Category Archives: Creativity

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Fresh Meaning in the Familiar

Chances are that where you are sitting right now is a familiar place. Take a look around. Now look a little closer. Even closer.

What do you see that you’ve never seen before? Very often a

  • creative idea
  • solution
  • new way of doing something
  • fresh meaning

…is there right in front of you.

Andrew Wyeth, the artist who never painted anything outside of his own home and family summerhouse, said:

Most artists look for something fresh to paint; frankly I find that quite boring. For me it is much more exciting to find fresh meaning in something familiar.

On what project are you working right now? Does it need new life, creative meaning, a fresh look? What would happen if you took a closer look and found “fresh meaning in something familiar”?

How about asking yourself these questions:

  • What if I changed the color of the thing at which I’m looking?
  • How does it work?
  • If I changed something about this familiar item, what would it be?
  • Why has it always been done this way?
  • What if we did it only slightly differently?
  • What solution is staring me right in the face?

Instead of looking for something fresh in the unfamiliar, how about looking at the things right in front of you. It may be a surprising boost to your work and creativity.

What question would you ask to bring a fresh perspective to something familiar?

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Mixing the Energy of Youth with the Wisdom of Age

I know it’s been said before, but if only those who had the energy of youth had the wisdom of age. This thought often occurs to me when speaking with my children and encouraging them to do this or that, move one way or another, or forge ahead into a certain endeavor. It’s difficult for them to see the urgency of getting things accomplished early on in life. Too often time is wasted doing things that may seem significant, but the wisdom of age knows are relatively insignificant.

The older I get the more I recognize how valuable time is. When I was young I wasted time like most anyone else. Now I know that being efficient and filling my time with things that matter, things that have meaning, things that move me toward a larger goal, is very important. Time is a precious commodity.

I wish I could convince my children (and others) that if you want to get somewhere tomorrow, you’ve got to get going “yesterday.” That means:

  • A vision for where you one day want to be
  • Setting goals that will get you there
  • Using time each day to accomplish those goals and move you closer to your vision

It sounds simple. It’s incredibly difficult.

The difficulty comes in remaining motivated and keeping the end vision always in front. To do that:

  • Distractions must be put aside
  • Ask others to hold you accountable
  • Start with small goals, then transition to the larger ones
  • Do something to move you toward the end vision every day without fail
  • Reward yourself when you accomplish certain goals
  • Evaluate weekly whether you have moved forward
  • Ask for help (people are much more willing to help than you think)
What vision have you allowed to go by the wayside? Is it time to resurrect it and move forward?
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3 Keys to Collaborative Creativity

Major events take time. Every three years our national church body plans and executes a National Youth Gathering, drawing in the vicinity of 25,000 youth and adults. The host city varies. The next one, in the summer of 2013, will be in San Antonio, Texas. The event includes Mass events each night of the gathering, concerts, activities, and a worship service that includes all 25,000 people.

I was recently asked to help plan and write the worship service for the 2013 Youth Gathering. That meant flying to St. Louis to collaborate with a group of people preparing a year in advance for two hours on a Wednesday morning in July. As we did this very exciting and invigorating work together, I realized that there were three components to the collaborative creativity that was flowing in the room.

In that one room where we worked for about 8 hours, there were people who brought experience, wisdom, and fresh perspective:

  1. Experience: Those with experience had been here before. They’ve worked with others. They’ve been through numerous Gatherings. They knew the right questions to ask and the specific suggestions to make.
  2. Wisdom: Those with wisdom knew the proper theological and technical questions to raise and input to make. Wisdom made sure that we would do things decently and in order, in a theologically sound way, while being grounded in the things that are important.
  3. Fresh Perspective: Those with fresh perspective brought new questions, different thoughts, and insights that built on the experience and wisdom of the others in the room. They hadn’t been through this before, so their insights were a bit different.

In a collaborative process, experience, wisdom, and fresh perspective bring forth a creativity that isn’t gimmicky or over the top, presents an end result that is professional, and brings an energy that is fresh and renewing. The next time you get together to create an event or project, how can you bring these three components together in the same room?

What key component do you see in a collaborative process?

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How Under-Scheduling Children Might Just Help Make Great Art

Anna Quindlen recently wrote a column for the Wall Street Journal entitled “The Agony of Writing.” In it she admits a number of things including that she hates to write, her effective writing times are between 9 and 3, and she always stops writing mid-sentence. She surmises that the easiest way to begin writing the following day is to simply finish that sentence. Hmmm.

Those things were all interesting, but here’s the part of the column that really caught my eye:

…One of the reasons I so fear the over-scheduling of today’s children is that most creative thought happens when you are staring into the middle distance, doing nothing at all.

“Inspiration comes during work, not before it,” Madeleine L’Engle once wrote, and for that to happen you must sit down in a chair. I don’t believe in writer’s block. It’s not that sometimes you can’t write, it’s that you can’t write well. Experience has told me that writing poorly sometimes leads to something better. Not writing at all leads only to reruns of “Law and Order.” Which I love, but still.

Now there’s a concept that may not be too popular in today’s culture of hyped up competition: under-schedule your children. It just might lead to higher creativity, greater art, and brilliant artists.

And this concept isn’t just for children. I can testify to the fact that when my schedule was over-busy, overcommitted, and with few cracks of time between dedicated events, my creativity was stifled. My weekly sermon-making suffered. It was like taking a pliers to a wisdom tooth in order to come up with anything even slightly creative and memorable.

Recently our singer-songwriter son, Ben, has taken to dedicating some “dead time” to writing music. He takes out his guitar, paces the floor, puts post-it notes on the wall, and delivers better songs than the ones he struggles to write in the middle of a busy week.

More than one wise person has told me that in order for regularly expected creativity to take off, I need to actually schedule “free time,” “down time,” or whatever you want to call it. That time is needed in order to process, make connections, brain storm, brain rest, or simply brain freeze, so that something new and exciting is conceived and born.

It works.

That is not to say that this scheduled down time is free and easy. It’s work time. It’s time to take your brain from point A, to point B, to point Q, and see where there might be a connection, an aha! moment, or a newly discovered “way.”

“The middle distance” (the place where you are doing nothing at all) isn’t just for children. It’s for pastors, teachers, architects, businessmen and women…anyone who needs a spark of creativity for her or his work (and don’t we all, really).

I challenge you to find “the middle distance” in your life today.

Do you believe that under-scheduling children or, for that matter, adults, will help create great art?

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Creativity with Cardboard

I may be a sap, but by the end of the following video I was crying. I dare you to watch it and not be moved by Caine…and what a big group of people did for Caine that made this nine-year-old’s day.

Caine is creative. Caine is persistent. Caine is Patient. Caine is imaginative. Caine has a supportive father.

Raising Caine must be a delight.

Watch this ten minute video and chime in on how and why (or if) it moves you:

(Email subscribers follow this link: http://youtu.be/faIFNkdq96U)

Here’s why this video moves me:

  • As a child I was Caine, creating plays in our basement, go karts out of junk we found, space ships out of fallen trees, and carnivals to raise money for muscular dystrophy. 
  • It reminds me that we live in a different world. No one ever created a flash mob to come to one of my childhood creations. I was moved by Caine’s “success.” The internet is a powerful tool.
  • Caine has a supportive dad. My parents were always supportive, too.
  • Somebody sees “genius” in Caine and supports him by buying a “fun pass.” (Lord, help me to be supportive of creativity where I see it!)
  • I am so happy for Caine that it moves me to tears. Did you notice that there is even a scholarship fund set up for him?
How and why does this video move you?
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10 Creative Ways to Say Thank You

I have lately found myself having to thank people a great deal. I am blessed to be blessed by so many people, and I want them to know they are appreciated. Expressing thanks is becoming a lost art. Let’s revive it.

Here are 10 ways to say “thank you”:

  1. The Old Fashioned Way: Keep a stack of Thank You Notes handy. A hand-written thank you note that comes delivered by the mail man/woman is a delight.
  2. The Generous Way: Purchase a few gift cards and stash them in your desk. When you “catch” someone doing something for you, whip one out and surprise your benefactor’s day.
  3. The Spousal Way: Too often we take our spouses for granted. A little bit of thanks goes a long, long way in a marriage. Show your thanks by cooking a special meal, taking her or him shopping, or delivering a “thank you” text message during the middle of the day.
  4. The Sneaky Way: You’ve heard of “Secret Santas” that many offices play during the holidays. How about being someone’s Secret Santa in March or May. Over the course of several days anonymously deliver small gifts to someone who deserves your thanks.
  5. The Oral Way: Don’t be afraid to actually sit someone down and say out loud just how much you appreciate what they have done, are doing, and will do for you. Wouldn’t you love to hear with your own ears what someone appreciates about you?
  6. The Pay-It-Forward Way: Tell someone that you have been inspired by their generosity toward you, and that you’d like to pay it forward. Tell them that in their honor you are going to specifically help or serve someone else. And tell them exactly how you plan to do that.
  7. The Social-Media-Shout-Out Way: Make your thanks public by tweeting or placing a status on Facebook, thanking someone for what they have done for you. Everyone loves a little fame every now and then.
  8. The Superior Way: When a service employee helps you in an extraordinary way, don’t just tell them; tell their boss.
  9. The Say-It-With-Flowers Way: Fresh flowers brighten any space. And they do an excellent job of saying “thanks.” This even works for (most) men.
  10. The Culinary Way: Take someone to lunch or dinner. Pick up the tab. Everyone loves a free meal at a nice place (and make it an independent restaurant…not a chain!).

What ways of saying “thank you” can you add to the list? I need your ideas!

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Talking Titles

The other day our son, Ben, had a special guest in his Applied Creativity class at Belmont University. The special guest was a music business professional who has been a singer/songwriter, touring musician, and producer of national acts. Amongst many other things Ben learned from this industry professional was a technique he uses in songwriting.

Instead of starting his songwriting with a concept, idea, poem, or even musical riff, he starts with titles. He’s always got a notebook with him, and when a title comes to him he writes it down. He has a whole catalog of titles so that when he does a songwriting session with another songwriter he says, “Which one of these titles would you like to write a song about?”

At one point, the guy was writing songs for a band made up of teenagers which was obviously going to be marketed to teens and pre-teens. So he went to the magazine rack at the local bookstore, started flipping through the teeny bopper magazines, and came up with a whole slew of titles for the band. From there it was easy for him to write the songs.

Are you stuck with a current project? Why not try starting with a title?

Do you need ideas for poems, songs, sermons, classroom lessons, or any other kind of project? Why not start your own catalog of titles.

It may just be the spark you need when you find yourself in a creative funk. Those titles will talk to you and give you a boost.

Why not write a creative title in the comment section below? I’d appreciate it very much!

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A Lesson in Getting Un-Stuck

I learned a lesson today from a good friend. He was running into some roadblocks in his business and just wanted to sit down and talk it through. He was stuck and wanted to get un-stuck.

So he asked me to come and think through some possibilities with him. I was happy to do so. I’m no businessman, but I love any opportunity to brain storm and think creatively.

So that’s what we did. He laid out some of his road blocks. He recounted some of the boundaries within which he must work. He expressed a willingness to take some chances.

Then came the fun part. He asked me honest questions. I gave him honest answers. The brain storm began. And the ideas started to flow.

When he left my friend had a few ideas that might help re-energize his business. I give him all the credit. I was just along to help him advance some ideas.

Here’s the lesson I learned (…a lesson I’ve learned before but need to learn again and again…): Two heads are better than one. A problem is easier solved when ideas flow from one brain to another, and then back again.

Are you stuck? Need a creative idea? Looking for a way to move forward?

Connect with a friend, partner, or colleague. Be honest. Be open. Let the ideas become concrete objectives. Then go give it a shot.

How have you utilized the brain power of other people to induce creative ideas and get “un-stuck”?

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Using the Incredible Tool Called “Adjacent Possibilities”

My son is taking a class called “Applied Creativity.” Since I can’t make it down to Belmont University in Nashville three times a week, he’s happy to occasionally give me a synopsis of what he’s learning.

The other day he taught me the term “adjacent possibilities.” The basic idea is the creative thoughts come together from disparate places. Moving from one place to another the mind comes together with something exciting and brand new.

In a September, 2010, article, The Wall Street Journal describes it like this:

The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore them. Each new combination opens up the possibility of other new combinations. Think of it as a house that magically expands with each door you open. You begin in a room with four doors, each leading to a new room that you haven’t visited yet. Once you open one of those doors and stroll into that room, three new doors appear, each leading to a brand-new room that you couldn’t have reached from your original starting point. Keep opening new doors and eventually you’ll have built a palace.

The article goes on to say that in the past the accepted way of creating ideas was building walls around them. Building walls around ideas meant that “in the long run, innovation will increase if you put restrictions on the spread of new ideas, because those restrictions will allow the creators to collect large financial rewards from their inventions. And those rewards will then attract other innovators to follow in their path.”

But now creators of all kinds are learning that “adjacent possibilities,” crossing over disciplines, bringing together widely different vocations, and opening new doors. It’s an especially effective way of creating today in a world where information is exploding. Just spend a few moments at StumbleUpon and you will be fueled with endless possibilities.

What adjacent possibilities do you see today? Please post them in the comments below. I’d love to learn from you.

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Overcoming the Fear of Making Art

For maybe the first time ever, I was scared to open an email message. I saw the subject line and I knew that I couldn’t delay it long. I had to open it. I had to see what it said. But I was scared.

I’ve been working on a project for Creative Communications for the Parish. It’s a worship and sermon series for this coming Advent. I’m under contract. It has to get finished. The worship services are submitted. Now I’m working on the sermons.

The other day I sent off the first sermon to have my editor take a look at it. I wanted him to provide feedback on the length, the tone, and other aspects of the sermon. Once he does so, I figured, I can move forward knowing that I’m either on the right track, or I have to adjust my direction.

So I sent off the email and waited.

I had to pay heed to Seth Godin’s advice: Ship it! Don’t wait. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t be a perfectionist. Ship it.

That’s not always easy. It means putting your art out there to be judged. It means taking a risk. It means giving up a certain amount of control.

A day or two later the email from my editor came back, and I was scared to open it. I was scared because:

  • It’s difficult to let others criticize one’s hard work.
  • It could mean even more work editing and upgrading.
  • It may reveal that they were wrong in choosing me to do this project.

But more than any of that, I was scared because criticism of my work is criticism of me. My art is part of who I am as a person, and rejecting it is rejecting me. Silly? Maybe. But it’s how I felt as I stared at that email waiting to be opened.

So after waiting an eternity of about 10 seconds (!), I opened it. My worst fears were not realized. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised. After asking for some minor editorial corrections my editor wrote: “Super work so far, Tom. We are excited about this project.”

Lesson 1: Take a risk and ship your art.

Lesson 2: Hard work is worth the effort.

Lesson 3: Accept both praise and criticism. It will make you a better artist. Had there been more constructive criticism in that email, I could have used it to improve my art even more. Having an outside party affirm my art means that I am headed in the right direction.

What fears do you have about shipping your art?