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It\u2019s been said that creativity is finding two unrelated things and putting them together. If that\u2019s true, the more unrelated things you experience, the better your chances of finding those two things in the first place.<\/p>\r\nIt\u2019s been said that creativity is finding two unrelated things and putting them together. If that\u2019s true, the more unrelated things you experience, the better your chances of finding those two things in the first place.<\/p>\r\n
For sure, creativity is a funny thing. Even though there\u2019s been tons of research and scientific dabbling into the creative mind, there\u2019s no concrete answer as to why some people are more creative than others. There\u2019s no evidence of a creative gene, so to speak.<\/p>\r\n
But there are similarities or traits that these people share. This isn\u2019t about people who happen to work in a so-named creative department. Because creativity is not reserved for some people. It\u2019s not confined by what you do for a living or whether or not you possess certain artistic talents.<\/p>\r\n
Creativity is everywhere. It can be anything. It can show up in a clever interpretation of the tax code or last night\u2019s exotic casserole. That\u2019s because creativity is a way of living your life. It\u2019s a way of doing things. A unique perspective.<\/p>\r\n
True creativity is the art of being curious.<\/p>\r\n
So the goal of any organization or business should be to find these curious people. To fill out the roster with men and women who possess that never-ending sense of wonder and discovery. People who ponder the possibilities. Who like to tinker and dig. The ones who wander the psychic landscape and question the world at large.<\/p>\r\n
These are the kind of people who get engrossed in science shows about the trade winds in Upper Mongolia. They\u2019re fascinated by stories of ants that have somehow made a home on the 103rd floor of the Empire State Building. They search, they daydream and stare up at the night sky.<\/p>\r\n
Because these are the people who will most likely find a cure for cancer. They\u2019re the ones who put two and two together and find the formula for time travel.<\/p>\r\n
In short, these are the people who see things differently than the rest. They bring a unique perspective and find new ways of doing things. They don\u2019t want to tread on well-worn paths, they search for a new way through. More importantly, they\u2019re extraordinarily keen to the odd occurrences and unforeseen opportunities that ultimately lead to our biggest breakthroughs.<\/p>\r\n
Does the company president who runs to Michigan to cultivate a small farm make him more eager to grow the talent at his company rather than buying it out in the marketplace?<\/p>\r\n
What about a media director who spends her precious time off searching the stars and planets as an amateur astronomer? Would that enhance her abilities to search the media landscape for the next great opportunity?<\/p>\r\n
There are mail room guys who dabble in the stock market. CEO\u2019s who spend their time making documentaries. Digital planners who build children\u2019s playgrounds, rock \u2018n roll accountants, IT racecar drivers, and on and on.<\/p>\r\n
People who are curious about their world, who have hobbies and passions bring so much more to their everyday responsibilities. And the businesses where these people work will undoubtedly reap the benefits of their creativity.<\/p>\r\n
5 things you can do right now to become a more curious person:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n 1. Be more ludic.<\/strong> The very next word you don\u2019t know the meaning of, look it up. Go to an actual dictionary. Google it. Dictionary dot com it. Where did the word come from? Did you know that aposiopesis comes from the Greek word of the same spelling? It means to suddenly become silent as if from an inability to proceed. Or that ludic means to be playful in an aimless way? Cultivating a rich vocabulary is one of the greatest things you can do to grow personally and professionally.<\/p>\r\n 2. Travel every day.<\/strong> Tonight on the way home, take a different path. Don\u2019t take a cab, walk for a while. If you drive, go a different route. Instead of getting on the subway, explore a bit. There are so many things to see and do in our immediate little world. Did you know that record store was there? Pick up a vinyl copy of Some Girls by the Rolling Stones. Bronzeville is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Chicago – why is it called Bronzeville? Become more aware of the here-and-now. Be more present in your own life. The rewards are enormous.<\/p>\r\n 3. Ask dumb questions.<\/strong> Find that childlike curiosity you once had. Be willing to ask anything about everything. Find the answers to things you always wanted to know but never bothered to find out. Questioning our world is how we grow. But somewhere along the way we become afraid to ask things. Most CEO\u2019s agree that asking questions is what makes for great leadership. Smart leaders understand that the dumbest questions can be incredibly powerful. They unlock places we didn\u2019t think to go.<\/p>\r\n 4. Go bookstoring.<\/strong> Go to an actual bookstore and start picking up books and things that interest you. Encountering information that\u2019s not specific to your goal or question is the fastest way to bump into serendipity. Innovation relies on unexpected collisions of knowledge and ideas. Bookstores are perfect way to crash into the unknown. The economist John Maynard Keynes once wrote, \u201cone should enter a bookstore vaguely, almost in a dream and allow what\u2019s there to freely attract and influence, dipping in as curiosity dictates.\u201d<\/p>\r\n 5. Do something weird.<\/strong> Be unexpected. Dress inappropriately. Eat something you think you don\u2019t like. Talk to a stranger. Read some stereo instructions. Make a list of things you always wanted to do and do one of them. Go ballroom dancing alone. Read up on cat-rearing.<\/p>\r\n You never know where you\u2019ll find curiosity. And that\u2019s the point.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been said that creativity is finding two unrelated things and putting them together. If that\u2019s true, the more unrelated things you experience, the better your chances of finding those two things in the first place. For sure, creativity is a funny thing. Even though there\u2019s been tons of research and scientific dabbling into the […]","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[44,10,47,49,48,38,18,21,20,19],"class_list":["post-2074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ads","tag-animation","tag-creativity","tag-curiosity","tag-curious","tag-customer-experince","tag-rpm","tag-rpm_chi","tag-rpmadv","tag-rpmchi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmadv.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmadv.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmadv.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmadv.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmadv.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2074"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/rpmadv.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5068,"href":"https:\/\/rpmadv.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074\/revisions\/5068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmadv.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmadv.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmadv.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmadv.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}