Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2012

10 Written Resources to Boost Creativity

This week I had the opportunity to speak with a group of pastors about creativity. I know, I know. The word “sermon” has bad connotations in modern American society. But this is a group of guys who really wants their people to pay attention and be engaged in the saving message of the Gospel.

As I prepared for the presentation I poked around my library of books so that I could share some resources with the group. I discovered that I have quite a growing collection of written materials pertaining to creativity and the creative process. The pastors asked if I would share a list of these resources with them.

It occurred to me that if they wanted to be enlightened by these resources, you might want to as well. So here is a list, in no particular order, of books and materials that I have found to be helpful in my creative journey. If you are interested in purchasing any of them, you can just click the link and it will take you right to the place where you can get your own copy.

I promise that reading these books will enhance your creativity, whether you are a pastor, writer, teacher, fundraiser, non-profit executive…or whatever you happen to be. Check these out:

A Technique for Producing Ideas, by James Webb Young. Originally written as a presentation for advertising people, this classic applies to anyone searching for a formula for producing ideas. It’s simple…but I warn you it’s not easy.
Caffeine for the Creative Mind, by Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield. Here are 250 exercises to stretch your brain and get the creative ideas flowing.
Poke the Box, by Seth Godin. If you’re having trouble starting, heres a great little book from uber-blogger, Seth Godin. You’ll read it in one sitting and refer to it over and over again.
The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield. The subtitle of this book is “Winning the Inner Creative Battle.” Every creative person knows that battle. “The Resistance” does not want you to create. Here is an excellent treatise on overcoming that creative battle. Every communicator or creative of any kind should read this at least three times.
Do the Work, by Steven Pressfield. This “sort of” sequel to The War of Art is an excellent follow-up. The back cover of this little book says: “A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with out big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.” Read it. You’ll love it.
Making Ideas Happen, by Scott Belsky. Sometimes coming up with ideas isn’t the hard part. Sometimes it’s actually putting those ideas into practice and making them happen. Belsky has studied creatives for years, and provides proven techniques to make sure that your ideas are turned into action.
Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath. The Heath’s studied some urban legends, and figured out why they stuck around, even though they are untrue. How about your message? How do you get it to stick? Here are some fantastic ways to do just that.
The Creative Habit, by Twyla Tharp. Twyla Tharp is one of the most famous and hardest-working choreographers of our day. But you certainly don’t have to be a dancer to get a great deal out of this book to enhance your creativity. Tharp gives great exercises for you to use when you need that creative spark.
The Collaborative Habit, by Twyla Tharp. Sometimes the creative habit is done within the context of teams. This book is an excellent map for finding your way through creative collaborations in a harmonious, productive way.
Thinkertoys, by Michael Michalko. This is “a handbook of creative-thinking techniques.” It helps you to “rethink the way you think.” The book includes hundreds of hints, tricks, tips, and puzzles. Enjoy!

There’s a start to my list. What books can you suggest for me?

Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2012

Are You Jumping or Falling?

Rarely have I ever finished a book, put it down, and wanted to pick it right back up again and read it. That was the case when I finished Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me, by Ian Cron. It’s funny, touching, sad, and poignant. And it ends…well, it ends…in the place you would want anything and everything to end.

An especially engaging part happens late in the book. It’s a riveting story about a quarry-turned-swimming-hole where a family adventure takes place. I won’t give it away. You’ll have to read it for yourself. But the story includes these wise words:

There is a big difference in life between a jump and a fall. A jump is about courage and faith, something the world is in short supply of these days. A fall is, well, a fall.

Are you jumping today…or falling? It seems to me that falling is:

lacking control
letting it happen
losing to the force of gravity

On the other hand, jumping is:

having control
making it happen
defying the force of gravity

Taking a leap is scary because, as Cron says, it requires courage and faith. But a fall is even more dreadful. There’s no courage. There’s no faith.

Courage and faith overcome the terror of falling and make it instead an exhilarating, exuberant jump into the unknown or only semi-known. It gets the blood rushing and the adrenaline flowing. It’s exciting and inspiring.

A fall often ends in injury.

A leap ends with the idea to push the proverbial envelope and do it again…or do even more.

A leap means moving to New York City, Nashville, or New Orleans if that’s what it takes to fulfill a dream. It means having the courage to do what others only think of doing. It means having the faith that no matter where the path leads there will be the gold of growth at the end.

Don’t settle for falling.

Take the leap.

You have the courage and faith.

You know you do.

What leap are you taking today? Please share your exhilarating jump in the comments below.

Posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Tim Sanders Teaches How to Be Rich with Confidence

Tim Sanders wrote Love is the Killer App and Today We Are Rich. He was one of Mark Cuban’s first employees and Broadcast.com. Tim was also Chief Solutions Officer and Leadership Coach at Yahoo during their hey day.

Tim Sanders deals in the commodity of confidence. It flows from him like water spewing out of Chicago’s Grant Park fountain. I know. I saw him and heard him speak at this year’s re:create conference in Franklin, Tennessee.

Creativity is fed by confidence. Sanders recommends investing a couple of hours a day into building confidence. It starts with the proper mind set: get to instead of hope to. A woman with cancer demonstrated this by the attitude she took each day: “Today I get to…..beat cancer, get a chance to live, have another opportunity, be with those beautiful nurses who care for me…”

Sanders gave us a taste of his “principles of confidence.” They apply not only to creativity, but to most other areas of life:

Feed Your Mind Good Stuff. Put yourself on a “mind diet.” Don’t listen to or watch negative news or voices. Feed your mind good stuff. Just like breakfast is the most important meal of the day, the first 45 minutes of each day is “breakfast for the brain” time. Get up every day and eat slow food for the mind: Read books. Contemplate them, take notes. Use this reading time to crowd gossip, jealousy, and negativity off the plate for the day.

Move the Conversation Forward. As you deal with people, focus conversations on solutions, not problems. Ask the questions: What have we got? What are our assets? Don’t fix blame. Make a list of assets! If someone wants to be the devil’s advocate realize that he or she is over-subscribed. The devil’s advocate doesn’t need you! The devil’s advocate is threatened in some way, shape, or form! Allowing the devil’s advocate to play that game is giving “permission to bully.” Instead of playing the devil’s advocate yourself, ask a question instead of criticizing. Answer questions with a sense of positivity. (And recognize that many of the things that bug you are you; often your problem is that you didn’t have the idea.) Beware of “The Sky Is Falling” Chicken Little’s in your organization. Stamp out that attitude. Challenge people: “Where are you coming from?” And don’t hire people who criticize their last boss. They will inevitably end up criticizing you.

Exercise Your Gratitude Muscle. Gratitude is not a feeling, it’s a muscle. Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” Fill up and infuse a sense of gratitude in your life. The word “gratitude” means “gracious attitude.” As a way of exercising it, give thanks today to two people who helped you in your work yesterday. Be thankful for people in your life who are helping you achieve your dreams. People help you either because they love you, or they are on board with the mission. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Champion the champions in your life. Be the opposite of the haters. Be appreciative for the people who contribute to your success. Then turn it around and help them.

Give to Be Rich. Find opportunities to be generous. Giving is a wonder drug. No ailment can withstand its healing power. When you help the helpless you believe in humanity even more. Be part of the solution instead of the problem. Good will is the original viral marketing. Respond to tragedy with generosity.

Prepare Your Self. Preparation will change everything. “The readers of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” Anything done well takes time. In fact, it takes 4 hours to get 1 our of creative work done. Rehearse writing before you write. Rehearse being creative. Do the prep and then give yourself time to let the idea incubate. When you’re in doubt, relive a successful experience. Your self-image defines how high you can fly. Store success at your front door. We store too much doubt, negative energy, problems at the front door. Remember the victory, the success. Relive it!

Be confident today. Be generous and thankful. Feed your mind, prepare, and move conversations forward.

Here’s a suggestion for today: think of a person who is helping you achieve your dreams. Get on your phone right now and send them a text telling them why you are thankful for that person in your life. Do it. Now.

In addition, tell a story in the comments below of a person who has been your champion.

Posted on Monday, February 6, 2012

God’s Holy Angles

Today’s guest post is by my friend, Peter Mead, a “creative” in the best sense of the word. Peter has started a new venture. Read on to find out what it is and how it will benefit you.

So, I’m a creative writer working as a happy servant of the Word of God. And pretty much on a daily basis I have to deal with the trapeze act of balancing creativity and hard (even eternal) fact. Sounds like oil and water. Maybe even flame and kerosene.

I’m not the only one in this predicament. Courtroom lawyers have to present the facts as they are while punctuating them with creative, captivating argument. Journalists report the facts. Good ones do it with a creatively emotional spin that send those facts careening into your awareness.

And let’s face it, the solid fact of your loves, your admirations, your appreciations, your awes of those you love, admire, appreciate and awe call your creative resources to communicate them in new ways.

We all live in the nexus of fact and creativity, I’d say.

But that’s speculation on my part.

I can speak to how I deal with my peculiar situation: I’ve been in the Christian publishing business for a quarter of a century, working mostly at the company my father, Arden Mead, helped to found in 1977. I learned the ropes from him, a master at connecting God’s ancient Word to today’s human heart with a creative bent that was stunning. And later he and I, working and writing together in a rare and wondrous collaborative relationship, were a force to be reckoned with.

And so I’ve learned to live at the corner of Creativity Ave. and Truth St. Oh, it’s not a nice Chicago corner. Or a mathematically plotted Milwaukee triangulation. That’s the thing about the corner I live on. It’s all “catty-whompus” as my mom used to say. And it changes: sometimes acute … sometimes oblique.

What I’m getting at here, in a metaphor that’s obviously squirming out of my grasp, is that God’s Word begs to be approached from different perspectives. It requires us to look at it from many angles—God’s holy angles. The perspective is alive with creativity … the Word remains the same.

Even a cursory glance at Scripture affirms the point. God’s message of faith and love remain unchanged, throughout. But to Adam and Eve they were communicated with the tough love of punishment. To Abraham and Sarah the Word came as a beckoning midnight whisper. For Moses and the slaves God’s faith and love were bellowed with “a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” … with thunder on the mountaintop. The Word came to (and through) David in the melody of ancient hymns.

When time was finally pregnant, God’s Word was delivered in Christ, and communicated in baby’s cry, in Jordan’s splashing waters, in demoniac’s cast-off scream, in wedding wine, in the leap of the paralytic, in the soft sighs of Jairus’ daughter, in the clip-clop of donkey hooves, in the breaking of bread, in the lash a whip, in the pounding of nails, in one final dying breath …

… and in a forever open tomb.

I’d say that’s a pretty creative way to get One’s Message across.

And I’m humbled by the invitation to continue to come at God’s Message from every perspective today’s world and the wily human heart requires. I’m happy to live at the axis’ of all of God’s holy angles.

Today I’m doing it in new ways. At ArdenMeadia.com. The site may not be up when you read this. Still, come visit me there!

So, what are creative ways you’ve approached God’s Word? What are creative ways you’ve communicated your own faith and love—in God and in others?

Posted on Friday, January 27, 2012

How to Generate Ideas in Five Simple (But Not Easy) Steps

Thanks to Jon Acuff’s InstaGram feed, I learned about a little book called, A Technique for Producing Ideas, by James Webb Young. Acuff indicated that every time he needs an idea he goes through the process outlined in this book. I had to order it immediately.

The book only cost about $7, and it’s a mere 48 pages long. It came in the mail yesterday and I immediately sat down and read the whole thing. You see, as a pastor, I have to come up with new ideas on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Every week I crave ideas that will help me present the Word of God in new and interesting ways. It’s not easy to do that week after week. I also need ideas for ways to promote and publicize, for teaching techniques, for illustrations, and for outreach efforts.

One thing in the book affirmed something I told my son, Ben, just last week. He is a songwriter, and is constantly on the hunt for ideas to be included in his songs. Not often, but on occasion, he has complained about certain “core” classes that he has to take in his college curriculum. I have told him in the past that even “core” classes are a way of generating ideas.

Right now he’s taking an art class. He loves it. He especially loved visiting an art museum last week. While he was there I texted him: “Remember. This is a great way of generating ideas for songs.”

Here’s where this is affirmed in the book A Technique for Producing Ideas: The first step in generating ideas is gathering raw materials. That means that information comes from every facet of life. A creative person is interested in how things work, where they come from, how people react, where Cambodia is, or what it’s like to fly on a plane. Recently, Ben and his friends have been watching documentaries of all kinds, especially ones about North Korea of all things. He has been fascinated, and even got me interested in the subject.

Here’s what Young says about gathering raw materials:

Every really good creative person in advertising whom I have ever known has always had two noticeable characteristics: First, there was no subject under the sun in which he could not easily get interested — from, say, Egyptian burial customs to modern art. Every facet of life had fascination for him. Second, he was an extensive browser in all sorts of fields of information.

The internet has given us the greatest tool ever to be able to explore almost anything we want. At the touch of a key we can learn, grow, and become wiser.

You’ll have to read the book for yourself to understand completely how these techniques work, but here is Young’s five step process:

Gather raw materials.
Work over the raw materials in your mind.
Let it all incubate (Let something beside the conscious mind do the work of synthesis).
The actual birth of the idea.
Final shaping and development of the idea to practical usefulness.

One note: Probably the hardest part of the whole process is doing the sometimes tedious work of gathering “raw materials” and information. Everyone wants great ideas, but they don’t want to spend the time learning and growing. But that’s the fertile soil from which ideas take root, and sprout, and grow.

Start gathering raw materials right now. You never know how those materials will give birth to an idea later on.

What’s one thing new you have learned today? Please share it in the comment section below. I’d love to use your responses for my own gathering of raw material. Thanks!

Posted on Monday, January 23, 2012

The Brilliance of a Wish List

If you’re not using it, you should be. Amazon.com didn’t invent the “wish list,” but they certainly use it brilliantly. Amazon observes my purchases. Occasionally they send me an email that “suggests” books or other materials that I might like to buy. If I’m not ready to buy any of the items, I can click a button and immediately add it to my “wish list” on the Amazon.com web site.

It also works when I’m browsing the site itself. If I see something that I like but am not quite ready to buy, I can click a button and put it on my “wish list.” I already spend too much money on books. I have a stack sitting next to me right now that I need to read. Even if I could afford to, it would be silly for me to buy more books than I could possibly read. But I can delay my gratification by adding books to my “wish list.” If someone suggests a book to me, I head straight to my “wish list” and add it.

Amazon knows that if I have a special place to list the books I’d like to buy, I will be more likely to buy them in the future. And I do. On occasion I will look at my “wish list” and purchase the book that I most need to be reading at that moment in time.

Beyond that, I can share my Amazon “wish list” with other people who may want to buy me gifts. They will know that I will truly enjoy the purchases they make, because I placed them on my “wish list.”

I’ve also noticed that by randomly adding things to my “wish list,” I have unknowingly shown myself what my passions are, what I’m interested in learning more about, and what I enjoy. Most of the things on my list have to do with (surprise, surprise) writing, creativity, social media, ministry, and culture.

Two Points:

Try the Amazon.com “wish list” for yourself. You’ll learn something about yourself, and you’ll develop a great list of books to read.
Make a wish list for your life. Really. Make a list. Use pen and paper, a Word document, Evernote, or “Reminders” or “Notes” on your iPhone…whatever.

What do you wish to:

Learn
Accomplish
Create
Make
Do
Earn

As you write it down you will learn your passions, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. You will provide yourself with clear aims and goals. You will create a plan and a path.

So make your “wish list.” Right now. Take a moment and start it. Keep it handy and add to it throughout the day. Keep adding to it over the next couple of weeks. See what you end up with.

Then go chip away at it…one by one…item by item…

Make a “wish list” and make it happen.

Please share some of your wishes in the comments below. It’ll make you more accountable to make them happen. I can’t wait to see what they are.

Posted on Friday, January 6, 2012

It’s Rhyme Time (Give It a Try and You’ll be Fly!)

When was the last time you wrote in rhyme? For me it had been quite some time.

Until I was contracted to write some hymns. My mind worked out like it was in a gym.

I flexed my brain…and flexed it…and flexed some more. It was like trying to settle an ancient score.

My fourth grade self took great delight. He made a bulb above me light.

Rhyme after rhyme. Time after time.

Light/Night
King/Bring
Peace/Release
Hope/Cope

What fun it was to fit the meter. I almost felt like a little cheater.

The rhymes rolled and rolled, and rolled again. And all the ink flowed right out of my pen.

Is/His
Gray/Way
Son/One
Here/Dear

It’s not too hard if you really try. The rhymes right out of your head will fly.

So if you need a creative spark, write some rhymes until it is dark.

Your challenge today is to write a poem. I don’t care if anyone’s home.

Leave it in the comments below. That way all your talent will show.

Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2012

New Chapters and Big Risks

Sometimes creativity requires new chapters and big risks. I’m in the midst of starting a new chapter and witnessing a big risk, but it’s not my own. And it’s not just because the new year is right around the corner.

We are in the midst of traveling to Orlando, Florida. It’s not necessarily a pleasure trip. We’re moving our daughter, Ashlyn, there. She’s starting a new chapter by taking a big risk:

She knows no one in Orlando
She doesn’t have a job
She only has a temporary place to live

I don’t know necessarily when it started, but for a long time now, she has wanted to work for Disney. Ashlyn graduated with a degree in theatre. She loves kids. She loves entertaining and making people happy. She’d love to be a Disney princess (yeah, really). Or, at least work at Disney in some creative capacity.

In order to turn the page to that new chapter, she’s got to take a big risk. No risk, no new chapter. No risk, no Disney. No risk, no chance of any of it ever happening. This whole plan may include U-turns or variations along the way. But to her, it’s all worth it.

Sure, it’s a risk. But a risk should never be taken without preparation:

She has spent the last six months working and saving money
She has set specific goals
She arranged temporary housing
She made important connections at Disney
She’s ready to take on temporary jobs until the larger goal comes to fruition

The new calendar year begins this weekend. Are you ready to turn the page to a new chapter in your life? Are you set to take some risks? If you have answered yes to both of these questions, now is the time to begin preparations. What do you need to do before you start a new chapter and take a calculated risk?

Here are some suggestions:

Set a major goal for every month of the new year
Take a couple of days to think through Michael Hyatt’s Life Plan
Use smaller goals and objectives to work toward the larger ones
Have faith in your own gifts and abilities
Don’t worry about what “others” think
Think creatively
Turn the page, take the risk, and start the chapter.

What new chapter are you going to start in 2012, and what big risk are you going to take? Please respond and share your thoughts.

Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2011

One Way to Shake Off the Doldrums of Winter Darkness

If I’m being honest with you, I have to tell you that I’ve been feeling a bit melancholy lately. The time change and shorter days always seem to do it to me. When it gets dark so early I find it difficult to do much of anything other than stay home after dinner and read, or write, or try to accomplish things around the house.

One thing that gets me out of my funk is to work on a project or do something creative. It always seems to bring some light and life into a too early dark evening.

After dinner tonight I decided I needed to do just that. I went to work on our family’s sometimes annual Christmas card (Do you send out cards every year?). We had a picture taken last month. So I got on iPhoto, began to work, placed the picture into a card template, and started to think about text I could place into it…and before I knew it I was energized and excited about what I was doing.

It’s interesting to me that we celebrate Christmas in North America very near the day that is shortest and darkest. It is a stark reminder that this dark world desperately needs the One who called Himself the Light of the world. The Creative Creator God came up with an innovative way to deal with the world’s sin-fed darkness. In history’s most sacrificially imaginative act, He sent His only-begotten Son to bring color, life, light, and salvation into a world who’s days had been dimmed and shortened by iniquity.

As I worked on our Christmas card, I was energized even more when I found the following passage in The Message:

Wilderness and desert will sing joyously, the badlands will celebrate and flower — Like the crocus in spring, bursting into blossom, a symphony of song and color. (Isaiah 35:1)

“A symphony of song and color” is exactly what I need at this time of year. That’s what my God gives me as He inspires me to and through creativity. Into the midst of darkness — spiritual, emotional, or physical — He delivers color, light, life.

Ask. He will provide.

How do you shake off the darkness and find the light at this time of year?

Tom Eggebrecht

Pursue Your Passion, Chase Your Dream

Category Archives: Creativity