You Don’t Need Creativity To Be A Creator
Did you know you don’t need creativity to be a creator?
Every time I talk about creation, creating, and creators inevitably someone brings up the thought that they don’t have a creative bone in their body, that they’re not creative, that they are not imaginative, they’re not artistic, they have no creativity, and that whatever I’m talking about is not interesting to them, because they just have never been very creative, and they don’t want talk about creativity.
Believe me, I understand. But what I’m about to say might actually clear this up for you forever.
You don’t need to be creative in order to create.
I want you to put a smile on your face. Do it right this very second.
Good.
There, you created. You just put a smile on your face, and that is a creation. The definition of “create” is to bring into existence, and the definition of “creator” is someone who brings things (creations) into existence. So by definition you are a creator. You brought something into existence – the smile that wasn’t there before.
And you didn’t even need creativity in order to create the smile. Creativity is not a prerequisite in order to create. It’s not even a necessary component. Creativity relates to the quality of your creation but it’s not necessary in order to bring a creation into existence.
So what does all this mean to you?
You need to recognize that you have the power to create whatever you want to create. The fact is, you are where you are today because you created what you are today. You are sitting where you’re sitting because you made the choice to sit there; you created that experience in your life. If you had desired to create a different experience you would be sitting somewhere else or walking somewhere else, or in a different place altogether. But you are where you are right now because you chose to be where you are right now – you created this experience.
If you recognize that everything you do is a creation then you can start to quantify or measure your creations. You could start to quantify and measure the creations that you create.
Then you could make your creations more valuable and important to you.
Have you sent out an e-mail today?
If you sent out an e-mail today you are a creator. You created that e-mail. That e-mail did not exist until you wrote it and sent it. Recognize that you created it.
Now you can measure it, and improve it. You can measure how fast that e-mail went out, how fast you typed it, and you can even measure the quality in which you typed it, how many words you typed, how many paragraphs, or how many sentences. You can measure how fast you typed it. You can measure even the quality of what you typed: did it communicate the message that you wanted it to communicate? Did it accomplish what you wanted it to accomplish? All those things you can measure and improve upon to make your creation more valuable and important. And again not a single one of those requires creativity, but nevertheless, sending that e-mail was indeed a creation that you created.
Since you can measure the creations that you create you can quantify the quality and value that you give your creations.
Too many people do not consciously create creations that are valuable in their lives. Instead they live their lives on autopilot, or they create by default; they don’t consciously create experiences that are valuable and important to them – they just live by default.
This morning did you consciously create a wonderful experience? Did you create a wonderful creation called “getting ready for work?” Was it a wonderful creation? Did you have joy in it? Did you make it a beautiful creation for the people around you to enjoy as well? Did you make it a beautiful creation for yourself? Did you make it a memorable beautiful creation for you? Or did you just wake up, hop in the shower, brush your teeth; you know, do the regular rigmarole and then come in to work?
Today I challenge you to look at the creations that you create and ask yourself is this a creation that I think is important, is it valuable, or is this a creation that I created by default?
You Are Important
I want you to know how important you are to my future success. I am not kidding. I mean it.
Too often we think that we are-all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips, that we can get along without anyone else’s help. But I recognize that this blog wouldn’t amount to anything if it weren’t for you.
I need readers. I need people who are actually interested in the subject of creation. I need people who want to be creators – or I am just sitting here typing on a blank wall.
You are important to me. You are the reason I am writing. I want you to know that I appreciate you.
Since this venture is relatively new. I haven’t spent a whole lot of time marketing this site. I intent on doing a ton of marketing these next few months, but for now this is just a beginning.
I would like to know what you would like me to write about. What interests you about creation? What do you want to know about being a creator? What is your perspective on the whole subject?
I would greatly appreciate your comments. I hope that we can begin a dialog about creation and creators. I am passionate about the subject and want to share my findings.
Send me a comment – I appreciate it!
Diametrically Opposed Opposites of Reaction and Creation
I fully understand the way things are. I have experienced a roller coaster of a life myself and know full well that these are definitely tumultuous times.
With the economy in turmoil, the government in disarray and the outlook doesn’t look like its getting better any time soon. It even appears close to impossible to experience any kind of success or happiness during such depressing times.
If you listen to the news media the only thing you’ll hear is how horrible everything is. Both sides of the isle are just as bad too. There are naysayers, doom-and-gloom prognosticators, and out and out pessimists galore. You almost can’t turn on your radio or TV without hearing the endless babble of how bad things are.
Winds are blowing one way today, and everyone is saying this is the way you should be investing your time, or money, or efforts, only to wake up tomorrow to winds that blow the opposite direction.
What’s a person to do? Is there any hope? Where are the answers? The face of our society is changing at an ever increasing pace, never to be the same again. What can be done?
I don’t know the answers to all these questions.
I’m not even going to take a stab at what I think you should do with your money, or your career, or which way you should vote – that my friend, is up to you to choose.
But one thing I can do is help you see your way through it all.
Just the other day I was standing in line at the bank, and a young mother walked in with her two boys. I could tell that the boys had been to this bank before because they b-lined directly to the big Tinker Toys in the corner.
Almost immediately they began to create. I stood there watching them in amazement. Without having to be coerced, or directed, or taught they set to creating things with those toys.
Many would call it play, but I would like to call it creation.
I would like you to open your eyes to the world around you. Have you ever noticed that every one of the ugly things I listed above is the absolute opposite of creation? They are all about reaction.
The Economy is failing – what is the government going to do? Reaction. You may lose your job – what are you going to do? Reaction. There is Global Warming – what are we going to do? Reaction. The News Media just told of a terrible event. Reaction. The Radio Talk Show Host is spitting mad at world events. Reaction. Reaction! Reaction!!!
Stop!
I am absolutely certain that reaction is not the answer.
Creators create. Creators don’t react – but they create. Do you understand?
All the greatest creations that have ever been created on this earth were created by powerful creators – even against great odds. But not a single one of them was brought into existence by reaction.
Creation and reaction are diametrically opposed forces. Here is the definition of Diametrically 
Opposed:
Two points directly opposite each other on a circle or sphere. More formally, two points are diametrically opposed if they are on opposite ends of a diameter.
This is what gets us all confused about creation and reaction. They are both on the same sphere. So in the sphere of things (little play on words) we tend to either create, or react – but not both.
Unfortunately, most people have been conditioned to react. I believe that we each come into this world with an innate characteristic, and that is we are each by nature of our very existence creators.
Take for example those two boys who immediately began to create when they walked into the bank. Their mother didn’t have to stand over them and tell them how to do it. They didn’t even communicate with each other – they just directly began to create.
It was pleasing. It was fun. Like I said, some people call it play. But whatever you call it – it was creation. Natural, innate, good clean creation.
But society has conditioned us to be reactors. Our parents tell us from very young, “stop that, don’t do this, don’t do that, there’s no time, it’s too hard, there’s not enough, you can’t, don’t say that, give up, give in, can’t, etc.” Which are all in some form or another reactions. But none of this barrage is creation.
So from very young we are conditioned to be reactors, and our innate ability and desire to be creators is slowly pushed away, put away, or destroyed.
But, like I pointed out earlier – absolutely every great creation that has ever graced this earth was brought into existence (created) by the act of creation – NOT by reaction.
How is the Government dealing with the woes that it is facing? Reaction. How are the Radio Talk Show Hosts dealing with all the issues? Reaction. How is the News Media dealing with all that is happening? Reaction.
So let me ask you this. How are you going to deal with your life? How are you going to make your life better? How are you going to bump yourself up to the next level?
Reaction?
I certainly hope not.
Impossible is Just a Word
Everyone, at some point of his or her life, has dreamed of being somebody special, something big.
What guy hasn’t fantasized about being the one who hits the game-winning home run? What girl hasn’t dreamed of being the homecoming queen? And how many times have we dreamed of being rich, or successful, or happy with our relationships?
We dream big dreams and have great aspirations. Unfortunately, too often our dreams remain just that – dreams. And our aspirations easily become faint memories in the past.
It is truly a sad story – instead of experiencing exciting adventures in self actualization, we get caught up in the humdrum of living from day-to-day and just barely existing.
You know what? I used to be there. I lived there. And I have a feeling that you are familiar with it all too well. Life could be so much better, if only . . .
If only we learned to aim higher.
The most common problem to achieving our dreams is the word “impossible”. Like me, most people get hung up thinking they can’t do whatever is set before them. It’s too hard. It’s too impossible. No one can do it.
However, if everyone thought that, there would be no inventions, no innovations, and no breakthroughs in human accomplishment. But thank goodness for the creators who have created these wonderful things that have changed and blessed our lives. Thank goodness indeed!
Remember that scientists were baffled when they took a look at the humble bumblebee. Theoretically, they said, it was impossible for the bumblebee to fly. Unfortunately for the bumble bee no one has told it so. So it flies anyways.
On the other hand, some people suffer from dreaming totally outrageous dreams and not acting on them. The result? Broken dreams, and tattered aspirations.
If you limit yourself with self-doubt, and self-limiting assumptions, you will never be able to break past what you deem impossible. If you reach too far out into the sky without working towards your goal, you will find yourself clinging on to the impossible dream.
Those who just dream towards a goal without working hard end up disappointed and disillusioned.
On the other hand, if you told someone a hundred years ago that it was possible for man to be on the moon, they would laugh at you. If you had told them that you could send mail from here to the other side of the world in a few seconds, they would say you were out of your mind. But, through sheer desire and perseverance, these impossible dreams are now realities.
Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Nothing could be truer. For one to accomplish his or her dreams, there has to be had work and discipline. But take note that that 1% has to be a think-big dream, and not some easily accomplished one.
Ask any gym rat and he or she will tell you that there can be no gains unless you are put out of your comfort zone. Remember the saying, “No pain, no gain”? That is as true as it can be.
So dream on, friend! Don’t get caught up with your perceived limitations. Think big and work hard to attain those dreams. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will just about find out that the impossible has just become a little bit more possible.
What Is Your Destination?
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision.”
-Theodore Hesburgh
There is a well known proverb that says, “Where there is no vision the people parish” (Proverbs 29:18) This is true.
Start on a trip without a destination and you will never know if you arrive, because you don’t know where you are going. There has to be a destination, some place that you are trying to get to. Wandering aimlessly will lead to aimless discoveries and locations.
Too often people live this way. They never chart a course, look at a map and much less never know if they are even heading in the right direction. They say they know where they want to go and what they want to do with their lives but they have no idea where they are headed.
Creators start at the end. They ask the vital question, “What do I want to create?”
Most of the time we go through life as if we have been given a car and told to drive down the freeway of life with no particular destination in mind. The signs let us know an exit is coming up soon, and we must make a choice, “Do I stay on the freeway or do I take the exit?” When we feel a need – hunger, pain, thirst, etc. – we turn off looking for relief. We make a choice. Once we are satisfied we usually get back on the freeway driving aimlessly in no particular direction.
Many of us stay on the freeway of life because it’s the easiest; society hands us a set of keys and tells us to go for a drive. We may not have anywhere special to go but parents and peers expect us to take our place on the freeway. So, we just keep driving until we have to make another choice out of need.
Creators start with their destination fully locking in their mind. It may be across the mountains where there are no roads. If that’s the case, they get rid of the car and get a mule or start walking. If it’s on the other side of a lake, they find a boat. The process becomes dependent upon the desired destination.
The destination is the creation. The true creator knows what they want to create and they set out to create it.
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” -The Koran
In order to create you must have a destination, a vision of where you want to be when you finally get there. Even though great artists’ works sometimes look like they just threw the pain on the canvas, and many times that is just what they did.
World famous Jackson Pollock is a good example of this (Look Above). But the absolute truth is he never did it without calculations. It was purposeful and in a destination of his vision. He set out to make a painting look a certain way or represent a certain feeling or emotion, or elicit a purposeful response, or was designed to generate many different responses – but that was the vision in the very first place – not aimless wandering, or aimless splattering of color on a canvas.
If you don’t know what outcome you want, or even a slight idea, how can you possibly know what to do or how to do it to generate any outcome that would be valuable or important to you as the creator.
Creators create creations of value – remember that. Set your course and create!
