Do You Have Creative Confidence?
Jul 16, 2019
Innovation and creativity are widely accepted today as the driving forces behind business success, and are highly regarded qualities in business leaders. Yet, I talk to people every day that say, “I’m not creative, I’m more of a business person.”
Brothers Tom and David Kelley bust the myth that says that “creatives” are different from other people in their book, “Creative Confidence, Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All.” The book has been out since 2013, but the thought-leadership, stories, and exercises are still relevant today.
What I’ve found in my own life is that making creative strides in any area of my life affects all the others, including business. I discovered that creativity works like a muscle: it gets stronger the more you work with it — and it bleeds over into all that you do.
In 2000, I joined a collage art studio in Sonoma, California to meet people and to try something new. I thought of it merely as a low-stress pastime. I’d been in the printing and publishing industry for a couple of decades and enjoyed the visual arts, but had never considered myself an artist. (I was a businessperson!) So I joined the group with no expectations but to make some new friends.
What I did not expect is how it changed my approach to EVERYTHING!
The techniques, methods, and exercises that I learned in the collage studio have boosted my own creativity and self-development exponentially and affected every area of my life. My first book, Living into Art, Journeys Through Collage (2008) is the story of my journey along with the stories of nine other studio artists.
Living into Art was named a Finalist in ForeWord’s Book of the Year, and also chosen as Honorable Mention in the inspirational category of the Annual Writer’s Digest International Self-Published Book Awards.
I started coaching and working with other writers when they saw my book. The quality blew them away. When I told them it was self-published, many expressed interest in learning how to publish their own books. Over the next couple of years, I developed the Self-Publisher’s Book Plan to systemize the process.
Now I embrace unknowns, because I’ve started using “design mind” to work through creative challenges. What really matters is your belief in your ability to create positive change and the courage to take action. According to the Kelley brothers : “Creativity, far from requiring rare gifts and skills, depends on what you believe you can do with the talents and skills you already have.”
So how does one take the leap from list-making and planning to action? In corporate culture, the hesitation to act has been called the “knowing-doing gap” by professors Bob Sutton and Jeffrey Pfeffer. That’s the space between what we know we should do and what we actually do.
Sometimes the importance of a task can stop you in your tracks: writers facing the beginning of a new manuscript, a CEO facing the launch of a new product. Sometimes you need a little nudge!
The Kelley brothers have exercises in their book to help you get over the natural inclination to procrastinate or resist…as well how to overcome inertia. Their Action Catalysts, for example, include the following, with full descriptions on how they work:
- Get Help
- Create Peer Pressure
- Gather an Audience
- Do a Bad Job
- Lower the Stakes
There are lots of exercises in the book that will get you moving. David and Tom Kelley know of what they speak. They are founders of IDEO, one of the world’s leading innovation and design firms, and David Kelley is the creator of the d.school (design) at Stanford University.
If you feel stuck in place or hesitant to take on something new, I highly recommend reading books like this to gain insights, create a new mindset, improve on your personal skills, and build on your success.
If you’re not sure if your book is a good idea, or you don’t have a clear plan, download my FREE GUIDE.
If you want guidance and help creating a plan, schedule a FREE DISCOVERY CALL with me to see how I can help.
Plan for Success!
Lindsay
