles, and a supportive environment in
which to flourish. Business leaders are increasingly
adopting the principles and practices of art and
design build creative muscle in their organizations.
CREATIVITY AT WORK
Creativity is a core competency for leaders and
managers and one of the best ways to set your
company apart from the competition. Corporate
creativity is characterized by the ability to perceive
the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to
make connections between seemingly unrelated
phenomena, and to generate solutions. Generating
fresh solutions to problems, and the ability to create
new products, processes or services for a changing
market, are part of the intellectual capital that give a
company its competitive edge. Creativity is a crucial
part of the innovation equation.
Design thinking can help organizations manage the

innovation process and overcome some of the
barriers that prevent leaders from being effective
innovators. Art and design processes help people
develop fresh thinking through aesthetic ways of
knowing, imagination, intuition, reframing and
exploring different perspectives.
Creativity requires whole-brain thinking; rightbrain imagination, artistry and intuition, plus leftbrain logic and planning.
Creativity is fostered in organizational cultures that
value independent thinking, risk taking, and
learning. They are tolerant of failure and they value
diversity. Open communication, a high degree of
trust and respect between individuals are crucial.
Can creativity be leaned?
Art-based processes also help people learn to be

comfortable with uncertainty, ambiguity, and
paradox.
1.
Skills training of leaders, managers and staff
2.
Coaching innovation champions and teams
3.
Culture change initiatives are based on these
findings from global studies on innovation.
4.
Traditional business models no longer studies
on innovation.
5.
Innovation has a higher success rate when it is
applied to the business model.
(11)
(12)
6.
Creative leadership is required for innovation

to succeed.
The ability to collaborate at all levels of the
organization.
The ability to take conceptual or physical raw

materials and put it together in such a way that a
new perspective, solution, or physical entity
emerges that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Creativity is also the capacity to see connections

and possibilities where others do not. The ability to
disorganize received ways of thinking and to
reorganize them in a way unknown before. The
processes whereby ones ideas or productions
delight, surprise, and inspire others. The ability to
move us forward whether we want to move
forward or not. The ability to stretch our minds so
they simply cannot ever go back to where they
were.
In fact, creativity is a process that stems from

thinking about or conceptualizing something in
way that others havent before the process often
begins by framing a question differently than it has
been framed before. For me, creativity in problem
solving often stems from simplifying an issue to its
root and then thinking about a solution that
addresses what is indeed at the root, but often
overlooked or disguised by something else. So often
we miss creative solutions, or even creative
thinking, because we rely on a historical or another
persons definition of the issue. To fully foster
creativity, we must remove the constraint of fear
from our thinking and develop a spirit of positive
belief in the concept of that is possible.
7.
Our imagination is boundless. In a split second we

can imagine an incredible number of things. To give
form to what is imagined takes great creative
powers. Thats why I believe creativity is giving
form to imagination.
What makes creativity so, well, creative is that our
words, no matter how eloquent or erudite cannot
capture its essence. When pressed for a definition. I
typically steal a line from Michel Foucault and say
that creativity enables us to free thought from what
it silently thinks.
(13)
Creativity is absorption in experience, savoring

complexity, recognizing interdependence, and
striving to embody love.
In another way, creativity means having the
courage to think outside of the box. Creativity
people are so because they approach problems and
projects in many ways and are most pleased when
the approach is novel. A creative campus will result
(14)
in three or more answers from two individuals

pondering a single question. The coffee break
discussions will have a constant focus on the
question mark rather than the phrase, and people
will regularly lose track of time. Creativity requires
that a person be more focused on inner vision than
ones image a willingness to be seen at moments
as a fool. As true innovation almost always requires
trial and error and missteps, creative people are
usually misunderstood or underappreciated. They
may not be popular or even liked in their lifetime,
but their work will reveal previously unseen or
unheard beauty in this world. Although the lives of
creative people will be as ephemeral as all
humankind, their work will live on, having made a
unique mark, however small.
where collaboration thrives diverse environments

where there are adequate opportunities for crosscultural exchange interdisciplinary exchange time
and resources an environment that tolerates and
even encourages failure.
Creativity can mean the creation of an absolutely

new idea, but it also means seeing how to combine
known ideas in a new way, or exploring something
we all know from a unique angle.
Sociologist Steven Tepper defines creativity as
producing something new (or combining old
elements in new ways) to advance a particular field
or add to the storehouse of knowledge. In each
case, creativity is as relevant to the health sciences,
business, and law as it is to the arts and sciences.
Tepper describes several conditions that scholars
believe are necessary for creativity: an atmosphere
(15)
We must ask the arts and the humanities to help is

define what it means to be fully, humanly alive, to
live in community, to understand our souls, and to
express ourselves with the full range of
communication that goes beyond words to the
celebration of our humanity. That is a tall order. It
is one that we must invest in.
Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or
recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that
may be useful in solving problems, communicating
with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.
Three reasons why people are motivated to be
creative:
Need for novel, varied, and complex
stimulation
Need to communicate ideas and values
Need to solve problems
In order to be creative, you need to be able to view
things in new ways or from a different perspective.
Among other things, you need to be able to
generate new possibilities or new alternatives. Tests
(16)
of creativity measure not only the number of

alternatives that people can generate but the
uniqueness of those alternatives, the ability to
generate alternatives or to see things uniquely does
not occur by change; it is linked to other, more
fundamental qualities of thinking, such as
flexibility,
tolerance
of
ambiguity
or
unpredictability, and the enjoyment of things
heretofore unknown.
3.
whose judgments are insightful, who may

make important discoveries that only they
know about.
Individuals who have changes our culture in
some
important
way. Because their
achievements are by definition public, it is
easier to write them. (e.g. Leonardo, Edison,
Picasso, Einstein, etc.)
Creative refers to novel products of value, as in

The airplane was a creative invention. Creative
also refers to the person who produces the work, as
in? Picasso was creative. Creativity. Then refers
both to the capacity to produce such works, as in
How can we foster our employees creativity? and
to the activity of generating such products, as in
creativity requires hard work.
All who study creativity agree that for something to
be creative, it is not enough for it to be novel: it
must have value, or be appropriate to the cognitive
demands of the situation.
The systems model of creativity:

1.
The creative domain, which is nested in
culture the symbolic knowledge shared by a
particular society or by humanity as a whole
(e.g., visual arts)
2.
The field, which includes all the gatekeepers
of the domain (e.g. art critics, art teachers,
curators of museums, etc.)
3.
The individual person, who using the symbols
of the given domain (such as music,
engineering, business, mathematics) has a
view or sees a new pattern, and when this
novelty is selected by the appropriate field for
inclusion into the relevant domain.
Ways that creativity is commonly used:

1.
Persons who express usual thoughts, who are
interesting and stimulating short, people
who appear to usually bright.
2.
People who experience the world in novel and
original ways. These are (personally creative)
individuals whose perceptions are fresh,
Creativity is any act, idea, or product that changes

an existing domain or that transforms an existing
domain into a new one. What counts is whether the
novelty he or she produces is accepted for inclusion
in the domain.
(17)
(18)
Characteristics of the creative personality:

1.
Creative individuals have a great deal of
energy, but they are also often quiet and at
rest.
2.
Creative individuals tend to be smart, yet also
nave at the same time
3.
Creative individuals have a combination of
playfulness and discipline, or responsibility
and irresponsibility.
4.
Creative individuals alternate between
imagination and fantasy and one end, and
rooted sense of reality at the other.
5.
Creative people seem to harbor opposite
tendencies on the continuum between
extroversion and introversion.
6.
Creative individuals are also remarkable
humble and proud at the same time.
7.
Creative individuals to a certain extent escape
rigid gender role stereotyping and have a
tendency toward androgyny.
8.
Generally, creative people are thought to be
rebellious and independent.
9.
Most creative persons are very passionate
about their work, yet they can be extremely
objective about it as well.
10. The openness and sensitivity of creative
individuals often exposes them to suffering
pain yet also a great deal of enjoyment.
(19)
CREATIVE THINKING
Creative thinking is the process which we use when
we come up with a new idea. It is the merging of
ideas which have not been merged before.
Brainstorming is one form of creative thinking: it
works by merging someone elses ideas with your
own to create a new one. You are using the ideas of
others as a stimulus for your own.
This creative thinking process can be accidental or
deliberate.
Without using special techniques creative thinking
does still occur, but usually in the accidental way;
like a chance happening making you think about
something in a different way and you then
discovering beneficial change. Other changes
happen slowly through pure use if intelligence and
logical progression. Using this accidental or logical
progression process, it often takes a long time for
products to develop and improve.
In an accelerating and competitive world this is
obviously
disadvantageous.
Using
special
techniques, deliberate creative thinking can be used
to develop new ideas. These techniques force the
mergance of a wide range of ideas to spark off new
thoughts and processes. Brainstorming is one of
these special techniques, but traditionally it starts
with unoriginal ideas.
(20)
Developments of products occur much more

rapidly using these deliberate techniques than by
accident. Many people known for being creative use
these techniques, but are not aware they are doing
so because they have not been formally trained in
them. If you use these deliberate techniques during
advanced brainstorming sessions then you too will
be more creative.
Creativity is the bringing into being of something

which did not exist before, either as a product, a
process or a thought.
With practice, ongoing creative thinking (the

continuous investigation, questioning and analysis
that develops through education, training and selfawareness) occurs all the time. Ongoing creativity
maximizes both accidental and deliberate creative
thinking. Ongoing creativity takes time and
deliberate practice to become skillful at, but its
surprising how quickly it becomes an attitude, not a
technique. The first step to take is to learn the
creative thinking technique so that you can
deliberately use them to come up with new ideas.
You will then be at an immediate advantage over
those who dont know how to use them. You
should then practices the techniques to increase
your skill at ongoing creative thinking. (After a
while you may even find it unnecessary to use
specific techniques because you may be having too
many ideas anyway.)
(21)
You would be demonstrating creativity if you:

Invest something which has never existed before
Invest something which exist elsewhere but you
are not aware of
Invest a new process for doing something
Reapply an existing process or product into a
new or different market
Develop a new way of looking at something
(bringing a new idea into existence)
Change the way someone else looks at
something.
In fact, we are all creative every day because we are
constantly changing the ideas which we hold about
the world about us. Creativity does not have to be
about developing something new to the world, it is
more to do with developing something new to
ourselves. When we change ourselves, the world
changes with us, both in the way that the world is
affected by our changed actions and in the changed
way that we experience the world. Creativity can be
used to make products, processes and services
better and it can be used to create them in the first
place. It is expected that increasing your creativity
will help you, your organization and your
(22)
customers become happier through improvements

in your quality and quantity of output.
Aspects of Creativity; analyzing this beast

There are four aspects of creativity that are studied:
1.
The creative thing or product; that which is
creative. The definition above is about the
creative product.
2.
The creative person; the person who creates
the product.
3.
The creative process; the steps that the creative
person followed to create the product.
WHAT IS CREATIVITY? IN FINAL VIEW

What is creativity? You will see that creativity has
been defined in many ways. Some people that you
will read say that there is a fundamental similarity
and agreement in all of the definitions, while others
will say that there is no consensus on what
creativity is. Personally, I side with the first group.
Whichever group you come to side with during this
course, I would like to start with the following
definition, at least as a guide:
4.
The creative environment; the group of people

with whom the creative person was involved
during the creative process, and perhaps prior
to it. In some cases, the environment can also
refer to different aspects of the physical
environment, such as the colors, the type of
architecture and furniture and countryside Vs
urban.
A quick view definition: Something is creative if it

is new and it meets a need or solves a problem
You will read very similar definitions many times in
this course, but also some different ones. Early in
the semester, you will be asked to make up your
own mind, at least initially, on what you think
creativity is. In the definition above, "meets a need"
and "solves a problem" are supposed to be different
wordings for the same idea. Also, the need or
problem does not have to be practical or utilitarian.
In the case of Picasso, for example, artists of the
time had come to an impasse over what they were
trying to do. Picasso met their need by showing
them the way forward. But newness all by itself
does not mean that something is creative.
Can someone be creative without there being a

creative product? The idea of product here is very
general. It could be a theory, an artistic work, an
idea, or a suggestion a suggestion box. But if there
is no product external to the person, can that person
ever be considered creative? There is a practical
question here; without some external manifestation,
how would the rest of us ever know whether or not
the person is creative? For one thing, we could ask
people if they are creative or not.
(23)
(24)
But would we be able to trust these self-evaluations

without an external product? On a theoretical level,
while most of the people you will read in this
course require an external product, some do suggest
that, if the practical problems could be solved,
people might be regarded as creative without an
external product.
Some creativity researchers add a fifth aspect; the
symbols used in the field. By symbols here is meant
the methods used to represent ideas in the field in
which a particular creative person works. For
example, in the physical sciences, mathematics is
used to represent theories. In the life sciences, ideas
such as "gene" are more often abstract intellectual
constructs that are defined in writing. In music,
there is musical notation - musical notes.
The idea of including the symbols as an aspect of
creativity is that perhaps the particular symbols in
use at the time influence the types of creativity that
are possible at that time. Certain types of symbols
may foster creativity, while other types may hinder
creativity. Those who give symbols an important
role in creativity also regard creativity as either
creating new symbols, or using the existing symbols
in new ways.
(25)
CONTROVERSIES
There are major aspects of creativity that are
controversial. Here are some of the fundamental
controversies:
Is creativity a yes or no type of thing, or are some
things more creative and some less creative?
Are there creative people and non-creative people,
or are some people more creative and some less
creative?
Are
differences
in
creativity
innate
an
unchangeable, or can people be taught or
successfully encouraged or even told to be creative?
Are there different types of creativity, such as
creativity in the visual arts, in music, in sculpture,
in literature or in science, or is there a universal
creativity that is applied in different ways?
If there is a universal creativity, why are people
highly creative in only a single field, or perhaps in a
few related fields?
Is it possible to be creative in practical affairs, or is
creativity limited, for example to the arts and
sciences? If there is such a thing as "corporate
creativity", or creativity in the business world, is
there a different type of creativity than plain
creativity, or do these two types of creativity share
common properties?
Does creativity require complete freedom from
external influences, or can creativity flourish where
there is evaluation or criticism?
(26)
Is the creative process like "aha", where there is a

sudden insight like a light bulb going on, or does it
happen more gradually, say in a series of smaller
steps? The "aha" model can involve a large amount
of subconscious activity, but the conscious activity
is sudden and happens all at once. This is often
called a Gestalt view, after the Gestalt
psychologists, who held that visual details cannot
be perceived until the overall visual layout is
perceived.
One of the most famous modern American artists,

Jackson Pollock, died at a relatively early age when
he drunkenly drove his car into a tree, and this
early death attributed to abuse is said to enhance
his reputation as an artist. A recent book (Creativity
and Disease by Philip Sandblom, M.D., Ph.D.)
examines the role of physical and mental illness in
art.
Some people will say that some of these issues are

proven or disproven, but others will simply assume
that one or another of the above is true or false. One
fundamental issue for me in designing this course
is: Undoubtedly it would be valuable for people
studying creativity to experience being creative. But
is it fair for me to expect creativity from students in
this course? Students know that at the end, they will
be evaluated (graded). Some researchers say that
external motivation (such as praise, grades, salary,
promotions, recognition, awards) stifle creativity.
And one of the articles in The Nature of Creativity

("Creativity, leadership and chance", Pg 404, refers
to a finding by R.B. Cattell that "scientists [tend] to
be 'schizothymic' (i.e., withdrawn and internally
preoccupied) and 'desurgent' (i.e. introspective,
restrained, brooding, and solemn." This is not an
uncommon view, but it is hardly what a mother
might wish for her children! Howard Gardner in
Creating Minds writes about the "Faustian bargain"
that creative individuals make with their work.
A DARK SIDE?
Does creativity have a dark side? Scientific
creativity has a history of being portrayed as
malignant or out of control -- Jekyll and Hyde,
Frankenstein and Dr. Strangelove are famous
examples. The Romantics associated artistic and
cultural creativity with disease and even madness.
On the other hand, Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, in his

study Creativity, writes that after conducting
detailed interviews with contemporary creative
artists and scientists, "contrary to the popular image
of creative persons, the interviews present a picture
of creativity and creative individuals that is upbeat
and positive." He quotes from several interviews
that speak of lyrical happiness with the work and
with everyday life of his creative subjects. Einstein
is universally portrayed as happy and cheerful in
(27)
(28)
his personal life. Where does the truth lie? For me,
this is one of the unanswered questions. Here are
some possible explanations of this seeming
paradox, some of which you will read about in this
course:
I intend to avoid "mission creep", or redefining

creativity to include other topics. Creativity is not
the same as:
Intelligence
Kindness
Goodness
Wisdom
Being a good role model
Being supportive of others
Happiness
Joy
Fulfillment
Success
Some creative individuals are somber and

withdrawn, while others are cheerful and happy.
Creativity enhances the joyousness of the individual
life, and those creative individuals who are somber
and brooding would be even more so if they were
not creative.
Creativity is all-absorbing, leading creative
individuals to have restricted personal and family
lives. Externally, this can cause them to be seen as
somber and brooding (they would rather be
working than talking to or being observed by
researchers), but internally they are happy and
joyous in their work.
SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS
Words that are similar to creative or creativity:
Innovative
New
Novel
Original
Forward-thinking
Pushing the envelope
(29)
(30)
Chapter Two
TYPES OF CREATIVITY
In his book Adaptors and Innovators, Michael Kirton
describes Adaption-Innovation as a cognitive style,
a "preferred mode of tackling problems at all
stages." He emphasizes that scores on the Kirton
Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI), are valuefree: "Very high, very low or intermediate KAI
scores are neither laudatory nor pejorative." All of
us can use both styles of creative problem solving,
but
we
have
a
preference
for
either
Adaptive/Resourceful
or
Innovative/Original
Creativity.
ADAPTIVE / RESOURCEFUL
People who score on the KAI as Adaptive tend to
accept the paradigm within which a problem is
embedded (current theories, policies, points of
view). They're likely to produce a few ideas that
aim at continuity with the practices, norms, and
current way of doing things, but bring about a
better way of doing them. They often (not always)
show a preference for Sensing on the Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator (MBTI).
To be successful over time, most organizations
(except the most innovative in their products
and/or services) will necessarily be adaptive in
their orientation. It's more costly and risky to
(31)
continually do things in a different way. Kirton

remarks that Adaptors are at their best "in the
smooth, efficient operation of an existing system;
creatively refining, improving, and extending the
thinking that underlies it."
INNOVATIVE / ORIGINAL
People who score on the KAI as Innovative tend to
"detach the problem from its cocoon of accepted
thought," to step out of the "box" or paradigm. They
tend to redefine a problem, produce many ideas,
break through what the organization perceives as
givens and restraints provide solutions aimed at
doing things differently. They often (not always)
show a preference for Intuition on the MBTI. While
a company is growing and maintaining itself in
predictable ways and in a predictable market,
innovative solutions are not necessarily preferable;
but organizations cannot survive if they're unable to
break through with new thinking when necessary.
THE DILEMMA OF DIFFERENCES
Studies at the Center for Creative Leadership
("Targeted Innovation") suggest that each problem
mode has its advantages, and the most successful
organizations (and leaders) are those able to use
both problem solving styles flexibly. In many
organizations, though, Innovators experience
problems in communication because it's difficult to
(32)
get others to see outside the box, and they're often

met with skepticism.
Perhaps as a consequence, Innovators tend to be
condescending to Adaptors, who can be very
resourceful and come up with excellent solutions to
ongoing problems, but who tend to work within the
rules, to seek consensus, and to prefer change that
occurs gradually. Thus Adaptors are often seen by
Innovators as unimaginative, stuck, resistant to
change, always focused on problems vs. solutions,
and/or lacking a view of the big picture.
Because innovative solutions are less easily
understood and have unpredictable outcomes, and
because such break-through change is threatening,
Innovators are often seen by Adaptors as
undisciplined, impractical, irreverent, abrasive,
and/or insensitive to people. Clearly, a better
understanding of these different creative styles -and the value of each under certain circumstances -can lead to stronger, more flexible teams and more
successful organizations.
(33)
Chapter Three
THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATIVITY
Our thinking mind is mainly two fold.
(a) A creative mind, which visualizes, foresees
and generates ideas
(b) A judicial mind, which analysis, compares
and chooses.
These two minds work best together. Judgment
keeps imagination on the track. Imagination not
only opens ways to action, but can also enlighten
judgment. You do much to improve your judicial
mind; you go to school or college, you study
history, logic, mathematics. You debate, you weigh
pros and coins. But what steps do you take
consciously to improve your creative mind? Isnt it
a fact, that except when forced by circumstances,
most of us dont even try to use our creative minds?
Were it not for slow, painful and constantly
discouraged creative effort, man would be no more
than a mere species of primates living on seeds
fruits, and uncooked flesh. Imaginative power is the
greatest characteristic of the supremely successful
career. The eminence of industrial and business
leaders has been due to their imaginative vision,
which reveals to them new modes of organization
and action. Great men have set the patterns of
human thinking because from the stuff of their
(34)
minds they wove a new texture of ideas and

interpretation.
Imagination is the key to success. If you want to
write fiction or drama or poetry, this above all is the
secret you must learn. Perhaps your aim is to
concoct some original entertainment for your
friends, again you are facing a job for the
imagination. The advertising man or the sales
manager achieves success by his ability to think of
new combinations and new avenues of approach to
old problems. That executive is most valuable who
can conceive of new patterns of function and new
strategies.
persons life, can creative development help the

person who thought the answer to his restlessness
might be in merely changing jobs or moving to a
new community; when you see how creative
development can help such a person to see the same
old places and the same old faces, but see them
differently because of a new open-eyed vision, you
through development of creative ability.
Creative men go on to show how student and

industry benefits from creative problem-solving
courses. In one research project, graduates of
creative problem-solving classes were paired
against comparable students who had not had these
classes. The course-takers averaged 95 per cent
better than that of others in the ability to produce
fresh and useful ideas. With the same creativedevelopment methods, men of industry are
designing new machines and manufacturers are
finding more uses for their products.
Man owes his success to his creativity No one

doubts the need for it. It is most useful in good
times and essential in bad time. Most people feel
that creativity is an expensive luxury since the
development of new ideas is very expensive
(retooling, production changes, market research,
promotion and the like manner) and the large
majority of new product idea fails. Such people feel
that it is better to wait until someone else has
developed the idea and opened up the market, and
then to follow behind as quickly as possible.
More than 100,000 persons have now taken such

courses and are getting demonstrable results.
When you have seen, as I have seen, How creative
thinking can change the whole landscape of a
The disadvantages and advantages of such a policy

aside, it is possible to point out that the innovation
of new products is but one aspect of creativity. On
the whole, lack of creativity is more costly than
creativity. Lack of creativity means continually t do
things in an inefficient way long after they could
have been altered. Lack of creativity means
pursuing the same concepts after they have gone
out of date.
(35)
(36)
What creativity could do for our nation; with the

progressive industrialization, a rapid change is
taking place in our lives. This rapid change requires
new adjustments, past. In the village life followed
the same pattern, in a receptive manner the son
following the footsteps of the father. Now all this
has changed by newer methods of farming are
being replaced by newer methods. A farmer who
ignores the use of fertilizers, hybrid seeds and
irrigation is likely to remain poor, under-nourished
and miserable; while others, with greater receptivity
for newer ideas and initiative, are likely to enjoy the
benefits that the researches in the science of
agriculture have placed at our disposal.
face of problems. The non-creative attitude is that of

withdrawal. The individual feels helpless. He may
complain, but does not do much beside it. The
creative attitude is to search for a solution. The
creative person has the faith that there is some kind
of solution can be discovered if the person applies
himself to the problem. Our country is beset with
tremendous problems. There are starving millions
living in most miserable conditions of life.
The introduction of better methods and advances in

technology and science pose new problems for the
individual. Whether he like it or not, whether he
chooses to be a mute before his eyes his
environment is changing, the life to which he was
accustomed is being replaced by a new pattern.
Under these changing conditions simple conformity
to the past many lead to unresolved problem and
consequences unhappiness.
We need the creative talent of our country to rise to

the occasion and face the problems. We have to
transform our agriculture, our industrial output and
our economy so that we may be able to give some of
the benefits of science to the masses. We have to
produce leaders who do not fall back on the old
patterns of thinking, but persons with vision who
could boldly face the problems and find solution to
the challenges.
New problems arise due to increasing use of

automation. New problems also arise with the
change in the governmental policies. As the
individual grows, he faces new challenges, that all
of us have to face at different stages of life. In the
We are not competing with other countries in the

conquest of space of production of nuclear so that
our country does not remain a burden to other
nation. Can our children be trained to find original
solution? Can we produce leaders who realize the
uniqueness of our problems and produce unique
solution? This then is the task before the educator to
identify, encourage and develop creative talent.
Research has proved that most countries are now
running special courses for developing creativity.
(37)
(38)
In fact all the invention in different spheres like

communication,
transportation,
medicine,
agriculture, the fine arts, marketing, special travel,
advertising, labour relations, operations research,
planning, design, administration, public relations,
all are affected by creativity. All this shows us how
important creativity is.
trying to reach. Thats when he taps into his

creativity to find a way to say what he wants, in a
way that will get everybodys attention. Its the
same for all of us when we want to reveal
something from deep inside ourselves. This is when
the importance of creativity becomes most evident.
We think of endless ways to say something when
we want to say it more.
When we consider the importance of creativity we

are apt to think of it only in the context of art.
Though important, art is only a small part of
creativity. We use creativity in every aspect of our
lives, everyday. Our ability to express our deepest
feelings is at the core of the importance of creativity.
As humans we have a very strong need to express
ourselves and were happiest when other people
understand what we are trying to get across to
them. We find all kinds of ways to do this. Speech is
probably the first and foremost means we use to
communicate what we want others to know. Most
often it is simple and very straight forward. Pass
the salt, no way to interpret that incorrectly.
Yet when we want to get something specific across
we know we have to put a little more into it. Even
the most smooth-spoken person takes the time to
consider his words and actions when there is
something specific he wants people to know. He
knows words can be golden and the exact right
ones will change the prospective of the people he is
(39)
You use your creativity and find a way to express

exactly the depth of your feelings. You search for
something unique and meaningful that ties you and
the other person together in a way that is singular
to the two of you. Perhaps when you first met one
of you was holding a violet, which the other one
happened to dump. It was a disaster which you
turned into a special moment.
Looking back at that time later, you dont want to
say I love you, you want to say I love you more
than anybody else, remember how special that first
meeting was? instead of traditional roses, you may
choose violets set in a crystal vase in the shape of
train, because it was how you met and you feel
deeply about that time. Its important to you to
express yourself in a special way; otherwise you
would simply say it.
The importance of creativity can easily be seen in
the different ways people choose to express
(40)
themselves. People have used their creativity to

come up with endless ways to get their messages
across, and were still thinking of new ones. We
certainly dont let words limit us. Its important to
be able to tap into your creativity in order to let
people know what is important to you in a way that
satisfies you. It is important to be able to express
your feelings when words arent close to enough.
We express ourselves in the form of painting,
music, sculptures, even graffiti. I could fill a page
with the different mediums people use and still
miss some. They are all meant to get something
across to others and they satisfy us because we feel
weve gotten our message out to others.
people to know up front what is at the deepest core

of yourself, but there is still the need to get it out.
How is that best done? Again the importance of
creativity is at the forefront. You find ways to
express what you want to get out through your
creativity.
Art would seem to be the most obvious way to

express ourselves in certain situations, but we dont
limit ourselves to the world of art. Our creativity is
evident in the clothes we wear, the style of our hair,
the cars we drive. Whole industries have been built
in order to give people the outlet of expressing
themselves in their everyday lives. It is that
important. We gather things that mean something
to us, thing that say something about us. And
almost everything we acquire, we add a touch of
ourselves to it. Even if it is only the way we display
our treasures, in some form we mark them as
specifically ours. And we use our creativity to do all
those things in just the way that satisfies us.
Creativity is an outlet, you dont always want
(41)
In this context it isnt necessary important to get

your message out crystal clear. Sometimes it is
enough that you know what you mean, and in that
context often it is vitally important that only you
know what you are truly expressing. That is the
beauty of creativity; it can take any form you need it
to take. Your expression can be loud and out in the
open, or it can be subtle, and innuendo that is
evident only to yourself. Creativity can be relaxing
or invigorating. It can be an outlet for feelings
whether they are happy or sad, angry or content
and anything in between. Creativity can be used as
a business, or a hobby, just for fun, or as a form of
therapy work or play.
Creativity can just be a natural part of your life that
you dont bother sticking a label on. You may not
even be consciously aware that you are bringing it
into practice. Creativity should be encouraged and
nurtured from the moment we take our first breath.
Even as babes we begin to take in the world around
us and strive to communicate with it, to draw
things from it that we need or want. We should
(42)
continue to explore it with enthusiasm till we take

our last breath. It has so much to offer that to ignore
our creativity, in whatever form we use it, is to lose
out to a deeper extent than we can imagine. Our
lives are enriched by creativity and how we use it.
There are so many aspects of our lives that
creativity touches that the importance of creativity
defies logic. We are human, we need to express
ourselves as much as we need the air w breaths.
Creativity isnt just art. It is our very essence.
we grow older we lose this obsession with seeing

things in different ways and focus on seeing what is
real. Over time realism becomes so important we
cant see what lies underneath. We virtually become
blind to imagining our world any other way but
what is in plain view. This is unfortunate since
being able to see the world in a different way can be
an extraordinary boost to our creativity. A different
view can be a refreshing jumpstart for our
imaginations.
CREATIVITY AND YOUR SENSES (YOUR

SENSE OF SIGHT)
Everything is new and exciting to children. They
see, touch, taste and hear, using all their senses with
an exuberance that tires and too often repulses us
more knowledgeable adults. Theyre exploring and
learning with no limits of what is real and what is
imagined. To them creativity time is play time. If
you watch a child he will amuse himself by looking
at his world over and over again. He is not content
with seeing it just as it is however.
Children lounge upside down and see the world

upside down. A chair is suspended by its legs from
the ceiling grass is above them, the sky below. This
is a new world for them, not like the one they live
in. as adults if we hang ourselves upside down, we
will still see the world right side up. Our minds eye
flips everything to how we think it should be. We
can even read upside down writing-and we do it
right side up. We dont see it as it is but switch it to
what we can recognize.
Children will squint their eyes half shut so they can

purposely see things as blurred or theyll hold their
fingers in front of their eyes restricting their sight.
They will hold an eye shut and waggle their heads
from side to side watching things flip back and
forth. They are seeing the world from a different
view than we are. Its new, different, exciting. As
We even read it right to left instead of how it is

actually written, which is left to right with the y
first. Thats because we have conditioned ourselves
to see things as we believe they should be and not
how they are presented to us. We have to make a
conscious effort to see things as we perceive them,
not as we expected them to be. If we take a real look
at the word creativity while its upside down, it
(43)
(44)
looks especially strange to us and holds no meaning

whatsoever; until we let our imaginations take over.
Have another look.
will come to a grinding halt. That would likely be

one of the worst tragedies ever to happen to you.
Creativity is more than doing something deemed
worthy of a craft, becoming famous or getting
ridiculously rich selling paintings to folks who
havent a clue what you were trying to convey
when you painted it. Creativity is a spark of life
inside you and no one can tell you how great it is,
or isnt, especially using creativity tests.
It takes only a bit of practice to see things freely,

mostly we have to realize we are unconsciously
changing the way we see things, making them fit
our idea of normal and right. Once we can see
things as they are presented to us, even if they are
distorted beyond what we could readily recognize,
we are well on our way to imagining creativity.
Seeing things upside down is only a small portion
of how you can use your sense of sight as a creative
tool. To get your imagination working. Seeing
things from the side, from underneath, with most of
it covered, just parts covered, through different
coloured lenses, or even through substances such as
water and fog gives us different views that are
virtually endless. What ideas we drive from them to
see in our creativity depends on how freely we
allow ourselves to see them.
CREATIVITY TEST
Im not a hug fan of creativity test. If youre going
to take one for the giggle value Ill go along with
you but for the most part even if you take one for
fun and it tells you dont have a creative cell in your
body chances are youll take it to heart. Usually that
means whatever creative endeavour you planned
(45)
TESTING CREATIVITY TESTS

I took four creativity tests; I wont mention which
ones only that they were supposed to be serious. I
took a few fun ones too, but we dont need to
concern ourselves with those as they were blatantly
meant to poke fun at their more serious
counterparts. The first one was a word association
test. None of the words were related to anything
creative but I suppose you needed some creativity
to guess the word that was related to each set.
I scored badly 5/10 definitely not creativity
materials. As I read my score the test went on to
explain that the same creativity test was given to
scientists and engineers and was found to be
extremely helpful, it didnt say for what. Im not
much interested in becoming a scientist or an
engineer so I wasnt too disappointed.
(46)
The second in the series of creativity tests had you

looking at pictures and you had to say which ones
appealed to you. This time I scored 8/10, I was
deemed highly creative. (And I would like to add
that the picture I didnt like was a terrible picture
and didnt stir any creativity in me whatsoever so I
think I deserved 10/10). The third in my
conglomeration of creativity tests was one in which
you choose which personality traits best described
you. At the start I got 15/22, I guess if I tried hard
enough I could be creative.
Not once did any of them ask me if I liked creative

things, if I was drawn to doing something creative,
if I got nay satisfaction from something I had
created or if I enjoyed the creative process. I would
think those questions would be somewhere at the
top of any list in creativity tests.
Then I analyzed the second part of the test and

agreed that some creative people included these
traits in their list and experts agreed they were
relevant. My score bounced to 15/20. I was
considered creative, perhaps a bit eccentric, but
creative none the less. The next was a set of
questions with an (a or b) choice. The question were
random, do you like to dine out? Do you think red
is a good colour? I scored 12/20. It said I failed. Ive
always had the half full attitude and figured since I
scored a tic half I could be creative if I wanted to be.
Out of four creativity tests two said I was creative
and two said I wasnt. My personal opinion is that
of all of them maybe the one concerning which
picture I liked was the most relevant to creativity,
(and I scored almost perfect so I liked that one).
(47)
Frankly, I wasnt impressed and have no intentions

of changing anything because of them.
My fire creativity test:
Do you enjoy the creative process?
Are you drawn to doing something creative?
Do you get satisfaction from something you
have created?
If you answered yes to any of these questions
you passed and are a creative person.
There are a lot of different types of creativity tests
out there; I certainly didnt do them all. I purposely
targeted those that tried to determine if you were a
creative person, those are the ones I dont care for. I
believe if you want to be creative you should find
what brings you joy and do it. Take a creativity test
if you want to but dont stop being creative because
some test tells you scored too low.
(48)
CREATIVITY THINKING OR DAYDREAMING

Creativity thinking differs from daydreaming in
one important way. When you daydream, for the
most part, you are entertaining yourself. When you
use creative thinking, you are working. Creative
people think, a lot. What creative people soon
realize is that creative thinking is hard work. You
can actually get tired when you think creativity.
People who dont use their imaginations in this way
dont understand how thinking.
It has given itself some playtime, usually without

your permission. Thats where it can get a bit
muddy when are you scoping out new stimulus
and when are you slacking? Im not talking about
deciding what to have for dinner, or wondering
how good the movie you plan on seeing is going to
be, that fits the daydreaming scenario and can be
easily recognized. Im talking about when you let
your mind free range for ideas and it veers off into
entertainment, or procrastination instead of
working. One way to be sure you know what your
mind is doing is to label your thinking sessions.
Even creative thinking, can be actual work that is as

tiring as physical labour. Thinking is just thoughts
and dont those run through your brain constantly,
with little or no effort anyway? Thoughts do run
through your mind constantly, all sorts of them.
That would be what makes staying on track with
creative thinking so difficult. The key is to know
when your mind switches from creative thinking to
daydreaming.
If youre going to so some creative thinking, set that

thought firmly in your mind before you start.
Recognize that you are going into a session with the
goal of getting new ideas, solving a problem
whatever is necessary. Concentrating in this way
will keep your mind focused on the task at hand.
Set certain limits, like how long youll let your mind
wander.
Often its a fine line between creative thinking and

daydreaming. Both, obviously, entail thinking. You
can let your mind wander in search of new ideas
and be working. And you can let your mind
wander and be daydreaming. The switch can be so
subtle that if you are not careful you can slip from
creative thinking into daydreaming and not notice.
In reality your mind has wandered way off topic
and not in search of new ideas.
You can use a timer, know that often a loud alarm

may jar you out of a deep thought state and you
could lose whatever youve gained. Instead, if an
alarm is necessary, is one that is set to go off with
music or a gentle tone. I like to make sure I have a
large block of time for my sessions. That way I dont
have to stop if things are getting interesting, I can
(49)
(50)
chase an idea if it comes to me. When I get restless, I

call the session finished.
This can be a lot more productive than pretending

youre working when youre clearly not. People
who go to work get breaks during the work day, a
creative person working for him/herself should
apply the same work ethic. During the work time
youve decided on, set aside a few breaks and
actually take them.
You may also want to make certain topics off limit.

Its easy to give yourself a creative thinking session
and then think about how the sun is so nice and
warm. While those thoughts can be a nice warm up
exercise, you need to move your thoughts into a
more active state in order for your session to be
productive. Always keep in mind that daydreaming
isnt any form of creative thinking.
Daydreaming is break from creative thinking.
Youve shut down the work machine to relax. In
this way daydreaming has important merits. It lets
us sort out things without realizing were doing it,
much like our sleeping dream. Its also a minivacation or a time-out for our brain. In this way
daydreaming is beneficial but it must still be used
properly.
THEN WHEN YOUR BREAK IS OVER GET

BACK ON TRACK
There are different methods of creative thinking
that can be a tremendous help to get new and
different ideas flowing. In order for them to be
effective you have to know the difference between
creative thinking and daydreaming. Learn to
recognize the signs of slipping into a daydream and
he persistent in moving your thinking back to the
method youre working on. If you do this
consistently youll find your creative thinking
sessions will be tremendously improved and
consequently more productive.
The only real rule is that you know when youre

doing creative thinking and when youve allowed
yourself to start daydreaming. Daydream without
any restraint and soon youll find getting back into
the flow of creative thinking is going to be difficult.
Dont try to trick yourself by convincing yourself
youre working when you know youre not. If
youre tired, or worn out, maybe frustrated, and
want a break, admit it and take one.
(51)
(52)
Chapter Four
CREATIVITY THINKING
Thinking is frequently used. In connection with
creativity these two terms. Vertical and lateral
thinking to the terms vertical and lateral thinking.
Vertical thinking means coming to a point, one
stimulus produces one response. Lateral thinking
means going away from a point, one stimulus
produces many responses.
Divergent thinking makes excursion from the
beaten tracks and seeks variety. It goes beyond the
obvious and the apparent, considering several
possible answers to a problem, not just one single
correct solution. This contrasts with vertical
thinking which follows the conventional path with
the thinker using information at hand to arrive at a
conclusion that leads to one right answer, an
answer similar to that which others would reach.
Creative people like to explore things mentally and
to try not lots of possibilities, even if they are
wrong. Creative people are more flexible and fluent
and original than convergent thinkers and to not
confine themselves to the information at hand. This
permits a richer flow of ideas and, as a result, it
opens up a way towards solutions that are novel
and, hence creative. Another characteristic of
divergent thinking the kind that is used in
(53)
creativity is that it makes leaps. It does not

proceed in easily observable and definable please as
is true of convergent thinking. Convergent thinking
is sequential; it proceeds one step at a time. It is
continuous divergent thinking is discontinuous.
Convergent thinking is closed; divergent thinking is
open-ended. Convergent thinking seeks what is
right divergent thinking seeks alternatives.
Convergent thinking is analytical and rigid,
divergent thinking is provocation and flexible.
There are three popular characteristics of divergent
thinking namely, (a) Flexibility, (b) Fluency and
(c) Originality.
(a) Flexibility:- Is usual uses of text, by divergent
responses made to the word Brick and the uses it
can be put to. One person responds; build a school,
build a house, build a church, build a chimney.
Now all of these responses belong to the same class
of uses (construction/building) and show little
flexibility and divergence.
This shows the sample of convergent thinking.
Another person this response: create a door stop;
use for kung-full or karate in breaking a brick with
the side of the palm of the open hard/palm; use as a
missile for defense, use as wickets for cricket by
little boys, etc. these latter responses of divergent
and creative thinking.
(54)
(b) Fluency:- This refers to quantity of output. The

more responses given show divergent thinking;
while convergent thinking produces a single correct
answer.
Answer
Left brain
Verbal
Linear
Reasoning
Yes but
(c) Originality:- This is sample as a short plot is

read out and the student is told to list as many
appropriate title as he can to head the story.
Much of the thinking done in formal education
emphasizes the skills of analysis teaching students
how to understand claims, follow or create a logical
argument, figure out the answer, eliminate the
incorrect paths and focus on the correct one.
However, there is another kind of thinking. One
that focuses on exploring ideas, generating
possibilities, looking for many right answers rather
than just one. Both of these kinds of thinking are
vital to a successful working life, yet the later one
tends to be ignored until after college. We might
differentiate these two kinds of thinking like this:
Critical Thinking
Analytic
Convergent
Vertical
Probability
Judgment
Focused
Objective
Creative Thinking
Generative
Divergent
Lateral
Possibility
Suspended judgment
Diffuse
Subjective
(55)
An answer
Right brain
Visual
Associative
Richness, novelty
Yes and
In an activity like problem solving, both kinds of

thinking are important to us. First, we must analyze
the problem; then we must generate possible
solution; next we must choose and implement the
best solution; and finally, we must evaluate the
effectiveness of the solution. As you can see, this
process reveals in alternation between the two
kinds of thinking, critical and creative. In practice,
both kind of thinking operate together much of the
time and are not really independent of each other.
An ability:- A simple definition is that creativity is
the ability to imagine or invent something new. As
we will see below, creativity is not the ability to
create out of nothing (only God can do that), but the
ability to generate new ideas by combining,
changing, or reapplying existing ideas. Some
creative ideas are astonishing and brilliant, while
others are just simple, good, practical ideas that no
one seems to have thought of yet. Believe it or not,
everyone has substantial creative ability. Just look
at how creative children are. In adults, creativity
has too often been suppressed through education,
(56)
but it is still there and can be reawakened. Often all

thats needed to be creative is to make a
commitment to creativity and to take the time for it.
CREATIVE METHODS
Several method s have been identified for
producing creative results. Here are the five classic
ones:
An Attitude:- Creativity is also an attitude, the

ability to accept change and newness, a willingness
to play with ideas and possibilities, a flexibility of
outlook, the habit of enjoying the good, while
looking for ways to improve it. We are socialized
into accepting only a small number of permitted or
normal things, like chocolate-covered strawberries,
for example. The creative person realizes that there
are other possibilities, like peanut butter and
banana sandwiches, or chocolate-covered prunes.
(1) Evolution:- This is the method of incremental

improvement. New ideas stem from other ideas,
new solutions from previous ones, the new ones
slightly improved over the old ones. Many of the
very sophisticated things we enjoy today developed
through a long period of constant incrementation.
Making something a little better here, a little better
there gradually makes it something a lot better-even
entirely different from the original.
A Process:- Creative people work hard and

continually to improve ideas and solutions, but
making gradual alterations and refinements to their
works. Contrary to the mythology surrounding
creativity, very, very few works of creative
excellence are produced with a single stroke of
brilliance or in a frenzy of rapid activity. Much
closer to the real truth are the stories of companies
who had to take the invention away from the
inventor in order to market it because the inventor
would have kept on tweaking it and fiddling with
it, always trying to make it a little better.
The creative person knows that there is always
room for improvement.
(57)
For example, look at the history of the automobile

or any product of technology progress. With each
new model, improvements are made. Each new
model builds upon the collective creativity of
previous models, so that over time, improvements
in economy, comfort, and durability take place.
Here the creativity lies in the refinement, the stepby-step improvement, rather than in something
completely new.
Another example would be the improvement of the
common wood screw by what are now commonly
called drywell screws. They have sharper threads
which are angled more steeply for faster
penetration and better holding. The points are self
(58)
tapping. The shanks are now threaded all the ways

up on lengths up to two inches. The screws are so
much better that they can often be driven in without
pilot holes, using a power drill.
to ask, How can I make my lectures better and

better? a revolutionary idea might be, Why not
stop lecturing and have the students teach each
other, working as teams or presenting reports?
The evolutionary method or creativity also reminds

us of that critical principle: every problem that has
been solved can be solved again in a better way.
Creative thinkers so not subscribe to the idea that
once a problem has been solved, it can be forgotten,
or to the notion that if it aint broke, dont fix it a
creative thinkers philosophy is that there is no
such thing as an insignificant improvement
For example, the evolutionary technology in

fighting termites eating away at houses has been to
develop safer and faster pesticides and gasses to kill
them. A somewhat revolutionary change has been
to abandon gasses altogether in favour of liquid
nitrogen, which freezes them to death or
microwaves, which bake them. A truly
revolutionary creative idea would be to ask, How
can we prevent them from eating houses in the first
place? A new termite bait that is placed in the
ground in a perimeter around a house provides one
answer to this question.
(2) Synthesis:- With this method, two or more

existing ideas are combined into a third, new idea.
Combining the ideas of a magazine and an audio
tape gives the idea of a magazine you can listen to,
one useful for blind people or freeway commuters.
For example, someone noticed that a lot of people
on dates went first to dinner and then to the theater.
Why not combine these two events into one? Thus,
the dinner theater, where people go first to eat and
then to see a play or other entertainment.
(3) Revolution:- Sometimes the best new idea is a
completely different one, an marked change from
the previous ones. While an evolutionary
improvement philosophy might cause a professor
(59)
(4) Reapplication:- Look at something old in a

new way. Go beyond labels. Unfixate, remove
prejudices, expectations and assumptions and
discover how something can be reapplied. One
creative person might go to the junkyard and see art
in an old model T transmission. He paints it up and
puts it in his living room. Another creative person
might see in the same transmission the necessary
gears for a multi-speed hot walker for his horse. He
hooks it to some poles and a motor and puts it in his
corral. The key is to see beyond the previous or
(60)
stated applications for some idea, solution, or thing

and to see what other application possible.
appropriate emotional, psychological, and practical

responses. A problem is an opportunity. The
happiest people welcome and even seek out
problems, meeting them as challenges and
opportunities to improve things. Definition: a
problem is (1) seeing the difference between what
you have and what you want or (2) recognizing or
believing that there is something better than the
current situation or 93) an opportunity for a positive
act. Seeking problems aggressively will build
confidence, increase happiness and give you a
better sense of control over your life.
For example, a paperclip can be used as a tiny

screwdriver if filed down; paint can be used as a
kind of glue to prevent screws from loosening in
machinery; dishwashing detergents can be used to
remove the DNA from bacteria in a lab; general
purpose spray cleaners can be used to kill ants.
(5) Changing
Direction:Many
creative
breakthroughs occur when attention is shifted from
one angle of a problem to another. This is
sometimes called creative insight. This reveals a
critical truth in problem solving: the goal is to solve
the problem, not to implement a particular solution.
When one solution path is not working, shift to
another. There is no commitment to a particular
path, only to a particular goal. Path fixation can
sometimes be a problem for those who do not
understand this; they become overcommitted to a
path that does not work and only frustration
results.
NEGATIVE ATTITUDES THAT BLOCK
CREATIVITY
1.
Oh no, a problem: The reaction to a problem
is often a bigger than the problem itself. Many
people avoid or deny problems until its too late,
largely because these people have never learned the
(61)
2.
It cant be done: This attitude is, in effect,
surrounding before the battle. By assuming that
something cannot be done or a problem cannot be
solved, a person gives the problem a power or
strength it didnt have before. And giving up before
starting is, of course, self fulfilling. But look at the
history of solutions and the accompanying skeptics.
Man will never fly, diseases will never be
conquered, rockets will never leave the atmosphere.
Again, the appropriate attitude is summed up by
the statement. The difficult we do immediately, the
impossible takes a little longer.
3.
I cant do it. Or Theres nothing I can do:
Some people think, well maybe the problem can be
solved by some expert, but not by me because Im
not (a) smart enough, (b) an engineer, or (c) a blank
(62)
(whether educated, expert, etc.) Again, though, look

at the history of problem solving. Who were the
Wright brothers that they could invent an airplane?
Aviation engineers? No, they were bicycle
mechanical engineer. Major advances in submarine
design were made by English Clergyman G.W.
Garret and by Irish schoolmaster John P. Holland.
The cotton gin was invented by that well known
attorney and tutor. Eli Whitney. The fire
extinguisher was invented by a captain of militia,
George Manby.
willingness to expand the effort is more important

than laboratory apparatus. And remember that you
can always do something. Even if you cannot totally
eradicate the problem from the face of the earth,
you can always do something to make the situation
better.
And so on. In fact, a major point made by recent

writers about corporate excellence is that
innovations in industry almost always come from
individuals (not research group) outside of the area
of the invention. General Motors invented Freon,
the refrigeration chemical, and tetraethyl lead, the
gasoline additive. Kodachrome was invented by
two musicians. The continuous steel casting process
was invented by watchmaker (fooling around with
brass casting).
Soap making chemists turned down the problem of
inventing synthetic detergents; those detergents
were invented by dye making chemists. In a
nutshell, a good mind with a positive attitude and
some good problem solving skills will go far in
solving any problem. Interest in and commitments
to the problem are the keys. Motivation a
(63)
4.
But Im not creative: Everyone is creative to
some extent. Most people are capable of very high
levels of creativity; just look at young children
when they play and imagine. The problem is that
this creativity has been suppressed by education.
All you need to do is left it come back to the surface.
You will soon discover that you are surprisingly
creative.
5.
Thats childish: In our effort to appear always
mature and sophisticated, we often ridicule the
creative, playful attitudes that marked our younger
years. But if you solve a problem that saves your
marriage or gets you promoted or keeps your friend
from suicide, do you care whether other people
describe your route to the solution as childish?
besides, isnt play a lot of fun?
Remember that sometimes people laugh when
something is actually funny, but often they laugh
when they lack the imagination to understand the
situation.
(64)
6.
What will people think? There is strong
social pressure to conform and to be ordinary and
not creative. The constant emphasis we see in
society is toward the ruthlessly practical and
conformist. Even the wild fashions, from those in
Vogue to punk rock, are narrowly defined, and to
deviate from them is considered wrong or
ridiculous. Some people herd instinct is so strong
that they make sheep look like radical individuals.
So what will people think? Well, theyre already
talking about you, saying that your nose is too big
or your shoes are funny or you date wired people.
7.
I might fail: Thomas Edison, in his search for
the perfect filament for the incandescent lamp, tried
anything he could think of, including whiskers from
a friends beard. In all, he tried about 1800 things.
After about 1000 attempts, someone asked him if he
was frustrated at his lack of success. He said
something like, Ive gained a lot of knowledge I
now know a thousand things that wont work.
Fear of failure is one of the major obstacles to
creativity and problem solving. The cure is to
change your attitude about failure.
So, since others are going to talk about you in

unflattering ways anyway, you might as well relax
and let your creativity and individualism flow.
Almost every famous contributor to the betterment
of civilization was ridiculed and sometimes even
jailed. Think about bible. And look what happened
to Jesus, Progress is made only by those who are
strong enough to endure being laughed at.
Failures along the way should be expected and

accepted; they are simply learning tools that help
focus the way toward success. Not only is there
nothing wrong with failing, but failing is a sign of
action and struggle and attempt much better than
inaction. The go-with-the-flow types may never fail,
but they are essentially useless to humanity, nor can
they ever enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that
comes after a long struggle.
Solutions are often new ideas and new ideas, being

strange, are usually greeted with laughter,
contempt, or both. Thats just a fact of life, so make
up your mind not to let it bother you. Ridicule
should be viewed as a badge of real innovative
thinking.
Suppose you let your fear of failure guild your risk

taking and your attempts. You try only three things
in a year because you are sure of succeeding. At the
end of the year the score is: Successes 3, Failures).
Now suppose the next year you dont worry about
failing. So you try a hundred things. You fail at 70
of them. At the end of the year the score is successes
30, Failures 70. Which would you rather have three
(65)
(66)
successes or 30 ten times as many? And imagine

what 70 failures will have taught you. Proverb:
Mistakes arent fun, but they sure are educational.
The word processor? Is that the last invention? How

about voice recognition, or thought wave input?
MYTHS ABOUT CREATIVE THINKING AND

PROBLEM SOLVING
1. Every problem has only one solution (or one
right answer).
The goal of problem is to solve the problem, and
most problems can be solved in any number of
ways. If you discover a solution that works, it is a
good solution. There may be other solutions
thought of by other people, but that doesnt make
your solution wrong. What is the solution to
putting words on paper? Fountain pen, ball point,
pencil, marker, typewriter, printer, Xerox machine,
printing press?
2. The best answer/solution/method has already
been found.
Look at the history of nay solution set and youll see
that improvements. New solutions, new right
answers, are always being found. What is the
solution to human transportation? The ox or horse,
the cart, the wagon, the train, the car, the airplane,
the jet, the SST? Is that the best and last? What
about pneumatic tubes, hovercraft, even star trek
type beams? What is the best way to put words on
paper?
(67)
One a more everyday level, many solutions now

seen as best or at least entrenched were put in place
hastily and without much thought such as the use
of drivers licenses for ID cards or social security
numbers for taxpayer ID numbers.
Other solutions are entrenched simply for historical
reasons: theyve always been done that way. Why
do shoe laces still exist, when technology has
produced several other, better ways to attach shoe
to feet (like Velcro, elastic, snap buttons, and so on)?
3. Creative answers are complex technologically.
Only a few problems require complex technological
solutions. Most problems youll meet with require
only a thoughtful solution requiring personal action
and perhaps a few simple tools. Even many
problems that seem to require technological
solution can be addressed in other ways.
4. Ideas either come or they dont.
Nothing will help. There are many successful
techniques for stimulating idea generation. We will
be discussing and applying them.
(68)
MENTAL BLOCKS TO CREATIVE THINKING

AND PROBLEM SOLVING
And theres a functional fixation of people, too.

Think a minute how you react when you see your
pastor mowing his lawn, or your auto mechanic on
a television show promoting a book. Stereotyping
can even be a form of functional fixation how many
people would laugh at a blonde quoting Aristotle?
1.
Prejudice: The older we get, the more
preconceived ideas we have about things. These
preconceptions often prevent us from seeing
beyond what we already know or believe to be
possible. They inhibit us from accepting change and
progress.
2.
Functional fixation: Sometimes we begin to
see an object only in terms of its name rather in
terms of what it can do. Thus, we see a mop only as
a device for clearing a floor, and do not think that it
might be useful for clearing cobwebs from the
ceiling, washing the car, doing aerobic exercise,
propping a door open or closed, and so on.
There is also a functional fixation of businesses. In
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centurys the
railroads saw themselves as railroads. When
automobiles and later airplanes began to come in,
the railroads didnt adapt.
Thats not our business, they said.
Too often we permit only a narrow range of

attitudes and behavious in other people, based on
bias, prejudice, hasty generalization, or limited past
experience. Think of those statements like, I cant
believe he said that. Or Imagine her doing that.
And so on. But recall the proverb. The goal of my
life is not to live down to your expectations.
3.
Learned helplessness: This is the feeling that
you dont have the tools, knowledge, materials,
ability, to do anything, so you might as well not try.
We are trained to rely on other people for almost
everything. We think small and limit ourselves. But
the world can be interacted with. If you are in need
of information, there are libraries, bookstores,
friends, professors, and of course, the internet.
But if they had seen themselves as in the people

transportation business rather than in the railroad
business, they could have capitalized on a great
opportunity.
And there are also city, county, and state

government agencies with addresses and phone
numbers and web sites. There are thousands of
government agencies that really exist and that will
talk to you. Contact the EPA if youre working on
air pollution or pesticides. Get some government
(69)
(70)
publications. Call your state senator or federal

congressman for help on bills, information,
problems. Contact the manufacturer of a product to
find out what you want to know about it.
If you are technologically poor, you can learn, learn
how to cook, use tools, make clothes, use a
computer, you can learn to do anything you really
want to do. All you need is the motivation and
commitment. You can learn to fly an airplane, drive
a truck, scuba dive, fix a car name it.
Overcoming such blocks can be really beneficial.

Navy commandos in Vietnam overcame their
blocks and put on womens panty hose when they
marched through the swamps and jungle.
The pantyhose cut down on the friction and
rubbing from the plants and aided in removing the
dozens of leeches after a mission. Overcoming the
block to using your own blood to write a help note
could save your life someday if you got kidnapped.
4.
Psychological blocks: Some solutions are not
considered or are rejected simply because our
reaction to them is Yuck. But icky solutions
themselves may be useful or good if they solve a
problem well or save your life. Eating lizards and
grasshoppers doesnt sound great, but if it keeps
you alive in the wilderness, its a good solution.
Perhaps more importantly, what at first seem to be
icky may lead to better solutions-de-ickified
analogues of the original.
When doctors noted that some unsophisticated
natives were using giant ant heads to suture
wounds, they imitated this pincer-closing technique
by inventing the surgical staple. Psychological
blocks prevent you from doing something just
because it doesnt sound good or right which is a
pretty ridiculous thing.
(71)
(72)
Chapter Five
CREATIVE POTENTIAL
One must carried out to analyze the creativity
talents of a large group of rank and file mechanics
revealed that two-thirds of them rated above
average in creative capacity. Some difficult persons
may think that they do not have creative potential.
They think that only very intelligent people have
this talent, that it is the privilege of a genius to be
creative. In fact, everyone has creative potential,
which is often dormant because is not exercised, old
and young, rich and poor, high and low, man or
woman.
Even common people have creative power which
flowers when tapped. An analysis of almost all the
psychological tests ever made reveals that creative
talent is normally distributed and we all possess it
to a lesser or greater degree. Our creative
efficiency varies more in ratio to our output of
mental than in ration to our inborn talent. Age is
not a barrier to creative power.
as 20 percent higher than that of men. In some

school study carried out at a class in creative
thinking for higher school student, revealed that
many showed 40 percent superiority in fluency of
ideas over others. You will find out that many have
to be creative for instance in thinking up new meals
every day, in making their sitting room more
attractive, in keeping the children interestingly
busy, serious and their family happy.
Children are naturally creative till they go to school.
They have a great power of creativity of fantasy and
imagination. Young children are naturally creative
as they try themselves out on the world that is so
new to them. In varying ways they are seeking to
discover more about themselves and more about
the places around them. In their unclouded vision,
all is fresh, untouched. They are learning a sense of
wonder from this world, from what they can do on
it, and how they can affect it.
Imaginations grow by exercise and, contrary to

common believe. It is more powerful in the mature
than in the young. That is what I believe about
creative power. Neither is sex a barrier to creativity.
The expert carried out a text on many women and
found that their creative aptitude average as much
As they meet the challenge of interacting with the

world, they are discovering themselves. In a very
real sense they are creating themselves. When
children play is not just a recreation but a continual
re-creation vital to their development. It you doubt
your creative power try to do something imaginable
and then find out what the solution will become.
Then you will see that you do have creative
potential.
(73)
(74)
Only frequent exercise, at least once weekly, will

increase your power of divergent thinking
creativity and enrich your life. Creativity comes
from willingness to be great. Potential is an inborn
power that is naturally made and given to all
mankind. To be potentially creative will open many
ways that seems to be locked even when not having
the idea of what is going to become of the end
thereof. In all your daily activity nowadays you
simply need to practice and exercise that your
inborn creative potential. When you look around
you and your environment you will discover that
creativity is influencing the generation with the
power of natural gift of creative.
doing? I replied calmly, No, thats why Im doing

it.
POSITIVE ATTITUDES FOR CREATIVITY

1.
Curiosity: Creative people want to know
things all kinds of things just to know them.
Knowledge does not require a reason. The question,
Why do you want to know that? Seems strange to
the creative person, who is likely to respond,
Because I dont know the answer. Knowledge is
enjoyable and often in strange and unexpected
ways.
Example: I was once attempting to repair
something, without apparent success, when an
onlooker asked testify. Do you know what youre
(75)
Next, knowledge, and especially wide ranging

knowledge, is necessary for creativity to flourish to
its fullest. Much creativity arises from variations of
a known or combinations of two knowns. The best
ideas flow from a well equipped mind. Nothing can
come from nothing. In addition to knowing,
creative people want to know why.
What are the reasons behind decisions, problems,
solution, events, facts and so forth? Why this way
and not another? And why not try this or that? The
curious persons questioning attitude toward life is
a positive one, not a destructive one reflecting
skepticism or negativism. It often seems threatening
because too often there is no good reason behind
many of the things that are taken for granted, there
is no why behind the status quo.
So ask questions of everybody. Ask the same
question of different people just to be able to
compare the answers. Look into areas of knowledge
youve never before explored, whether cloth dying,
weather forecasting, food additives, ship building,
your nations budget, or the toxicity of laundry
detergents.
(76)
2.
Challenge: Curious people like to identify
and challenge the assumptions behind ideas,
proposals, problems, beliefs, and statements. Many
assumptions, of course, turn out to be quite
necessary and solid, but many others have been
assumed unnecessarily, and in breaking out of
those assumptions often come a new idea, a new
path, a new solution.
method of making that improvement. Constructive

discontent is a positive, enthusiastic discontent,
reflecting the thought, I think I know a way to
make that better. Constructive discontent is
necessary for a creative problem solver, for you are
happy with everything the way it is, you wont
want to change anything. Only when you become
discontent with something, when you see a
problem, will you want to solve the problem and
improve the situation.
Example, when we think of a college, we

traditionally think of a physical campus with
classrooms, a library, and some nice trees. But why
must college be a place (with congregated students
and faculty) at all? Thus, the electronic college now
exists, where students go to college right at home,
online. Correspondence courses have existed for
yours, too beginning with the challenging of the
school-as-centralized-place idea.
When we think of an electronic motor, we
automatically think of a rotating shaft machine. But
why assume that? Why cant an electric motor have
a linear output, moving in a straight line rather than
a circle? With such a challenged assumption comes
the linear motor, able to power trains elevators,
slide locks, and so on.
One of the hallmarks of the constructively

discontented person is that of a problem seeking
outlook. The more problems you find, the more
solutions and therefore improvements you can
make. Even previously solved problems can often
be solved again, in a better way. A constructively
discontent person might think. This is an excellent
solution, but I wonder if there isnt another solution
that works even better (or costs less, etc).
3.
Constructive Discontent: This is not a
whining, griping kind of discontent, but the ability
to see a need for improvement and to propose a
Another mark of constructive discontent is the

enjoyment of challenge. Creative people are eager
to test their own limits and the limits of problems,
willing to work hard, to persevere and not give up
easily. Sometimes the discontent is almost artificial
they arent really unhappy with the status quo of
some area, but they want to find something better
just for the challenge of it and the opportunity to
improve their own lives and those of others.
(77)
(78)
4.
A belief that most problems can be solved:
By faith at first and by experience later on, the
creative thinker believers that something can
always be done to eliminate or help alleviate almost
every problem. Problems are solved by a
commitment of time and energy, and where this
commitment is present, few things are impossible.
The belief in the solvability of problems is especially
useful early on in attacking any problem, because
many problems at first seem utterly impossible and
scare off the fainter hearted. Those who take on the
problem with confidence will be the ones most
likely to think through or around the impossibility
of the problem.
steel all met with ho-hums and even hostile

rejection before, their persevering inventors finally
sold someone on the ideas.
5.
The ability to suspend judgment and
criticism: Many new ideas, because they are new
and unfamiliar, seem strange, odd, bizarre, even
repulsive. Only later do they become obviously
great. Other ideas, in their original incarnations, are
indeed wired, but they lead to practical, beautify,
elegant things. Thus, it is important for the creative
thinker to be able to suspend judgment when new
ideas are arriving, to have an optimistic attitude
toward ideas in general, and to avoid condemning
them with the typical kinds of negative responses
like. That will never work, thats no good, what an
idiotic idea, thats impossible, and so forth.
Hospital sterilization and antiseptic procedures,
television, radio, the Xerox machine, and stainless
(79)
Some of our everyday tools that we now love and

use daily, were opposed when they were originally
presented. Aluminum cookware? No one wants
that. Teflon pans? Theyll never sell. Erasers on
pencils? That would only encourage carelessness.
Computers? Theres no market for more than a few,
so why build them?
Remember then that (1) an idea may begin to look
good only after it becomes a bit more familiar or is
seen in a slightly different context or clothing or
circumstance and (2) even a very wide idea can
serve as a stepping stone to a practical, efficient
idea. By too quickly bringing your judgment into
play, these fragile early ideas and their source can
be destroyed. The first rule of brainstorming is to
suspend judgment so that your idea-generating
powers will be free to create without the restraint of
fear or criticism. You can always go back later and
examine as critically as you want what you have
thought of.
6.
Seeing the good in the bad: Creative
thinkers, when faced with poor solutions, dont cast
them away. Instead, they ask, Whats good about
it? because there may be something useful even in
(80)
the worst ideas. And however little that good may

be, it might be turned to good effect or made
greater. We easily fall into either/or thinking and
believe that a bad solution is a bad through and
through, in every aspect, when in fact, it may have
some good we can borrow and use on a good
solution, or it may do inappropriately something
thats worth doing appropriately. And often, the
bad solution has just one really glaring bad part,
that when remedied, leaves quite a good solution.
In the above example, changing the physical
spanking to a verbal spanking changes the entire
aspect of the solution while keeping all the good
points we identified.
corn, and sunflower oils they used are still used

today. The margarine is healthier and testes better.
Or think about exams or papers. When you dont do
as well as you want, you think, Oh no!But
actually, you have a good insight into what you
dont know and still to learn. You are aware of the
geography of your knowledge in a much more
detailed form than before the errors showed up.
7.
Problems lead to improvements: The attitude
of constructive discontent searches for problems
and possible areas of improvement, but many times
problems arrive on their own. But such unexpected
and perhaps unwanted problems are not
necessarily bad, because they often permit solutions
that leave the world better-than before the problem
arose.
8.
A problem can also be a solution: A fact that
one person describes as a problem can sometimes
be a solution for someone else. Above we noted that
creative thinkers can find good ideas in bad
solutions. Creative thinkers also look at problems
and ask, Is there something good about this
problem?
Example: The first margarine was made beef fat,

milk, water, and chopped cow udder. It wasnt
extremely tasty or healthy. Then about the turn of
the century a shortage of beef fat created a problem.
What to use? The margarine makers turned to
vegetable fats from various plants and the soybean,
9.
Problems are interesting and emotionally
acceptable: Many people confront every problem
with a shudder and a turn of the head. They dont
even want to admit that a problem exists with their
car, their spouse, their child, their job, their house,
whatever. As a result, often the problem persists
and drives them crazy or rises to a crisis and drives
them crazy. Creative people see problems as
interesting challenges worth tackling. Problems are
not fearful beast to be feared or loathed; they are
worthy opponents to be jousted with an unhorsed.
Problem solving is fun, educational, rewarding, ego
building, helpful to society.
(81)
(82)
MISCELLANEOUS GOOD ATTITUDES

1.
Perseverance: Most people fail because they
spend only nine minutes on a problem that requires
ten minutes to solve. Creativity and problem
solving are hard work and require fierce application
of time and energy. There is no quick and easy
secret. You need knowledge gained by study and
research and you must put your knowledge to work
by hard thinking and protracted experimentation.
Youve surely read of the difficulties and setbacks
faced by most of the famous inventors how many
filaments Edison tried before he found a working
one, how many aircraft designs failed in the
attempts to break the sound barrier. But planning to
persevere is planning to succeed.
mistakes show that something is being done. So

creative people have come to realize and accept
emotionally that making mistakes is no negative
biggie. One chief executive of a big American
corporation warn all his newly hired managers,
Make sure you make a reasonable number of
mistakes, Mistakes are educational and can lead to
success because they mean you are doing
something.
In summary, as Vergil once said, They can who
think they can. Which mean you can if you think
you can. Having the proper positive attitude about
generating new and useful ideas and solving
problems is really a large part of the whole process.
3.
A belief that mistakes are welcome: Modern
society has for some reason conceived the idea that
the only unforgivable thing is to fail or make a
mistake. Actually failure is an opportunity;
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CREATIVE

PERSON
Curious
Seeks problems
Enjoys challenge
Optimistic
Able to suspend judgment
Comfortable with imagination
Sees problems as opportunities
Sees problems as interesting
Problems are emotionally acceptable
Challenges assumptions
Doesnt give up easily, perseveres, and works
hard.
(83)
(84)
2.
A flexible imagination: Creative people are
comfortable with imagination and with thinking socalled wired, wild, or unthinkable thoughts, just for
the sake of stimulation. During brainstorming or
just mental playfulness, all kinds of strange
thoughts and ideas can be entertained. And the
mind pragmatist that it is, will probably find
something useful in it all. We will look at several
examples of this later on.
Chapter Six
CHARACTERISTICS OF CREATIVE
PEOPLE
(1) Awareness:- Creativity has its foundation in
sensitivity and awareness. Obviously a person will
not discover new relationships if he is unaware of
the present ones. Creative persons are alert to
things. Their senses are keen to observe things,
events and people. They have their eyes and ears
wide open, and their minds fully alert. By noticing
an apple fall to the ground, Prof. Newton
developed the theory of gravity, Jonas Harway
developed contraption used in the East as a
protection against sun, and he also adapted it for
rain. The result today is the umbrella.
(2) Curiosity:- Creative people are curious, they
want to find out How and why things happen the
way they do. They are mostly in the habit of asking
questions like; what new possibilities are contained
in this situation. This is a different question from
the why? which we often encourage our students
to ask. But why? is a good question. In the mouths
of many students it is often more a challenge than
an enquiry. Students ask it easily out of their
natural inclination during adolescence to challenge
all that adult present to them why as students
usually ask it in our classrooms has a negative ring.
(85)
It does not seek alternatives. It is often an attempt to

find fault with existing ideas, traditions or practice.
The creative question, on the other hand is rooted in
the past and the present, it accepts these as given.
And then it jumps into the future by focusing on
new possibilities that can be created out of the
given. They may ask themselves other questions as
does it always have to be as it is? Suppose it is
modified: made bigger and smaller.
(3) Openness to new ideas:- Creative person
accept new ideas no matter where they come from,
it could be through observation, problem-solving,
brainstorming, hypothesis etc. to be creative
through new idea is a personal interest that you
must develop and allow it to be adapted to you.
Your personal interest is the first thing you need to
build up while trying to imbibe new ideas for
creativity. No matter how you have been allow to
be exposed to many new ideas, if you dont develop
and utilize your personal interest, the involve
parties will be wasting their time, so firstly get
yourself interested and then any other things will
follow it.
(4) Somewhat Independent:- Creative persons
are somewhat independent in holding on to their
ideas, and that is why creative children may seem
somewhat proud and stubborn. It requires a certain
(86)
amount of moral courage to hold on to your ideas

when you sincerely believe they are right.
(7) The ability to play with ideas:- This is a

characteristic of creative people. They play with the
ideas of colours, sizes, shapes, relationships. They
have ability to judge elements into impossible
juxtapositions, to shape wild hypothesis, to
translate from one form to another, to express the
ridiculous,
to
transform
into
improbable
equivalents. It is from the spontaneous trying and
exploration that there arises a hunch, the creative
seeing of life in a new significant way. It is as
though out of the thousands of possibilities there
emerges one or two evolutionary forms with the
qualities that give them permanent value.
(5) Keep on Trying:- Creative people go on

trying, in spite of failure, and often repeated failure
they encounter every time. only those that fail
before always get to the greater top failure is
inevitable, just believe it will/may come, but what
matter is your courage to keep on trying so as to get
the best solution.
(6) What might be termed having more
conscious material reading available. Creative
people in responses to a certain stimulus seem to
have more responses available and responses of a
higher order from which to select, at least in their
own area of creativity. This may be illustrated thus:
This is due to the fact that creative people are
divergent thinkers. They seek alternative solution,
they generate more ideas to be use for figuring out
final solution, take a leap when required to find a
solution. They think dynamically, not fixed in a
groove, but problems, or seeing old things in a new
form and in a new light. They are not tied to their
immediate environment and circumstances but go
beyond them to make use of the power of their
creative thinking.
Student, you and adult with greater creative

ability may be identified thus by their parents and
teachers:
1.
They invent things or create original stories,
plays, poems, games, sketches, information,
technology etc.
2.
They always seem to be full of new ideas
pertaining to most subjects.
3.
They are able to put two or more ideas
together to get a new idea.
4.
They can use materials, words, ideas in new
ways for solving problems.
5.
They may be somewhat independent and
stubborn, and so be considered proud.
(87)
(88)
6.
They see defects in things, even their own

things and suggest better ways of doing a job
or reaching an objective.
They show boredom if the class is not
conducted actively or interestingly.
They are willing to improve and experiment,
and even fail, to get answers.
They make use of any advantages around to
stimulate ideas for problem-solving.
They ask many questions, because they are
very curious.
you would probably find out that they are ordinary

people, much like you and I.
THE 6 CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGHLY

CREATIVE PEOPLE
We are all poets and artists as we lives, whether or
not we recognize our role and whether or not we
believe it. Human beings have an innate need to
create. Even you! There is a continuum of creativity,
ranging from being slightly creative to highly
creative. The good news is that you can learn to be
more creative by observing creative people and
modeling yourself after them.
Creative people have a strong need to express more

of who you really are and often have to fight for
that right. The character Isabelle in the movie, Fire
and Ice, has a great outlook on what it means to be
creative. To create sometimes you must rebel and
stubborn.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Artists, writers, and creative types seem to have

similar characteristics. Some of the personally traits
listed below may seem eccentric, odd, even out
there but that is where creativity lies in the
outreaches of our consciousness, in the depths of
our souls. If you had the opportunity to speak to
Picasso, Wole Soyinka, Walt Disney, or Jane Austen,
(89)
The difference is that they have allowed more of

their soul to come out and play and have freed
themselves of convention and restriction. Creativity
is essentially the art f discovery and an act of faith.
When you create something, a work of art, book,
software program, dance routine, or role for a play,
you discover parts of yourself that you never knew
existed.
(1) Unconventional
Creative people do not feel the need to conform to
societys standards. They often swim against the
current and flow with their own way of thinking
and living. They have original ideas that literally
turn the world upside down and right-side out.
Take for example, the 16th century Italian
astronomer, Galileo, who proved that the earth
revolved around the sun (instead of the other way
round), which was revolutionary in his time.
(90)
(2) Individualistic
Creative people want to find out what the truth is,
and they have strong need to decide for themselves
what does not. Often they are ahead of their time,
and much of their work is appreciated/
acknowledged after they are dead and gone. Many
writers are famous for marching to the tune of their
own drum, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, who
wrote the book, Self-reliance, and Robert Frost who
penned, two roads diverged in a wood, and I took
the one less-traveled.
drive, they can produce a lot in a relative short

amount of time. Talk about drive, the material girl
herself, Madonna, has not let public praise or
criticism stop her from being a super star. She is a
modern day Diva, multi-talented as a singer,
dancer, and actress who has released hundreds of
songs, albums, videos, movies, books, all the while
reinventing herself as someone new.
(3) Inventive
Creative people live in the world of ideas, and dont
always have the best interpersonal skills. Because
they are so highly intelligent, and live in the realm
of possibility, they are constantly coming up with
bright ideas. They also take notice of what is
missing in the world and/or what could be
improved. Take for instance. Thomas Edison, who
invented hundreds of things in his time, his most
famous invention being the light bulb. He saw that
there was darkness and then created light.
(5) Visionary
Creative people have a guiding vision in their head,
heart, and soul that they are often called to bring to
life. Who else but Michelangelo could look at a
large piece of marble and chip away at everything
that wasnt David?? According to him, I saw an
angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.
One of his best known works is the immense ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel, which took him three years to
complete, where he often had to work upside down
for hours at a time. If you ever have seen any of his
work, you can easily see that it is a vision to behold.
(4) Driven
Creative people cannot not do something they are
almost compulsive until they can bring their
internal vision into fruition. They have that fire in
their belly a passion to contribute to the beauty
and betterment of the world. Because of their high
(6) Intuitive
Creative people are very in touch with their inner
selves. They pay attention to the signs
synchronicities, symbols around them, and make
use of that information in their work. They often act
as a channel, where ideas and inspiration come
from a higher plane. They allow the work to guide
them to where it needs to go. The work clearly
(91)
(92)
originates in their soul, not from their ego. Talk

about ideas coming from out of the blue, remember
how the scientist, Isaac Newton discovered
gravity? He was sitting under a tree and an apple
fell on his head! Had he not made a connection with
his intuitive nature, he would have missed a major
theory about the world we live in!
As you read this, do you find yourself relating to
some of these traits? If so, it is time to start creating.
Getting started can often be the hardest part,
because we often limit our creativity by listening
too closely to our negative inner voice. But so did
all of these examples of creators. Even the famous
painter Vincent Van Goh struggled with that, but he
created a remedy for that,
he said, If you hear a voice within you saying, you
are not a painter, then by all means, paint, and that
voice will be silenced. Robert Henri says, When
the artists is alive in any person, whatever his kind
of work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching,
daring, self-expressing creative.
Once you have created, you now have to put
yourself out there for all to see. This is where your
faith comes in to support you. Remember that if you
are creating from your soul, it will not matter
whether other people accept your work or not. You
are simply doing what you are called to do as a
human being create.
(93)
ANOTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF
CREATIVE PEOPLE
COGNITIVE RATIONAL INDIVIDUALS
Self-disciplined, independent, often
antiauthoritarian
Zany sense of humor
Able to resist group pressure, a strategy
developed early
More adaptable
More adventurous
Greater tolerance for ambiguity and
discomfort
Little tolerance for boredom
Preference for complexity, asymmetry, openendedness
High in divergent thinking ability
High in memory, good attention to detail
Broad knowledge background
Need think periods
Need supportive climate, sensitive to
environment
Need recognition, opportunity to share
High aesthetic values, good aesthetic
judgment
Freer in developing sex role integration lack
of stereotypical male, female identification
(94)
AFFECTIVE/EMOTIONAL-SOCIAL CREATIVE
INDIVIDUALS
A special kind of perception
More spontaneous and expressive
Unfrightened by the unknown, the
mysterious, the puzzling, often attracted to it.
Resolution of dichotomies: selfish and
unselfish, duty and pleasure, work and play,
strong ego and egolessness.
Able to integrate
More self-accepting, lack fear of own
emotions, impulses, and thoughts.
Have more of themselves available for use, for
enjoyment, for creative purposes, waste less of
their time and energy protecting themselves.
Involved in more peak experiences,
integration within the person and between the
person and the world, and transcendence.
Capacity to be puzzled.
Ability to concentrate
Ability to experience self as creative, as the
originator of ones acts
Willingness to be born every day.
Ability to accept conflict and tension rather
than avoiding them.
Courage to let go of certainties, to be different,
to be concerned with truth, to be certain of
ones own feelings and thoughts and
expectations of others.
Less repressed and defensive.
(95)
More curious
More maturity autonomous and less
dependent on view of others.
PHYSICAL/SENSING CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS
Openness to experience, new ideas

An internal locus of evaluation
An ability to toy with elements and concepts
Perceiving freshly
Concern with outside and inside worlds
Ability to defer closure and judgment
Skilled performance of the traditional arts
High theoretical and aesthetic values
INTUITIVE CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS
More intuitive and open to admitting
turbulent inner conflicts
Have their energy field accessible
Have ability to tap and release unconscious
and preconscious thought
Are able to withstand being thought of as
abnormal or eccentric
Are more sensitive
Have a richer fantasy life and greater
involvement in daydreaming
Are more enthusiastic and impulsive
Often show abilities of synesthesia (e.g.
testing colour, seeing sound, hearing smells)
(96)
Show different brain wave patterns than the

less creative, especially during creative
activity.
Get excited and involved when confronted
with novelty of design, music, or ideas (less
creative people get suspicious and hostile)
When given a new solution to a problem, get
enthused, suggest other ideas (less creative
students analyze the defect rather than
explore potentials)
THE ATTITUDES OF HIGHLY CREATIVE
PEOPLE
1.
Curiosity:- Ive written previously on the
topic of curiosity because Im convinced that it is an
essential skill to build as a writer, learning to ask
why if, and I wonder, are great questions to build
into your life if you want to be a more creative
person.
3.
Confronting Challenge:- Many of the most
creative ideas throughout history have come from
people facing a challenge or crisis and rather than
running from it asking how can I overcome this?
4.
Constructive Discontent:- Creative people
often have an acute awareness of whats wrong
with the world around them however they are
constructive about this, awareness and wont allow
themselves to get bogged down in grumbling about
it they take their discontent and let it be a
motivation to doing something constructive.
5.
Optimism:- Creative people generally have a
deeply held belief that most (if not all) problems can
be solved. No challenge is too big to be overcome
and no problem cannot be solved (this doesnt mean
theyre always happy or never depressed, but they
dont generally get stumped by a challenge).
2.
Seeing problems as interesting and
acceptable:- One of the problems of the Western
mindset is that we often see problems or obstacles
in life as unacceptable parts of life. We avoid pain
or suppress it when it comes and in doing so dont
often see and feel symptoms that are there to tell us
something important. Creative people see problems
as a natural and normal part of the life in fact they
often have a fascination with problems and are
drawn to them.
6.
Suspending Judgment:- The ability to hold
off on judging or critiquing an idea is important in
the process of creativity. Often great ideas start as
crazy ones, if critique is applied too early the idea
will be killed and never developed into something
useful and useable. (Note: this doesnt mean there is
never a time for critique or judgment in the creative
process, its actually key but there is a time and
place for it).
(97)
(98)
7.
Seeing Hurdles as leading to improvements
and solutions:- This relates to some of the above,
but by hurdles. I mean problems and mistakes in
the creative process itself. Sometimes its on the
journey of developing an idea that the real magic
happens and its often out of the little problems or
mistakes that the ideas actually improved.
whether it can be learned. My own uneducated

answer to this question is Yes. Some people are
just creative, they dont train themselves to think
like they do and they often dont even know that
they are any different from the rest of us. Its just
who they are.
However I believe that we can all enhance our
ability to be creative over time.
8.
Perseverance:- Creative people who actually
see their ideas come to fruition have the ability to
stick with their ideas and see them through, even
when the going gets tough. This is what sets apart
the great from the good in this whole sphere. Stick
ability is key.
9.
Flexible Imagination:- I love watching a truly
creative person at work when theyre on fire. They
have this amazing ability to see a problem or
challenge and its many potential solutions
simultaneously and they have an intuitive knack at
being able to bring previously disconnected ideas
together in flashes of brilliance that seem so simple,
yet which are so impossible to dream up for the
average person.
Is creativity tied to personality type or can it be
learned?
As I write through this list of traits of creative
people, the question that I find myself asking is
whether creativity is tied to personality type or
(99)
ANOTHER CHARACTERISTIC OF CREATIVE

PEOPLE
1.
Self-Sufficient: Basing their behavior upon
their own concept of themselves (rather than
being dependent on close supervision or
guidance from others)
2.
Independent: In making judgments. Willing

to stand alone against the group for the sake
of accuracy in their reporting.
3.
Self-assertive and dominant, stable and seaccepting. More aware of, and open to their
own impulses.
4.
Progressive: and even radical. Also more

courageous, adventurous, and otherwise
more capable of taking greater risks in the
hope of grater gain. (Usually not conservative
types)
(100)
5.
12.
Absorbed: Long involvement,

thought are characteristic.
13.
Interest: They continually think and rethink

their areas are interest.
14.
Precocious: Creative persons have an early

broad interest in intellectual things.
15.
Daring: They like to toy with the unknown.
6.
7.
Complex: As persons. They may stir up group

sanctions against themselves as a result of
their own ideas which may be sensed by
others as a threat to the status quo.
Resourceful: Will find a way to achieve ends.
Often involved original solutions to problems.
Motivated: Only by liking to think, toy with
ideas, intellectual persistence and more and
more involvement in their work (not others).
8.
Complex: They need variety. They detest

repetition. They prefer complexity and seem
insatiable in their desire to organize things
their own way.
9.
Tolerant: They may be able to tolerate a great

deal of ambiguity and can live a long time
with unsolved problems.
10.
Unconventional:
Seek
unconventional
careers. Have knowledge that their ideas may
not always be those of the majority.
11.
Committed: Creative work demands an

almost total mobilization of energy and
experience. Involves long, absorbing work
hours.
(101)
sustained
TRAITS OF CREATIVE PEOPLE

1. Sensitive
17. Ingenious
2. Not motivated by
18. Energetic
money
3. Sense of destiny
19. Sense of humor
4. Adaptable
20. Self-actualizing
5. Tolerant of ambiguity 21. Self-disciplined
6. Observant
22. Self-knowledgeable
7. Perceive world
23. Specific interests
differently
8. See possibilities
24. Divergent thinker
9. Question asker
25. Curious
10. Can synthesize
26. Open-ended
correctly often
intuitively
11. Able to fantasize
27. Independent
12. Flexible
28. Severely critical
13. Fluent
29. Non-conforming
(102)
14. Imaginative
15. Intuitive
16. Original
30 Confident
31 Risk taker
32. Persistent
How many did you mark? 5, 10, 15, 20, or even all
of them? Occasionally people will mark all of them
if they dont feel intimated by others in the group or
by me. Each of these traits, if emphasized mildly to
strongly, will help you be more creative. Any of
these, if emphasized extremely, could yield
disastrous results. Number 28 (severely critical) is
often one that people do not mark because of the
feeling of the word severely. But think about it.
Arent highly creative people extremely critical?
When they are, what are they most critical of?
Themselves of their work. Often they are their own
worst critics (or enemies)
Can synthesize: You see patterns or the big picture
quickly
Divergent thinker: Look at things in many different
ways at the same time
Flexible: Willing to try things in many different
ways
Fluent: Produce lots of ideas or possibilities when
working on a challenge or simply choosing a
restaurant to go to.
(103)
Open-ended: Dont fix on a single idea, keep

looking for many different ideas or ways to do
things.
Self-actualizing: Focus on developing yourself to
the best you can be and to discover your specific
unique talents.
Sense of destiny: Believe that you have a special
mission or purpose in life you plan or hope to
fulfill.
Tolerant of ambiguity: Accept multiple answers or
causes to a single problem or challenge.
11 TRAITS OF HIGHLY CREATIVE PEOPLE
One roadblock that prevents many people from
boosting their creativity is the notion that creative is
linked to intelligence. Another roadblock is the idea
that creative people are born that way. So if youre
not super smart or born with the creative gift, the
natural reaction is to shrug your shoulders and give
up. Thats probably a bad move. Research shows
that once you get slightly above an average I.Q.,
intelligence and creativity are not related. So you
could be a genius and display little creativity or
have fairly average intelligence and wield amazing
creative powers.
(104)
And to a large degree, creativity is a learned

behavior. Its a matter of how you approach things,
how you act or react to new circumstances, your
proclivity to look at things in different ways, you
willingness to question, experiment, and take
chances. In other words, creativity is not what you
are as much as what you do. Think of creativity as a
muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. To
increase your creativity, you simply need to act
like a creative person. Not surprisingly. People
recognized as creative tend to share common traits.
3.
Like to play, since humor and fun are the

ultimate creative act. Which is to say you just
have to lighten up. We all have goals, and
quotas, and deadlines, but its not life and
death. When you enjoy yourself, your brain
relaxes and is able to produce more and better
ideas. One of those may be just what youre
looking for.
4.
Are expressive and willing to share what they

feel and think, to be themselves. Blogging is
the idea arena for injected your personality
into your work. People are emotional
creatures and respond better to people who
appear real, honest and open. Not only is it
more interesting, it can also be more
persuasive.
5.
Can find order in confusion and discover

hidden meaning in information. Research and
critical thinking are key tools for the creative
person. Information is to the brain what food
is to the stomach. So-called writers block or
creative burnout almost always results from a
lack of fresh information and having nothing
meaningful to say.
6.
Are motivated by a task rather than by

external rewards. You must like the challenge
of writing, explaining, teaching, and
persuading. Sure, you can make money along
The highly creative people:

1.
Have the courage to try new things and risk
failure. Every big breakthrough starts as a
harebrained idea. This doesnt mean you
should constantly go off the deep end, just
that you should balance your routine portfolio
of solutions with an investment in the new
and untried. Over time, the risk is usually
worth the reward.
2.
Use intuition as well as logic to make

decisions and produce ideas. He kept it
simple, small, fast and some would say ugly
and primitive. But it works for him, making
the Drudge report one of the most
recognizable and popular sites in the world.
(105)
(106)
the way, but if youre in it just for the money,

youre not going to be fountain of new ideas.
7.
Have a need to find solutions to challenging

problems. Even the most creative writers
wont have a solution for everything. If they
claim to, theyve stopped thinking. Highly
creative people are those whose eyes light up
at a question they cant answer. Thats the
opportunity to learn something new and
produce remarkably creative content.
8.
Will challenge assumptions and ask hard

questions to discover what is real. Writing,
blogging, or business rules arent really rules,
only rules of thumb. If you want to wield true
creative power, you will always take what
others advise with a grain of salt. (That
includes all of us gurus who love to don our
pointy wizard hats and pontificate on the
secrets of success.) If you dont know
something from personal knowledge or
experience, you dont know it at all.
9.
Can make connections between old ideas to

produce new insights. Combine the little
doodles you make on a white board with
online video and you get common craft, a new
approach to explaining things to people in a
way they can easily understand. Sometimes
(107)
the best solutions are simply two old ideas

jammed together.
10.
Will push the envelope in order to expand the

boundaries of what is possible. There was a
time when no one thought you could make
money on the Internet. Now its a huge, multinational business platform. Instead of
dividing the world into the possible and
impossible, its better to merely divide it into
the tried and the untried. What have you not
tried yet?
11.
Are willing to test new ideas and complete

with others based on results. Isnt that what
they mean by the market of ideas? Isnt that
what business competition is about? If youre
afraid of being wrong or losing, your
creativity will suffer.
These are certainly uncommon traits for most

people. But theyre not difficult. Watch how the
creative people you know solve problems and deal
with projects. You may choose one particularly
creative person you admire and, when faced with a
problem, ask yourself, What would so-and-so do
in this situation? As you begin to act like a creative
person, youll find yourself actually becoming more
and more creative. And likely, more and more
successful.
(108)
Creativity is any act, idea, or product that changes

an existing domain, or that transforms an existing
domain into a new one. What counts is whether the
novelty he or she produces is accepted for inclusion
in the domain.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CREATIVE PERSONALITY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Creative individuals have a great deal of energy, but

they are also often quiet and at rest.
Creative individuals tend to be smart, yet also nave
at the same time.
Creative individuals have a combination of
playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and
irresponsibility.
Creative individuals alternate between imagination
and fantasy ant one end, and rooted sense of reality at
the other.
Creative people seem to honour opposite tendencies
on the continuum between extroversion and
introversion.
Creative individuals are also remarkable humble and
proud at the same time.
Creative individuals to a certain extent escape rigid
gender role stereotyping and have a tendency toward
androgyny.
Generally, creative people are thought to be rebellious
and independent.
Most creative persons are very passionate about their
work, yet they can be extremely objective about it as
well.
The openness and sensitivity of creative individuals
often exposes them to suffering pain yet also a great
deal of enjoyment.
(109)
Chapter Seven
CONDITION FOSTERING CREATIVITY
(1) Encouraging Creative perceiving
To be creative in expression one must be creative in
looking and listening. This must be encouraged.
The creative person, besides receiving and
registering impressions, activity scans the field,
examines, analysis, interprets, evaluates key
elements, toys with different arrangements, and
visualizes changes in given materials.
(2) Create an encouraging atmosphere
To entertain ideas or to try to see old things in a
new way, or to try expressing themselves in ways,
people need to feel safe in doing so. They must be
free from the fear of criticism even when they ask
the most outlandish questions, mention half
thought-out notions, suggest even the wildest or
strongest ideas as in a brain-storming session. They
must be free to try out new combinations, even free
to make mistakes without fear of being judged or
censured. They must be allowed to be themselves.
(3) Encourage participation in creative activities
Many people, especially those who have got into a
rut, or those who show aptitude for creativity,
should be encouraged to take part in creative
activities like working out puzzles, in brainstorming
session, problem-solving, in painting or drawing
(110)
dancing or singing, creative reading or listening,

etc. this will help them to bring out their dormant
talent, and help them to discover the power of their
creative thinking.
will kill all the creative effort and discourage the

child from trying out any new ideas.
In cultivating this capacity, the biggest single
inhibiting factor is fear of failure or the ridicule that
stems from failure. This is especially true of the
adolescent who is very self-conscious and unsure of
his true worth as a person. The last thing he needs is
failure for that reason creativity needs an
atmosphere of acceptance.
If a group is given a project, and the less gifted

joined to a group, they will be able to contribute to
the overall success of the project and be able to do
so at their own pace. They will, furthermore, be able
to identify with the groups success and thus be
encouraged in their own later efforts at creativity.
(4) Encourage creative atmosphere in school
In our present system of education, the rigid
curricula,
lecturer-oriented
teaching,
the
authoritarian method of class discipline and the
examination system dampen the spark of creativity
in children. Children must be helped to develop
their creative talent. Imagination, originally and
problem-solving will be found helpful in
developing creativity in children. This development
of creativity in children should be begun as early as
possible, even in the primary school.
In Suggestion:- Children, still more than adults,
need a favourable atmosphere to try out all sorts of
activities in play or class work without fear of being
criticized or ridiculed. When children comes to you
with a sketch of a man which has not the least
resemblance to a man, dont say, is this how man
look like? It is not like a man at all! Note: This
(111)
In such instance every attempt at creativity is a

success, even if it has no real practical value.
Childrens fantasy soon disappears if it is time and
again suppressed by adult prohibitions. If there is a
ban on taking coloured chalk and drawing on the
black board, pleasure in drawing will soon vanish.
Children should learn that the world is not shut off
by adult prohibition. Imagination should not
atrophy. It should be stimulated. This can be done
only in an encouraging atmosphere.
(5) Place value on variety
The element of convergent and divergent thinking
should be continuously stressed and applied to the
solution of the problems throughout the entire
curriculum. The teacher should thereby encourage
original expression in a variety of media i.e. in
singing, writing, painting, drawing, acting,
experimentation, etc. Teacher should not always
demand one uniform answer, but allow differences
(112)
of option, idea and expression, he should encourage

the students to evaluate and interpret rather than
merely learn and recall. Both teacher and classmates
must value and give approval for originality and
heterogeneity if creativity is to be encouraged.
(7) Encourage a sense of curiosity

Teacher can encourage the student to ask questions
about things they find puzzling, and should at first
get them try and find out the answer. The teacher
would go a long way in developing creativity if he
encouraged his students to be curious about what
they see, hear, or read. He should also encourage
them to make experiments to find out things.
In convergent method of thinking, emphasis is

given to activities that are directed toward a correct
answer. In divergent thinking, on the contrary,
emphasis diversity of ideas. Originality springs
from divergent thinking. Students using a divergent
approach to the solution of problems being to look
at problems in a new light. Divergent thinking open
up a multiplicity of ideas. Classroom situational
experiences can be provided to children for using
divergent thinking in solving problems.
(6) Develop their sense perceptions
Scouting and palmanism has helped many to
develop the sense and imagination. Many
interesting games and exercises can be used by the
teacher for this. Since nearly all knowledge comes
through the sense of seeing, learning, touching,
smell and taste, and imagination, and since
creativity depends on previous ides as foundation
stones for developing new combinations, the
teacher should help to train the senses and the
imagination of students.
(113)
They should be encouraged not to take things for

granted. Does this thing have to be this way? Cant
it be made smaller, bigger, more altercative, and
stronger? are some of the questions they can be
encouraged to ask themselves and to try and find
answers to. Here are six honest servants that keep
and they taught me all that I knew. (i) WHAT (ii)
WHY (iii) WHEN (iv) HOW (v) WHERE (vi) WHO.
(8) Appreciate and reward creative effort
Teacher, like the parent, must always be on the
lookout for opportunities of praising any creative
effort or achievement by an encouraging word, and
by his respectful attitude to the persons who make
the creative effort. And should therefore.
Treat with respect unusual ideas and
solutions.
Treat with respect unusual questions asked by
the children
Provide opportunities and give credit for selfinitiated learning.
(114)
Show children that their ideas have value

Encourage creative effort in different media
like: sculpture, dance, drawing, drama, music,
singing, etc.
Provide opportunities for children to learn,
think, and discover without threat of
immediate evaluation.
(9) Be a self-creative person
Any teacher that must encourage creativity in
student, he also should/must be creative, otherwise
they may even suppress creativity in their students.
They may consider the creative student a nuisance
in class, because the student shows that he is bored
with the old stereotyped method of teaching and
speaking of teachers, who may have themselves got
into a rut or rigid way of thinking and acting. If
they are to encourage creative effort, they
themselves should try out new ways of teaching,
new ways of encouraging creative effort, and they
themselves also try out exercises to develop their
own talent creative potential.
themselves convinced of the importance of

creativity they will make efforts to develop it in
children. The power creativity will make teachers
and parents live more abundant lives as more
complete individuals.
HOW DIFFERENT FORMS OF INTELLIGENCE
AFFECT CREATIVITY
When we are involved in a creative endeavor we
are probably not aware that our creativity rises
from multiple forms of intelligence. Our varied
talents reflect these intelligences. Researcher
Howard Gardner has proposed eight categories of
intelligence that individuals have in varying
combinations and degrees. This is far different from
the traditional way of looking at intelligence as
primarily one's verbal and mathematics ability.
Let's take a look at a circle of quilters gathered
together to work and chat. You might be tempted to
assume that they must have the same variety of
intelligences as they all enjoy quilting.
(10) Engaged in practical training

Each week or forth night they should try out the
exercises that will train them in divergent thinking,
exercises that will train them how to solve
problems, to practice creative listening, creative
reading, creative thinking, creative writing and
creative studying. Only if teachers and parents are
An evening observing this group would soon prove

this theory to be false. One woman has just come in
with a bag full of scraps and is feeling overwhelmed
about which ones to use. Another glances at them
and quickly suggests a combination of fabric that
reflects a balance of pattern and color. Meanwhile
another quilter is stumped on how to do a new
procedure. Her friend across the table knows how
(115)
(116)
but struggles to put the procedure into words.

Luckily the woman next to her has a talent for
explaining things simply and clearly.
does help us visualize the concept. Following is a

brief description of each type of intelligence.
There is a huge flannel wallboard where another

woman is arranging her finished blocks,
painstakingly planning exactly how she wants them
arranged before she sews them together. She has
spent the entire evening on this project and her
friend teases her about such perfectionism. The first
woman loves this exercise in spatial relationships
while the other really doesn't see the need for such a
fuss. All these women are highly talented and are
using various forms of intelligence in their projects.
But there are differences among them and that is
what makes quilting together so rewarding as
talents are pooled in a dynamic process. You would
find the same to be true with a writing group where
one member is adept at writing poetry in form
while another excels at using metaphor.
1)
Linguistic intelligence includes talent in using

language and thinking symbolically.
2)
Logical-mathematical intelligence involves the

ability to think logically, recognize patterns
and work with abstract concepts.
3)
Musical intelligence gives the ability to

distinguish sounds and create music.
4)
Spatial intelligence deals with precise

perception of things and the ability to recall
visual patterns.
5)
Bodily kinesthetic intelligence involves ability

in physical movement as seen in both athletes
and dancers.
6)
Interpersonal intelligence is seen in a good

teacher or salesman as they sense the needs
and interests of others and use that
knowledge to communicate.
7)
Intrapersonal intelligence can be found in

introspective people who prefer exploring
inner landscapes. They are often highly
intuitive and have a clear sense of self.
One writer can paint a beautiful high mountain

meadow simply using words. Another barely
alludes to deep feelings of grief but the passage
brings tears to the reader's eyes.
Any model is simply a rough description compared
to how complicated and miraculous intelligence
truly is but Gardner's "Eight Intelligences" model
(117)
(118)
8)
Naturalist intelligence is displayed by those

who are talented at observing, understanding
and organizing patterns especially those
found in nature.
Have fun with these descriptions and think about

which intelligences may be your strong points. It's
good to know we don't have to be a verbal or math
whiz to be an intelligent and talented person.
Chapter Eight
DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVITY IN A
CRITICAL PERIOD
Creativity appears early in life and is shown first in
the childs play. Studies in creativities have shown
that its development follows a prejudicial pattern.
Gradually it spreads to other areas of life,
recreational activities; reach their peak during the
thirties and forties. After that they may either
remain on a plateau or gradually declines. If one
does no continue to try to be creative. Whether this
pattern will be followed or not will depend largely
upon environmental influences that facilitate or
hinder the expression of creativity. Emphasized has
shown how important early parental attitudes are
towards the childs expressions of creativity.
The parent, who is introducing babies to the world
of inanimate things or failing to do so, shows them
what fun can be gained by putting a batch of spoons
in a saucepan, looking at pictures in a book,
dancing to the music of the phonograph. When the
parent teaches them in his positive spirit, it gives
them a sense not only that things are to be enjoyed
but also that they will be able to manipulate them
successfully. Or if the parent has the opposite
attitude, it may teach them that objects are to be
suspiciously avoided because playing with them
involves some kind of danger or parent wrath.
(119)
(120)
IN CONSIDERATION OF CREATIVITY STAGE

(AGE)
(a) Below the age of 5 years:- Many of children
that are below the age of 5 years are indulging in
creative play. They usually showcase the level of
their ability in creative thinking. Some of their play
use to look meaningless, but in the area of creativity
that is how the whole talent will start gradually,
little by little, they will be practicing their creative
talent before developing to the age above 5 years.
(d) Age 13 to 15 years:- At this stage, striving for

peer approval, especially from members of the
opposite sex, controls the young adolescents
pattern of behavious. Like the gang-age child, the
young adolescent conform in the hope of winning
approval and acceptance.
(b) Age 5 to 8 years:- Before children are ready to

enter school, they learn that they must accept
authority and conform to the rules and regulations
of the adults in the home, and later, in school. The
stricter the authority from the adult, the more it will
be stifle creativity in the life of the child. Children in
this group of age should be allowed to sometimes
practice and showcase play so as to develop and
discover that in born creativity talent in them. In
some occasion, when a child is over treated it may
lead the child to stubbornness.
(c) Age 8 to 10 years:- The desire to be accepted as a
premier of a gang, group or set reaches its peak at
this time. Most children feel that, to be accepted,
they must conform as closely as possible to the
pattern set by the gang or age group child, and that
any deviation is a threat to acceptance of such child.
(121)
(e) Age 17 to 19 years:- At this age, striving for

approval and acceptance as well as training for
chosen vocation may curb creativity. If the vocation
necessities conforming to a standard pattern and
following specific orders and rules as in most
routine jobs, it will stifle creativity. From this we see
that creativity does not progress in a straight line
from childhood to adolescence. There are peaks and
dips, depending very much on the environment
factors in which the children live. Creativity can be
kept up even by adults provided they exercise their
creative faculty and do not just sink into a rut in
their way of thinking and acting.
HOW TO DEVELOP CREATIVITY
How does one develop creativity? By habitually
taking creative approaches to lifes challenges. To
make this habitual, you just need to use certain
techniques for a few weeks each, until they become
a normal part of your thinking. One such technique
is outlined here.
(122)
Develop Creativity by Changing Your Perspective

You have probably heard the expression, there is
more than one side to a story. But how often do
you actually look for the other side? There is more
than one way to look at almost anything, but we
tend to stick with the perspective that we already
have. That is going to change if you want to
develop your creative problem solving abilities.
Suppose you work for an animal shelter and your
goal is to place more dogs and cats in a good home.
The usual perspective might be to think about how
to sell people on the idea of adopting the animals.
But what if you thought about if from the animals
perspective? You imagine what the animal would
be looking for in a human.
metaphorically), with other eyes, from a different

point in time, or with a wider or narrower view.
Also, its important to note that it isnt about then
satisfying the goal from that other perspective, but
about suggesting new ideas. Lets look at another
example.
That could lead to a new advertising campaign with

Human Wanted advertisements. Large Collie
looking for a human caretaker with a yard and time
to play with me, with or without children. Can offer
love and affection in exchange. Small Persian cat
looking for a man or woman with an apartment of
house. I prefer to stay inside, and require at least
one window that allows me to take my nap in the
sun. Will purr when petted. How do you change
your perspective? What new perspectives can you
adopt for creative purposes? This is something that
needs to be demonstrated more than explained. A
change of perspective can involve looking at a
problem or issue from some other place (literally or
(123)
Suppose an investor is looking at houses in a

neighborhood. He isnt sure if he wants to be a
landlord or just buy a house to fix and sell, but he
starts with the usual perspective of How so I make
money with this? Then, remembering that hes
trying to develop creativity in this approach, he
considers other perspectives. What would the
neighbors want him to do? This question reminds
him of a comment one local made about the trashy
houses bringing down property values. That gives
our investor a new idea; buy the three worst houses
on the street and make them look good. In this way,
the value of each of them would likely be raised
more than if he just fixed up one, because he
improved the appearance of the whole street. His
example may even encourage other to clean up
their properties.
Notice that these two perspectives still relate back
to his primary one of making money. But this wont
always be the case. For example, if the imagines
looking on his investing activity from thirty years in
the future, he might realize that he doesnt want to
(124)
be involved in real estate. That might lead him to

ideas for a life that is more fulfilling for him. An
imaginary perspective from high above, looking
down on the neighborhood might encourage him to
build homes that dont impact the environment so
much. Perhaps the most famous example of using
an imaginative and even crazy perspective is that
of Einstein visualizing himself riding a beam of
light. That helped him create his theory of relativity.
Its a great demonstration of how to develop
creativity by using simple but powerful creative
problem solving techniques.
to perform is one of the enemies of creativity, but

you must be willing to take risks in order to free
your mind and increase creativity. The author
Joseph Chilton Pierce wrote, To live a creative life,
we must lose our fear of being wrong. At a young
age, children arent aware of right and wrong as
they are creating their fantasy worlds or watercolor
masterpieces. They are aware that it feels good.
The question of how to develop creativity becomes

more common as we get older. Painting, singing,
dancing, and making up fantastic stories is part of
day-today life for children. As we age, our days are
taken up by housework, family obligations, bills
and reports that must be on the boss desk by
Friday. Creativity often goes by the wayside unless
it is actively nourished. Reaching back into
childhood and regaining some of our lost skills is
important when discussing how to develop
creativity and weave it into our everyday lives.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE

If you are wondering how to develop creativity, the
first step is to acknowledge that every person has
unique gifts that set him apart from the
approximately nine billion people who have ever
lived. No one in history has the same combination
of strengths and talents as you do. Standardized
intelligence tests, or IQ tests, measure only one area
of intelligence and were intended only to discover a
childs capacity for learning.
DONT WORRY ABOUT BEING WRONG

Creativity is the art of making something from
nothing. Staring at a blank computer screen or a
large white canvas is often intimidating and one of
the quickest ways to lose the creative flow. Pressure
Psychologist Howard Gardner, a professor at

Harvard University, proposed in 1983 that there are
actually seven different levels of intelligence.
Among these types of intelligence are spatial
intelligence, or picture smarts, bodily-kinesthetic
intelligence, or body smarts, and musical
intelligence. By changing the way we understand
the workings of the body and brain, creativity was
elevated in importance along with math and
language.
(125)
(126)
HAVE SOME FUN: ACT LIKE A CHILD

There are many things you can change in your life if
you are wondering how to develop creativity. One
of the most basic changes is to introduce more fun
into your daily living. When a person is having fun,
it reduces stress and makes failure and
disappointment easier to handle. Increasing
creativity depends on doing things that are outside
your normal routine. If you usually work out at the
gym, take one day and go to the playground. Run
around a baseball diamond, play a game with your
family.
Wondering how to develop creativity means that

you are aware of a need to free your mind from
daily concerns. A great way to do this is to step
back into sixth grade and make a college. Gather
magazines, scissors, a glue stick and cardboard or
poster board. Cut anything from the magazines that
appeals to you. It might be a certain fabric, an image
from a travel magazine, or an interesting phrase.
Glue these images down to the poster board until
the entire surface is covered with jumbled words
and pictures. When you look at your college, you
will get not only the satisfaction that comes from
creating it, but you just might get some insight as to
what really interests you as well.
Making a few occasional changes jogs your sense of

normalcy and gets your creative juices flowing.
Another way to improve creativity is to act like a
child, whether you have them in your life or not.
When youre looking to improve your creativity,
activities you enjoyed when you were younger can
free the brain from concerns at the office and at
home that will impede freethinking.
Lie down on the grass and watch the clouds. See
how many different shapes you can see when you
let your mind wander. Write with your nondominant hand. See if you can write your name or a
grocery list with your other hand and make it
legible. Get down and dirty with side work chalk,
finger paint or watercolors. The point is in the
exercise itself, not in the results.
(127)
TAKE SOME RISKS

Creativity naturally involves risk. When thinking
about how to develop creativity, you must be
willing to work outside of your comfort zone and
try new things. If shed never picked up a
paintbrush, Frida Kahio might have had a nice
medical career, but would never have become a
world-renowned artist. Try anything and
everything that you find interesting take a class in
painting, jewelry making, dance, or a subject you
have always felt like trying. Find a teacher and
study music or singing. While it is true that you
might not be the next musical Idol, youll never
know until you try and you could discover an
(128)
underlying artistic creativity that you never knew

existed.
One way to use creativity in your daily life is to do

something different if you are stuck on a problem or
task. If you are having trouble writing, get up and
go play the piano. If you are having trouble with
the piano, go jump rope for a while. Using different
parts of the brain allows the problem to diminish
and for you to be refreshed when you come back to
the original task. It doesnt matter what you do, if
you only do one activity repeatedly, your overall
sense of creativity will suffer.
When taking risk it is important to not stifle

creativity by putting too many demands on
yourself. If you are thinking of changing careers to
one that is more fulfilling creatively, think in
shorter periods of time. Ask yourself if it is
something you could do for the next two or five
years. By changing the time span of the changing
form forever to two years, it frees the thinking
and allows you to open up to new possibilities more
easily. One good exercise is the millionaire
question. Ask yourself, If I had a million dollars,
what would I do every day? Dont limit your
responses to just rational answers.
Let your mind wander freely over how you would
love to spend every day if money was no longer an
issue. While thinking about how to develop
creativity, expose yourself to things that are outside
your normal routine. Visit an art museum and
wander the halls finding pieces that speak to you.
Listen to classical music and if possible, travel to a
different country where the new currency,
atmosphere and language all require that you use
your brain differently when processing daily
experiences.
(129)
Along with the newer thinking about intelligence

and creativity, innovation has begun to turn
channeling your creativity into a business. Many
people have become life coaches to help access your
creative side and use it in your career. Countless
books and articles on developing creativity have
been written to help you access these parts of your
brain that may have grown stagnant through lack of
use. Learn how to develop creativity in order to live
a complete a fulfilling life.
ARE YOU A RIGHT-BRAIN OR LEFT-BRAIN
THINKER?
The left and right brain functions are responsible for
differences in people and how they process
information. Whether you use your left brain and
right together or have a dominant half explains a
great deal about how you learn and express
yourself. While many people think artists are right
(130)
brained, this isnt always the case. For example,

some artists plot out their painting long before the
first brush stroke, which would indicate left brained
planning.
Well, even the most allegedly uncreative person has

creative ability. Of course, very few of us have
innate creative genius but all can create and learn to
develop greater creative results through practice.
And it is essential in our lives to be able to create. It
is through this tool that we are able to find greater
solutions to lifes challenges; health, relationships,
career, marriage, life changes, and so on. And it is
our responsibility to find the solutions.
What is so great about creativity? Well, without it

you would not exist. Neither would the pen I
initially used to write this book or the software and
computer that enabled me the produce the book.
The car you drive. The house you live in. the school
you attend. The office you work in. the park you
play in. on and on. All that exists was at one time a
thought in one or several peoples minds. All began
as a thought somewhere. Of course, the planets,
starts, and galaxies were created or organized by
great thought or intelligence, that is if you believe in
a divine mind of great power, depth and breadth of
understanding. But thats up to you.
Lets leave that discussion and get back to the one at
hand. It is human kind that has built a greater
portion of what we know as civilization, houses,
buildings, streets, cars, parks, stadiums, theatres,
etc. all of these things began as thoughts. Without
creativity knowledge would not exist. Einstein was
quite the creator or originator, and of course there
are others, such as Mozart, McCartney and Lennon,
Isaac Newton, Tim Berners-Lee, Steven Jobs and so
on. But how does this relate to you?
(131)
When a problem, issue, or quandary is bearing

down on you and you are the one at the centre of
the storm, whose responsibility is to make a
decision? To discover a way to make things work?
This is why tapping into the creative vein that
resides in all of us needs to be well lubricated or
worked to the point where we can agree that
creativity, the creative process, is an essential skill
everyone should have in place, and that it is not
reserved merely for the great thinker. But how do
we go about developing this skill?
First, we must recognize it, see it for what it is and
work it. And to develop any new skill one must
begin with the basics. Just like a guitar player must
learn scales and chords a person must learn idea
generating techniques. Lets look at a few? How do
you know which ones to use? Well, it depends on
you. Are you by nature a creative, open-ended,
abstract thinker? Then youre probably best off
(132)
creating ideas through free writing, writing

sentence after sentence in a free flowing manor. Or
are you by nature a more logical, controlled
thinker? Then you might be better off using
brainstorming or listing, jotting down ideas in
fragments or incomplete statements. Or do you
learn best through speaking with others? Are you a
group learner? Then youd probably find it most
productive to bang your ideas off others using
emails, chat rooms, blogs, forums or just a plain old
one-on-one conversation.
proper order. Not that these types of thinkers, like

engineers or accountants, cant be creative. They
can. For example, my father, an Ivy League
educated mechanical engineer, once took an art
class and came home with a very impressive,
abstract, Salvador Dali-esquire melting clock. Quite
creative for a guy who always got mad when my
less conservative mind wanted to play as he taught
me the well-oiled precision of mathematics.
If youre a visual person, you should look into

drawing, diagramming, or doodling. But before I go
any further, lets take a closer look at the categories
of personality types and how they may work with
these idea generating techniques. An abstract or
creative thinker is one who generally doesnt like
rules. If you tell them It goes like this: A, B, C, D, 1,
2, 3, 4, they might say Well might say Well, I like
A but lets put it after 3 and B before 1 and how
about 3 here and so on. No, no, no 3 goes here and
so on.
Bottom line, there are exceptions to the rules. You

may be a creative thinker who likes to use
brainstorming one day, free writing the next, and
drawing the next. Whatever combination works
best for you. Remember that you are the god or
goddess of your universe, whatever you say goes.
Theres no right or wrong or one size fits all.
Experiment and see which one or ones work on any
occasion you need to create or generate ideas.
If you are one who follows rules and is a little more

conservative youll probably look at the creative
thinker and say something like, This guy is a little
light in the head. Elevator doesnt quite reach the
top. And its not that the logical guy is uptight or
wrong, but he only sees the purposeful logic of
Now that youve been exposed to a few idea

generating techniques. What were trying to
develop here is the intuitive. The sixth sense. The
subconscious. The divine. The intuitive voice.
Whatever you call it this is where problem solving
comes from and true genius. Many a writer has
said, I dont know what Im thinking until I write it
down. This means that the creative, the solution lies
inside the unspoken word within. As you write,
you will discover wisdom you never knew you had
(133)
(134)
or had forgotten you had, recall knowledge,

information you had forgotten. Why? Who knows.
Many have and can continue to speculate but it
doesnt matter. What matters is that you get
answers to important questions, perhaps life
altering answers. Bottom line, great insights,
solutions, come from within. And these insights
dont come about instantly nor do they come often,
at least at first. It takes a lot of work to develop the
intuitive, muscle, but if you do develop it, great
answers will come. And with each attempt made at
discovering, not only will the insights become more
refined, more often, but your skills to see the unseen
will create greater joy and purpose in your life.
recognize people who identify new ways of

thinking and behaving especially in everyday
and business life, as just as creative.
2.
Spend time with creative people. Observe

how they act, think, relax and respond. Ask
them to talk about what events in their lives
influenced their creativity.
3.
Learn your own warm-up process, you ability

to ready yourself to both a creative idea and
take positive risks in making changes, even
small ones. What events and settings seem to
encourage your creative actions?
7 STEPS TO EXPANDING YOUR CREATIVE

POTENTIAL
The appreciation of creativity has been inching itself
into popular culture for the past several years.
Indeed, it is increasingly accepted that intellect and
credentials take a back seat to the ability to respond
creatively to challenging situations.
4.
Move, dance, exercise, bicycle, walk and

stretch. These physical activities get us out of
our thinking brain and allow us to truly
inhibit all of our body. As the body moves,
the right and left parts of the brain, the
imaginative side and the cognitive side are
able to work together more efficiently.
Here are seven steps to expanding your creative

potential:
1.
Examine how you perceive creativity and
creative people. Our results-oriented culture
has tended to look at those whose creativity
produces a product. A book, painting or cake
as officially creative. We have been less able to
5.
Listen to music and experiment with

improvisational theater exercises, even if you
cant play or cant act. Notice how different
types of music promote various levels of
energy within you. Theater and drama
exercises will help you practice different ways
of responding, a part from your habitual roles.
(135)
(136)
6.
conditions for groups to create the ideas necessary

to fuel innovation.
7.
Keep a notebook of interesting or creative

ideas and observations. Paste a few pictures
from magazines that interest or intrigue you,
even if you dont know why. Scribble and
doodle, if you wish. Whatever you do, dont
censor yourself. See what happens.
Find a mentor, teacher, or coach who can help
you cultivate your new-found creativity.
IGNITING YOUR CREATIVE POTENTIAL

A focus on facilitation
The igniting your creative potential: A focus on
facilitation course is designed to provide an intense,
hand on, experientially-based learning experience
in leading innovation and problem solving group.
ICP introduces the tools, concepts, guidelines, and
skills that serve as the basic for your facilitation
success.
The power behind igniting creative potential
Facilitators play an essential role in innovation
efforts by providing the process leadership that
helps groups to lower or completely remove
barriers to creative idea production.
By focusing on the areas where most innovation
groups get derailed the facilitator creates the ideal
(137)
Igniting creative potential helps address the

following questions:
How to get the most creative production out of a
group?
How to keep groups on track and moving
forward?
How to keep team members motivated and
engaged?
How to help people out of their thinking ruts
into out-of-the-box thinking?
Applications
The facilitation skills and knowledge gained in the
igniting creative potential course is useful in a
variety of group settings. From idea generation to
project management planning sessions. From
strategy development to problem identification; a
skilled of facilitator brings an order, efficiency and
effectiveness to the group process. Learning the
tools and strategies of facilitation provides you the
means to help groups reading higher levels of
novelty and idea production. The process
leadership provided by a facilitated style of
leadership enables individuals and groups to
become more efficient and effective in creating new
ideas and approaches.
(138)
Implications of Your Business

Investigating in ICP facilitator training for some
members of your team makes available process
leadership where and when needed. Trained
facilitators
will
significantly
improve
the
effectiveness of your group including meetings and
other team oriented work approaches.
framework, tools and techniques for creative

problem solving, participants will learn techniques
for becoming a master facilitator, and practice their
skills on real world business opportunities.
Understand factors that influence creative behavior,
problem solving and responses to change leverage
powerful language, guidelines and tools for
enhancing creative productivity when working
alone or in groups. Proven tools, techniques and
processes for successful innovation efforts.
DEVELOPING CREATIVE POTENTIAL

The tools and techniques for creating new ideas
workshop will provide participants with working
knowledge of tools, concepts, and best practices
them to create more novel ideas leading to fresh
approaches and outcomes. This increases the
likelihood that the individuals, and the groups they
work with, will be better able to identify
opportunities, create ideas and develop solutions
that achieve higher levels of novelty.
This engaging and interactive workshop provides
people with an understanding of their personal
approach to creativity, decision-making, and
problem solving. You will take away a practical
framework for gaining the clarity that you need for
generating ideas and taking effective action.
Key benefits
1.
Learn tools that help people make more
effective decisions
2.
Develop an increased capacity to solve
problems and bring about creative change
3.
Comprehensive experiential learning group
facilitation
4.
Insights, knowledge & feedback to become
master facilitator
The igniting creative potential provides the

knowledge and practical experience necessary to
facilitate world-class idea generation and problem
solving in groups. In addition to learning a practical
(139)
(140)
Chapter Nine
THE COVERAGE OF CREATIVITY
Creativity awareness fives us the foundation of
knowledge for our thinking and further
observation.
(1) CREATIVE AWARENESS
A most of our knowledge comes to us ultimately
through our senses of seeing, hearing, taste, touch,
smell and imagination, the better we train each
sense and use them together the more pleasure we
can derive from them and become more
appreciative of the ordinary things of life. Seeing is
believing, sometime seeing is more than that seeing
is living. The more you learn to see the more alive
you are.
(2) CREATIVE FEELINGS
Our emotions of fear, joy, wonder, etc, may be
moved when we experience a storm, and by
convergent thinking be affected very much. When
you see a flash of highlight hear the rumble of
thunder, you conclude that a storm or raining is
approaching. In divergent thinking, when I see a
beautiful sunset or flower, various emotions may
arise in me. It could be emotion of beauty, of peace,
or wonder, of deep joy, of love, of satisfaction, of
Gods nearness and of greatness, etc.
(141)
In some occasion, the same can occur when we

observe the trees in spring or in autumn, with the
flowers of different lives and shapes spring up, and
the brown leaves of various shades decking the
trees. Various emotions may well up within us
when we are brought face to face with human
misery. We must allow these emotions, of course
controlled by us, to arise in us so that we may
discover our depth, and grow into well balanced
personalities.
(3) CREATIVE LISTENING
Creative listening benefits both the speaker and the
listener. Very few of us really listen. I tested a group
of thirty five intelligent persons and proved to them
that not 99% per cent of them were really listening.
Buy the very way the listener sits, holds his body,
focusing his attention and interest on the speaker
and on what he says, the listener makes the speaker
feel wanted and important. Creative listening
encourages the speaker to go on and on. The
creative listener also gains much.
He benefits from the information given because he
focuses his attention on the main ideas spoken. He
knows, moreover, when to ask the right questions,
so as to bring out the speaker. The creative get
behind the words, to the words spoken but tries to
speakers The creative listener is an active listener,
and so can summarize the arguments put forward
(142)
by the speaker, judge their worth, and see how they

can affect his own life for the better. By listening
creativity, we learn to understand others. Many
peoples women among them, often listen critically,
but creatively very seldom! We should train
ourselves to listen creatively to good music, to the
sounds in nature, to the inner inspirations that arise
in us, especially in our moments of deep solitude.
appreciating the language, the expert choice of

words of similes or metaphors, or the imagery and
put the book down and visualize the scene
described. This will develop your imagination as
well.
(4) CREATIVE WRITING

Most teachers stifle creativity in the students by
insisting on the stereotyped forms of writing.
Correctives of language or logic of argument is
what they are mostly after in the students writings.
Anything novel is dubbed strange or outlandish,
and condemned. Convergent thinking is expected,
and divergent thinking is looked down upon. The
creative writing exercises are meant to assist you to
produce something original, new and perhaps,
unexpected.
(5) CREATIVE READING
Most people do convergent thinking when they
read silently. The read sequentially for one fact after
another, or one event after another in a novel, of
course, this has to be done often, but not always.
We miss much of the pleasure of reading when we
read only convergent. If we try to read creatively,
with divergent thinking, when we read well written
prose of poetry, we should get into the habit of
(143)
Moreover, if we are out to improve ourselves or our

profession, we should not ask ourselves just (what
is the author saying?) but also ask ourselves, (How
can I use what the author is saying in my life or
profession?) Do not think of just one use, but think
of as many some of their uses for further references
or action. It may take some practice before we get
into the habit of trying to apply what we read to our
life or our profession.
This principle of creativity can also be applied to
reading aloud by a teacher or lecturer. He must
practice reading aloud in various ways a passage in
prose, or a speech, drama, a poem, paying attention
to meaningful pauses, right emphasis, intonation,
proper speed, right pitch, audience contact, etc.
Students too can be trained to read aloud creatively
and then choose the best rendering they like. This is
essential for effective public speaking.
(6) CREATIVITY IN EDUCATION
There is no stimulation of the imagination, no
incentives for creativity. Passivity is the most
dangerous pitfall in contemporary education The
(144)
net result of this is to weaken the effect so essential

to creative power development. Much better it
would have been to stimulate them to select colour,
to cut and fold so as to explore various possibilities,
according to individual initiative. In this way we
would fan the individual spirit, whereas through
our standardization we tend to stifle it.
concentration of education on the creative mind
might radically remake education let us suppose
that we should become convinced that creative
power is possessed by everybody, and that there
are ways of stimulating and training it which are
capable of increasing it far beyond its latent
condition.
Education would be revolutionarized. Its major
energies would be directed toward the arousing
and training of the inventive power. A society alive
would on the whole, be the most powerfully
progressive society. Besides all this in the
classroom, creativity-divergent thinking at the
national, local or private level.
(7) CREATIVE THINKING
Creative thinking is the major source used to solve
problems, or to brainstorm to find the best ideas or
solution. I can also be used to improve ones
personal life, for instance.
Finding ways to improve ones health, ones
mental or moral development
(145)
Interpersonal relations, divergent thinking

will help you to find better ways of dealing
with persons of different social status or agegroups.
Solving ones personal problems like, how can
I overcome my shyness? Various questions
connected with this problem will have to be
considered, for example; what is the cause of
my shyness? With what sort of people am I
shy? How does this shyness show itself? etc.
It can also be used for tackling problems in civic life,
in international affairs, in salesmanship, in public
relations, in communications, in transport, and in
an administration of any kind. In fact, divergent
thinking can be used to improve any job. The matter
of communication in a school.
There must be communication from the principal
downwards to the teachers and from the teachers to
the principal; this communication may be oral or in
writing notice-board, notice book a personal note,
etc); the communication may also be by a visit to a
teacher who is ill or whose child is ill. All these
ways of communication require divergent thinking.
(146)
HOW TO DEVELOP DIVERGENT THINKING
v.
(1)
i.
PROBLEM SOLVING
First clearly define the problem. This sounds
obvious, but even simple problems may not
be precisely put.
ii.
Run rapidly over the elements of the problem

several times, until pattern emerges which
encompasses them all. This helps to get the
total picture before you get lost in the details.
It is necessary first to all, to turn my problem
over on all sides, so that I have all its angles
and complexities in my head, and can run
through them freely without writing them
down.
iii.
iv.
Suspend judgment. This rule prevents you

from clinging to the first interpretation or
presumption that comes to mind. This seems
to suggest that more evidence is required to
overcome an incorrect hypothesis than to
establish a correct one. He who jumps to
conclusions is less sensitive to new
information.
Rearrange the elements of your problem. This
may bring to light a familiar pattern
previously masked by an unfamiliar
arrangement.
(147)
Think of all possible solutions. Good decisions

come from a choice among many alternatives.
The fertile innovator approaches the problem
from every point of view and lets his
thoughts, come tumbling out.
Applied Imagination: These questions can be used

when solving a problem by yourself or in a
brainstorm season.
Other uses? (Is there a new way to use this article
in its present form?
Borrow or adapt? (What other ideas might be
adaptable?)
iv.
If you are getting nowhere, try a new

approach. The direction a person takes in
seeking a solution, one reaction is to see the
problem as a shortness of string and try to
make one string longer in terms of getting one
string to come to them.
vii.
Take a break when stuck. This is probably the

most frequent advice given to problemsolvers. But does it do any good? The answer
to that is a qualified (YES). If you have
explained all the possibilities of your present
approach thoroughly and can think of no
other approach, this would seem to be a good
time to take a break. But, if you have not
(148)
given an approach sufficient though the break

may not help.
viii. Forget the problem for a while. Teachers
should encourage students after a long period
of seemingly fruitless work to turn the
problem over to the subconscious. Here the
infinity complex computers make mysterious
calculations and then suddenly in a day or
two or a week or even a month, an answer
may pop in the mind.
ix.
Discus your problem. In talking over the

problem with someone else, you are forced to
consider aspects you might otherwise skip
over. The presence of a listener provides a
feedback mechanism which exposes obscure
or inconsistent points in your reasoning.
x.
Evaluate the ideas: select the best one; act

upon it.
(2)
BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUE
A.
Principles to be strictly and carefully

followed in brainstorming session.
Let each member suggest one ideas at a time
without any judgment being
(149)
passed on it by anyone. This technique is just to

collect ideas. At this stage judgment will inhibit
ideation.
Group ideation can be more productive than
individual; ideation.
The more ideas the better quality helps breed
quality.
B.
Composition of the brainstorm panel

Select Ten or 12 members. The odd member
gives the chance of a majority and avoids the
danger of two cliques of equal number.
Let there be a leader, an associate leader, about 6
regular core members (that are experienced in
the technique and three or five guess members, if
possible changed each time to add new ways of
thinking. If the same members are always there,
they can almost anticipate the ideas of the others.
Then choose the member according to their
better knowledge of the subject to be
brainstormed.
The members of the panel, as far as possible,
should be more or less of the same rank. It has
been found that when superior officials are
present, they tend by facial expression or
otherwise to induce an inferiority complex on the
part of the panelists to discourage freewheeling
(150)
C.
D.
The leader of the panel.

The leader should here know the procedures as
given above.
He should be up the general problem into
specifications and then choose one or two of
these specific problems for brainstorming.
He should write out his own ideas on the specific
problem chosen, and when there is a slowing
down of ideas from others, he may interpolate
his ideas with those of the others and help the
brainstorming going.
The leader should select the members for the
panel
The least two days in advance of the sessions he
should inform the participants that they are
invited to attend the brainstorm session and give
the date, place and time of the meeting.
He also should send them each a background
memo of not more than one page in length. The
double purpose of this memo is to orient the
panelists and to let them sleep over the problem,
thus allowing incubation to enhance the working
of associations.
Conducting the meeting.
(a) The leader then presents the available rules.
Quantity is wanted
Criticism is ruled out
Free-wheeling is welcomed the wilder the
ideas the better.
(151)
Combination and improvements are sought

for.
The:
(b) The secretary or assistant to the leader should
record all the suggestions one by one as they are
offered. It is more useful if there are to
secretaries, one takes down odd number
suggestions and the other the even numbers.
Each suggestion is numbered.
E.
Subsequent Acquisition
The leader then gets the numbered suggestions
types out and gives each member a copy, telling
him or her to keep the topic in mind and to add any
other suggestions he or she wants, and return the
paper in a day or two.
F.
Evaluation and selection

These preparatory steps would be calls in the
usual brainstorm procedure.
Here the panel secretary prepares a triple-spaced
type-written list of all ideas suggested both
during the session and afterwards.
The chairman of the panel will then edit the list
making sure that each idea is succinctly but
clearly stated. At the same time he classifies the
ideas according to logical categories.
A screening session is then held to select those
ideas that seem the most promising.
(152)
G.
The development of screened ideas.

Occasionally, the best ideas are usually the
combination of other best ideas. This applies to
the brainstorming session and to the processing
of ideas which have been subsequently selected
as the most promising.
H.
Confirmation of workability
The verification process seeks to confirm what
looks likely to be true about the worth of an idea.
At this stage a chosen idea must be fairly well
developed. It should be tried out and tested in
various ways.
Since the very essence of this technique is

suspended judgment, no attempt is made to judge
any of the ideas they are thought upon, nor, because
free-wheeling is important, is any idea thought to
be too wild. The time for evaluation and judgment
comes later. If you are a manufacturer or service
provider, try and try it three ways.
First, by yourself, in your own office
Second, with a group of your executives
Thirdly, a different group of your executives
working without you.
I.
Forward and proceed the presentation of the

final
idea
to
the
public
through
advertisements, etc. these should be done
modestly, graphically, visually and with
intelligent.
Now, take all three lists, eliminate duplications,

composing a master list, then appoint a select
committee to evaluate and recommend a new
product that you can profitability launch. You will
be surprised at the manner in which you have so
often previously overlooked the obvious.
THE TECHNIQUE OF FORCED

RELATIONSHIP (IN BUSINESS)
This is particularly valuable to manufacturers of a
range of products. This technique is a means of
inducing original ideas which rely upon the
creation of a forced relationship between two or
more normally unrelated products or ideas as the
starting point for the idea-generation process.
In an extension, this kind of analysis requires the

identification of all the variables contained within a
problem, and once this has been done each variable
can be independently subdivided into its
components. Suppose our problem was to evolve a
new way of getting thing clean, it is obvious that
three variable would be:
a. The materials to use
b. The means to store it.
c. The means to apply it.
(153)
(154)
(3)
(4) BUSINESS SYNECTICS

This technique antedates (Lateral thinking) by a
number of years and yet the similarities between
the two are many. It is still in a state of evolution.
Synectics is a problem stating and problem-solving
technique to be played by a small closely-knit group
trained for this purpose. As this technique for
developing creative requires a previously trained
group in synectics.
(5)
LATERAL THINKING AND THE QUICK

THINK TECHNIQUE
This technique requires especially trained personnel
for developing divergent (lateral) thinking. This
technique is a brainstorming technique, especially
when time and resources are limited, but with half
the number of persons required for brainstorming.
Chapter Ten
BLOCKS TO CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
(1)
IN OURSELVES
a.
THE FEAR OF CRITICISM:- We are
afraid of what others will say, either our
elders, parents, teachers, and even our peer.
Adolescents are especially vulnerable to fear
of criticism and may be afraid of producing
something new, something different from
their peers, lest others smile or laugh at them.
b.
THE FEAR OF FAILURE:- We are
afraid to try out new solutions or express
what might seem strange solutions or
opinions, lest we fail. We are self different. We
can never be creative if we are afraid of
failure.
c.
DISTRUSTING
OF
CREATIVE
POTENTIAL:- Many person think that only
very intelligent people or geniuses are
creative, and that ordinary folk like them are
not. But as we said above everyone has
creative potential.
d.
TOO SOON JUDGMENT:- Another
block to creativity may be that we allow our
(155)
(156)
judgment too soon to discard our creative

process in producing something new.
e.
PERSEVERANCE:- We give up too
soon in trying to find new ideas, or in solving
problems, because we are so use to
convergent thinking that we want a correct
solution as soon as possible. We do not have
the patience to try for newer idea in ideas in
solving problems. Sometime in solving s
problem we give up too early saying to
ourselves that it is too difficult, that it is
impossible to solve. If we persevered in trying
to solve it, we would eventually get the
solution.
f.
POOR OBSERVATION:- We fail to
observe the various details of an object or of a
problem; we do not try to see new aspects of
the object or problem.
g.
PASSIVITY:- We shirk the mental effort
required to be creative, to think divergently,
to solve problems, to work out a puzzle, to
find expressive words for a poem, etc. we get
into a groove and do not like to get out of it.
(157)
(2)
IN OTHERS
a.
UNFAVORABLE SOCIAL ATTITUDE

TOWARDS CREATIVITY
Social factors often militate against the development
of creativity. These obstructive factors take two
common forms. First, unfavorable attitudes towards
children who are creative and, secondly lack of
social reward for creativity. In discussing
unfavourable social attitudes, The spite of the fact
that these reputation for having silly, wild, or
naughty ideas. It is difficult to determine what
affect this derogation of their ideas has on their
personality development, as well as upon the future
development of their creative talents.
Although their humour and playfulness may win
some friends for them, it does not always make
them easier to live with. In fact, it may make their
behavior even more unpredictable than otherwise
and this probably makes their presence in a group
unsetting. Children soon discover that demands of
the school.
They also discover that the school encourages and
rewards convergent or conventional thinking more
than potentially creative divergent thinking. Not
only do obstructive social attitudes and the lack of
rewards discourage creativity, but even worse, they
often foster maladjustive behavior by developing in
(158)
children an unfavourable self-concept. While some

creative children may withdraw from a social group
that has a poor opinion of them, others may
retaliate by being troublesome and vindictive.
Encouraging of family togetherness:- Expecting all

family and preferences, interferes with the
development of creativity.
b.
UNFAVOURABLE HOME CONDITION
Within the home there are many conditions that
affect the development of creativity. Because the
home is the childs first environment, any condition
that stifles the development of creativity when it is
maturational ready to develop can be most
damaging. Furthermore, conditions that stifle the
development of creativity when the child is young
are likely to persist and stifle the development of
creativity as the child grows older.
Here are some unfavourable home conditions to
creativity:
Discouragement of exploration:- When parents
discourage children from asking questions, or from
exploring the environment, they are discouraging
the development of creativity.
Regimentation of time:- If children are so
regimented that they have little free time to do as
they please, they will be deprived of one of the
essentials in developing creativity.
(159)
Discouragement of fantasy:- Parents who believe

that all fantasy is a waste of time and a source of
unrealistic ideas do all they can to make their
children realists. Parents must realize the role of
fantasy in the life of their children. Fantasy or
daydreaming is an activity which is engaged in for
the pleasure it provides. It is a form of mental play.
Fantasy or daydreaming differs from make-believe
play in that the roles children play in their
daydreams are more fanciful more heroic, and more
remote from daily life. In a daydream, for example,
a child may be a princess, an orphaned prince, or a
popular sport hero, or a king. The stuff of which
daydreams are often made comes from the mass
media: movies, television, books, seminal, church or
comics.
Regardless of the setting of the action of the
daydream, the central character is always the
dreamer. All other characters are subordinate.
Fantasy is a difference mechanism or an escape
from reality where their wishes or actions may have
been forbidden by parents. Fantasy is especially
strong daring puberty.
(160)
Conservative parent:- Parents who are conservation

to the point where they are afraid to deviate from
the approved social pattern often insist that their
children follow in their footsteps.
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Strong emphasis on memorizing and initiation

Very large classes where regimentation is
essential
A highly organized schedule of class activities
Discouragement of anything that does not
come within the prescribed pattern whether it
be original painting or original story-telling.
Strict, authoritarian discipline, and the belief
of teachers that creative children are hard to
manage and their work harder to grade than
that of the conformers.
Using sarcasm or criticism at the fumbling
efforts of creative students to produce
something original.
Over protective parent:- When parents overprotect

their children they deprive them of opportunities to
explore new or different ways of doing things.
v.
Authoritarian discipline:- Authoritarian discipline

makes any deviation from parent approved
behavior difficult or impossible.
vi.
Provision of highly structured play environment:Children who are provided with highly structured
play equipment such as fully dressed dolls or
colouring books with figures to be coloured
according to the pattern given, are deprived of play
opportunities that will encourage the development
of creativity.
If teachers regard academic achievement as the only

path to success in life, and if they regard success in
examination, private or public, their chief aim as
teachers, the obstacles to creative expression in any
media may be overwhelming.
c.
UNFAVOURABLE SCHOOL CONDITION
School conditions also affect the development of
creativity. If unfavourable, they can counteract
much of the stimulation of creativity provided by a
favourable home environment. That is why the age
of school entry is a critical period in the
development of creativity. Among many school
conditions that discourage the development of
creativity are:
d.
CULTURAL BLOCK
We are often mediocre because of our conformity to
past solutions or way of behaving. We are the
conformists we are because we suffer from cultural
blocks. We find it easier to be one of a crowd than to
be ONE. The big danger in conforming to any
pattern that is accepted is that we do not even
question why the pattern is accepted or by whom it
was accepted in the first place. If some people
(161)
(162)
around us have a radio that looks different from

ours, we feel that we should get a similar one. This
type of thinking can be the cultural block of
developing our creativity.
e.
NATURAL RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
This like the fear of failure or the fear of ridicule is
an emotional block, which we have picked up early
in life and retain through life as a personal handicap
people get into a rut and like it there because they
know the rut so well. Getting out of the rut requires
effort, the hardest kind of mental effort, creative or
divergent thinking. Those who do not get out of a
rut will never be creative. The best idea in the
world will not do you any good and favour unless
you do something without it. That is why it is not
enough to read about creative thinking you must
make an effort to divergent-creative-thinking by
working sedulously at the self-test given in this
book, at least once a week or once a fortnight, or
about 15 to 20 minutes, and try to solve the
problems by yourself. An idea even only a fair idea,
put to use, will do more good than even the most
brilliant idea that no one ever uses.
Chapter Eleven
HOW TO STIMULATE YOUR
CREATIVITY
This chapter is to help you and those who want a
practical method put briefly to solve a problem.
(1)
WRITE DOWN WHAT EXACTLY YOU

WANT
You must see your problem clearly, put it down in
writing and, perhaps, break it down into separate
logical parts. Consider question like; Do you want
to overcome your shyness? Do you want to know
how to cut down your expenses? Do you want your
students to get better results in the public
examination? Do you want your teenage son or
daughter to return home early from a party? Do
you want to improve discipline school? And so on
like that.
How to improve discipline in school is too general.
It can be broken down into parts. In the library, in
the classroom, on the playground, in the study, and
or in the veranda.
(2)
Always remember that it takes systematic

application, determination, planning, dedication
and imagination to make yourself more creative.
(163)
FIX A DEADLINE FOR GETTING IDEAS

OR INFORMATION
You must set out to get as many ideas or as much
information you can on the problem to be solved. If
you fix a time limit you will be forced to work with
more energy and determination to keep the
(164)
deadline. Write down the ideas and information

you get from any source, the source could be from;
observation,
reading,
discussion,
reflection,
problem-solving techniques or brainstorming.
CONCLUSION
Finally, much of the serious criticism of our culture
and it trends may best be formulated in terms of a
death of creativity, let us state some of these briefly.
In education, we tend to turn out conformists,
stereotyped individuals whose education is
completed rather than freely creative and original.
(3)
INCUBATE THE IDEAS AS INFORMATION

YOU GET
The subconscious mind seems to work on the data

given it when you are relaxed or even asleep or
doing something totally different as listening to
music or going for a walk. A story must simmer in
its own juice for months or even years before its
ready to serve.
(4)
SUDDENLY A LIGHT FLASHES INTO

YOUR MIND
The solution to your problem may suddenly flash
into your mind of anytime and anywhere, when
you are walking, or traveling by bus or train, or air,
or taken meals, or even when sleep. When the light
or intuition of the solution comes, you must write it
down immediately so that you can work on them
even later in the day.
(5) CHECK OUT THE SOLUTION YOU FOUND
The creative imagination should be checked in its
results only after the final solution is selection. Then
only critical judgment must step in for evaluation.
(165)
IN OUR LEISURE TIME ACTIVITIES:- passive

entertainment and regimented group action are
overwhelming dominant, which creative activities
are much less in evidence.
IN THE SCIENCES:- there is an ample supply of
technicians, but the number who can creatively
formulate fruitful hypotheses and theories is small
indeed.
IN INDUSTRY:- Creativity is reserved for the fewthe manager the designer, the head of the research
department, while for the many life is devoid of
original or creative endeavor.
IN INDIVIDUAL AND IN FAMILY LIFE:- The
same picture holds true. In the clothes we wear, the
books we read, the food we eat, and the ideas we
hold there is a strong tendency towards conformity,
towards stereotypy. To be original, different, is felt
to be dangerous and risky. Why should we then be
concerned about this? If as a people we enjoy
(166)
conformity rather than creativity, shall we not be

permitted the choice? In my opinion, such a choice
would be entirely reasonable where it is not for one
great shadow which hangs over all of us.
HINTS ON DEVELOPING CREATIVE POWER

(THINKING)
(1) Study the question or the problem carefully;
go through the problem several times if you
like, to be sure you understand exactly what is
being asked. If you are not alert to see exactly
what you a being asked, it may be quite some
time before you realize with appropriate
embarrassment that you need to understand
the question very well.
(2) Confidently start work in solving problems, a
self-absurd attitude is half the battle.
(3) Relax and wait not all problems can be solved
by hand work alone. Many depend on a
sudden insight or inspiration.
(4) Ask question although you should try
working on the problems alone, when, after
trying for some time, you are not able to solve
them, you may ask sometime for help in
solving them.
(5) Keep on trying. Dont give up as soon as you
are stuck and say, This is too difficult or this
is impossible many times you dont begin to
understand a problems real nature until you
have become half convinced that it cant be
solved at all.
(6) Look at the problem or puzzle from another
point of view, if you fail to solve it after
several attempts.
At a time when knowledge, constructive and

destructive, is advance by the most incredible leaps
and bounds into a fantastic atomic age, genuinely
creative adaptation seems to represent the only
possibility that man can keep abreast of the
Kaleidoscopic change in his world.
With scientific discovery and invention proceeding,
we are told; at the rate of geometric progression, a
generally passive and culture bound people cannot
cope with the multiplying issues and problems.
Unless individuals, groups and nations can imagine
construct and creatively devise new ways of
relating to those complex changes, the lights will go
out. Not only individual maladjustment and group
tension, but international annihilation will be the
price we pay for a lack of creativity.
It is only b practice and still more practice that
the creative mind will be stimulated and become a
habit.
(167)
(168)
the bookworm had to tunnel through? (Think

and then answer).
Chapter Twelve
SELF-TEST TO IMPROVE & PRACTICE
CREATIVITY
(1)
After reflection, write down the main problem

in your work. Now write out the way you will
solve it.
(2)
Do the same for the main problem in your

personal life, and write out the ways you
intend to solve it.
(3)
(4)
A windstorm destroyed the transmission

tower of a television station. There is no other
tall building in the town. The former tower
was 200 ft high what alternative method can
be devised for raising the antennae for
transmission till a new tower is build? (Think
and then answer).
The librarians poser:- the librarian of the
mathematics academy picked two volumes of
the handbook of mathematics stacked side by
side in the select. To his amazement he found
that a bookworm had drilled its way through
from the first page of volume i. to the last
page of volume ii. If each volume is two
inches thick and if the thick covers are 1/8
inches in thickness, what is the total thickness
(169)
(5)
The snails space:- A snail is at the bottom of a

well 40 meters deep. Every day it climbs 7
meters up and every night it slides 2 meters
back. In how many days will it be out of the
well? (Think and then answer).
(6)
Fish story:- Two fathers and two sons went

fishing each person caught a fish, but they
brought only three fish home with them. Why
(Think and then answer).
(7)
Tick tock:- A clock chimes every hour on the

hour, and once each quarter hour in between.
If you hear it chime once, what is the longest
you may have to wait to be sure what time it
is? (Think and then answer).
(8)
Snooze:- If you went to bed at eight oclock

and set the alarm to get up at nine the next
morning. How many hours of sleep would
you get? (Think and then answer).
(9)
Who did it? One of four boys has emptied the

ice cream pan. Their statements are as follow:
Florence: Tunji did it
Tunji:
Desmond did it
Alice:
I didnt do it
(170)
Desmond: Tunji lied when he said I did it.

Now if only one statement is true, which of the boys
took the ice cream? (Think and then answer).
(10) Awareness exercises to shapen the senses, the
foundation of our knowledge for thinking.
Take your pulse, especially if youve never
done it before, press a finger firmly to the
pulsating artery on the thumb side of your
wrist be aware of the beat and reflect on what
a magic machine you are.
(13) Nature: Have you regularly made an effort to

observe the beauty of nature. The stars on a
clear night, the flowers or leavers in your
garden, the beauty of a flowering stream or
brook, or of a mountain, or of a forest in
autumn, or snow-clad peaks, or of trees?
(Think and then answer).
Finally, self test (exercise is the best way of
developing power of creativity. Dont me left out.
(11) Pictures: Have you looked at pictures

carefully and let them speak to you? To lift
your thoughts to higher things, to sympathize
with the suffering? To be ushered into a new
way of looking at ordinary things or
situations? (Think and then answer).
(12) Common things:- Take any common object
like a pen, pencil, toothbrush, etc. and look at
it hard as it if you hadnt seen it before.
Observe anything you hadnt notice before.
Observe its different qualities.
Have you carefully looked at your hand
before, or your face? (Think and then answer).
(171)
(172)
Chapter Thirteen
INSPIRATIONAL WORDS AND QUOTES
FOR CREATIVITY
Creativity can be defined as the experience of
thinking, reacting, and working in an
imaginative and idiosyncratic way which is
characterized by a high degree of innovation and
originality, divergent thinking, and risk taking. It
can also be thought of as the ability to create
knowledge or some previously nonexistent
information.
Creativity is a very vital component in solving
any kind of problems and in structuring new
thoughts. Creativity knows no bounds and a
creative mind always thinks out of the bounds.
Creative ability and personal responsibility are
strongest when the mind is free from
supernatural belief and operates in an
atmosphere of freedom and democracy.
Creativity quotes express the creative thinking of
the person who quotes them as well as make the
person stand out from the rest. They can also be
used to give a new dimension to the lines on
which a group is already thinking. They can
bring a new ray of hope in a group who has
already exhausted all other options.
(173)
Odd how the creative power at once brings the

whole universe to order.
The best way to have a good idea is to have lots
of ideas.
Everyone is a genius at least once a year. A real
genius has his original ideas closer together.
Genius means little more than the faculty of
perceiving in an unhabitual way.
There is nothing new except what has been
forgotten.
It is the tension between creativity and
skepticism that has produced the stunning and
unexpected findings of science.
The life of the creative man is lead, directed and
controlled by boredom. Avoiding boredom is
one of our most important purposes.
Conditions for creativity are to be puzzled; to
concentrate; to accept conflict and tension; to be
born every day; to feel a sense of self.
Human salvation lies in the hands of the
creatively maladjusted.
(174)
There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's

going to be a butterfly.
Your theory is crazy, but it's not crazy enough to
be true.
The world is but a canvas to the imagination.
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the

rational mind is a faithful servant. We have
created a society that honors the servant and has
forgotten the gift.
Creativity is the sudden cessation of stupidity.
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them

to be wrong, than to be always right by having
no ideas at all.
One of the advantages of being disorderly is that

one is constantly making exciting discoveries.
There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I

have erased this line.
Creativity arises out of the tension between

spontaneity and limitations, the latter (like the
river banks) forcing the spontaneity into the
various forms which are essential to the work of
art or poem.
Creativity is a type of learning process where the

teacher and pupil are located in the same
individual.
You can never solve a problem on the level on

which it was created.
All children are artists. The problem is how to
remain an artist once he grows up.
Creativity requires the courage to let go of
certainties.
Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts.
And never hope more than you work.
(175)
You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a

dancing star.
Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it
would have rubbed off some of the originality.
Technological change is like an axe in the hands
of a pathological criminal.
Life is "trying things to see if they work."
The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of
ideas.
(176)
The things we fear most in organizations -fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances -- are the
primary sources of creativity.
When I am working on a problem I never think
about beauty. I only think about how to solve the
problem. But when I have finished, if the
solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.
I imagine that Thomas Edison never did a day's

work in his last fifty years.
Any activity becomes creative when the doer
cares about doing it right, or better.
Creativity is a natural extension of our
enthusiasm.
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch,

you must first create the universe.
Creativity requires the courage to let go of

certainties.
Happiness is not in the mere possession of

money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the
thrill of creative effort.
The creative adult is the child who has survived.
An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an

idea whose time has come. The secret to
creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.
Creativity involves breaking out of established
patterns in order to look at things in a different
way.
Creativity in science could be described as the act
of putting two and two together to make five.
What we call creative work, ought not to be
called work at all, because it isn't.
(177)
A first-rate soup is more creative than a secondrate painting.

No one has ever written, painted, sculpted,
modelled, built, or invented except literally to
get out of hell.
Confusion is the welcome mat at the door of
creativity.
Creativity is discontent translated into arts.
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.
Art is knowing which ones to keep.
(178)
A major stimulant to creative thinking is focused

questions. There is something about a wellworded question that often penetrates to the
heart of the matter and triggers new ideas and
insights.
Creative people are stifled somehow by
domesticity. They need to have late nights and
bad mornings.
True creativity often starts where language ends.
(179)
(180)

The Power of Creativity

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The Power of Creativity