May 8th, 2007 in Featured, Lifehack, Productivity

How to Become a Creative Genius

When we measure the creativity of young children, virtually all of them will record as eing !highly creative"# $owever, only a small %ercentage of adults register as eing !highly creative"# What ha%%ened& 'chools have crushed creativity# We were told to color within the lines# We were taught to follow instructions# (he goal in school is to get the )right* answer# +nfortunately, if you"re afraid to e wrong, you"ll never e creative or original# (he ,o of education is to %roduce em%loyees who follow instructions# -nd to this endeavor, they are doing a very good ,o # $owever, in terms of creativity, they are falling terri ly short# (his is one of the most unfortunate realities in our current education system# (o undo this, we must continuallye.ercise our creative ,uices# (hat"s why / have %ut together 0 ti%s for e.%anding your creativity# 1. Keep a Notebook and Pencil on hand at all times.

/deas are like in1laws, you never know when they"re coming over to visit# 2y kee%ing a note ook around, you will always e a le to ca%ture your ideas at any time of the day# Leonardo da 3inci was well known for kee%ing a ,ournal of his ideas# $is note ooks are now %ri4ed %ossessions that hold the many creative and genius thoughts of this master thinker, %ainter, and inventor# $is note ooks were filled with %lans for flying machines, a %arachute, a helico%ter, the e.tenda le ladder, the icycle, folding furniture, and a num er of automated tools for increasing %roductivity# 5es, / am ha%%y to say that Leonardo da 3inci was a %roductivity ,unkie# - lank %age is an o%en invitation for the creative and curious mind# (he sim%le act of writing gets you into a creative flow that can last for hours# (he free1flowing, e.%loratory %ractice of kee%ing a ,ournal encourages freedom of thought and e.%anded %ers%ectives# 2. The second ke to creativit is to ask !uestions. 6uestions are the root of all knowledge and creativity# 2y continually asking 7uestions a out the world around us, we fuel our creative fire# Great minds are those that have asked the "reatest !uestions. Leonardo da 3inci asked such 7uestions as8 Why does the thunder last a longer time than that which causes it? and Why is the sky blue? 'ocrates asked such 7uestions as8

What is wisdom? What is piety? What is beauty?

-s a young oy, -l ert 9instein asked himself, What would it be like to run beside a light beam at the speed of light? - num er of inventions have een created y asking one sim%le 7uestion: What if..? 2y asking 7uestions we increase our level of consciousness and our %ers%ective of the world#

#. To become a creative "enius$ ou must also be a voracious reader. ;eading enhances your mental a ility and lets you e.%erience the world from a rand new %ers%ective# When we read a ook, we let go of our own %ers%ectives and e.%erience the world from the characters that have een crafted y the author# / have found in my own life that the more / read, the more / want to know# ;eading ecomes an insatia le desire and an un7uencha le thirst# %. &eek out new e'periences. <ur minds are much like a garden# Without %ro%er care, the weeds will take over# =othing s%arks the mind like learning something new# /f you want to e.%and your creativity, then learn a new skill# /t can e anything you choose# Learn a new language# Learn to water ski# Learn to %lay an instrument# Pick u% %hotogra%hy or even try a new s%ort# -ll of these activities get your mind working outside of its regular %atterns# (. Become a whole)brain thinker. (here are generally two1ty%es of %eo%le in this world8 left1 rained and right1 rained# /n most cases, %eo%le are either analytical thinkers who en,oy math, science, and logic or they are highly imaginative and creative individuals who focus on the ig1%icture# +nfortunately, our school systems generally cater to those who are left1 rained analytical thinkers# (his has created a world of em%loyees who are very good at following directions ut are not so good at develo%ing new ideas# (o reak the mold, we must ecome whole1 rain, holistic thinkers# 5ou can do this y using a %owerful method known as mind ma%%ing# Mind ma%%ing has een used y some of history"s greatest rains, including Michelangelo, Mark (wain, and Leonardo da 3inci# Mind ma%%ing is a whole1 rain activity that will awaken your creative side as well as your analytical side# Mind ma%%ing will also hel% you to generate new ideas when needed# /t doesn"t matter whether you"re using it for

%ersonal goal setting, %ro lem solving, or sim%ly to ecome a more creative, whole1 rain thinker# <ur mind works in %ictures, associating one idea to the ne.t# Mind ma%%ing allows you to continue this natural thought %rocess on %a%er# Mind ma%%ing is one of the most %owerful tools for awakening your creativity# For a detailed e.%lanation of mind ma%%ing, go to8 htt%8>>en#wiki%edia#org>wiki>Mind?ma% *. The +inal tool +or developin" our creativit is ima"inar dialo"ue. 5es, / know, it may sound silly at first, ut this techni7ue can e an e.tremely %owerful tool for develo%ing your creativity# (his techni7ue was first introduced in the est1selling ook y =a%oleon $ill, Think and Grow Rich# 2efore achieving his success, =a%oleon $ill was first meeting with an imaginary mastermind each night# $e would close his eyes and visuali4e a ta le occu%ied y such great men as - raham Lincoln, @eorge Washington, =a%oleon 2ona%arte, ;al%h Waldo 9merson, and 9l ert $u ard# =a%oleon $ill would then s%eak to the mem ers of his imaginary mastermind in the following manner8 r. !incoln" # desire to build in my own character those $ualities of patience and fairness toward all mankind and the keen sense of humor which were your outstanding characteristics. r. Washington" # desire to build in my own character those $ualities of patriotism and self%sacrifice and leadership which were your outstanding characteristics. r. &ubbard" # desire to de'elop the ability to e$ual and e'en to e(cel the ability that you possessed with which to e(press yourself in clear) concise and forceful language. -fter meeting with his mastermind grou% for several months, he found that he had develo%ed each of their desired characteristics into his own %ersonality# =a%oleon also went to his imaginary mastermind to hel% solve any %ro lem he was facing# (he imaginary mastermind is a master tool for finding new %ers%ectives and looking at your %ro lem from a different angle#

For e.am%le, let"s say that you own a usiness# Why not develo% an imaginary mastermind of the greatest usiness minds in history& 5ou can call to your ta le such names as $enry Ford, -ndrew Aarnegie, Walt Bisney, 2ill @ates, ;ay Croc, and 'am Walton# Aall on them daily for advice and you will egin to see your %ro lems in a new light# -s once said y -l ert 9instein, )5ou can"t solve a %ro lem with the same mind that created it#* 5ou can have even more creative fun y imagining a discussion etween two different well1known %eo%le# 'ome e.am%les to get you started include8

2ill @ates 3s# 'teve Do s Leonardo da 3inci vs# -l ert 9instein William 'hakes%eare vs# Maya -ngelou

Let your mind wander and you will e sur%rised at all of the connections you egin to make# *im Roach is a producti'ity +unkie who blogs regularly at The ,ptimi-ed !ife. Read her articles on ./ 0ssential GT1 Resources) &ow to &a'e a 23 &our 1ay) 1o 4ou 5eed a 6raindump) What They 1on7t Teach 4ou in 8chool) and 9ree 4ourself 9rom the #nbo(.
-ds y @oogle

,indGenius # now released 1 Mind Ma%%ing software# Free E01day trial availa leF
www#Mind@enius#com

-nnovation .uthors 1 /nterviews with the Worlds 2est# /deas, Areativity, <%en /nnovation# www#ideaconnection#com> /iscount ,ontessori 1 6uality Montessori 97ui%ment -fforda le, Bifferent G /nnovativeF www#- sor entMinds#co#uk

01-T213& B-4G1.PH5

Kim1oach
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BonIt want to miss any related %osts like there& 'u scri e to our feedF 2ack to 'chool8 Cee% an -cademic ;eading Dournal -re 5ou a Productive ;eader& (he Lifehack Productivity 2ookshelf $ow to Fuel 5our /dea Machine JJ (i%s to Aarve <ut More (ime to (hink Literary @luttony K $ow to Aonsume More 2ooks (his 5ear $ow to 2oost 5our Areative <ut%ut L ;easons Why Auriosity is /m%ortant and $ow to Bevelo% /t Areate Mind Ma%s with Mindomo @reat Managers 9nd Aensorshi%

(ags8 creativity, learning, mindMma%%ing, reading, self1e.%ression, self1 im%rovement 'hare (his

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Comments

/ata <ealot sa s on ,a 6th$ 2==> at 12?%2 pm

9.cellent %ostF /"ve orrowed your idea and reworded it for homeschool a%%lication8 htt%8>>data4ealot#com>&%cEE (hanksF

@ohn A. sa s on ,a 6th$ 2==> at 2?== pm

@reat articleF / really en,oyed reading the %art a out imaginary dialogue which is oth %sychologically dee% and yet entertaining at the same time#

Kim 1oach sa s on ,a 6th$ 2==> at 2?1# pm

$ey DohnF /"m so glad you en,oyed the article# (he imaginary dialogue can e 7uite entertaining# / was actually first introduced to this conce%t y my history teacher in high school and then later read even more a out it in =a%oleon $ill"s ook )(hink and @row ;ich*#

Gar sa s on ,a 6th$ 2==> at 2?1* pm

/ certainly think this is good advice, ut isn"t it %ainting education with some very road, and %ossi ly outdated, rushstrokes# 'ure, rules are esta lished in schools, as in work%laces, ecause it"s not ,ust your show# =o environment where two or more humands find themselves is ever ,ust u% to them# /f you"re a consultant, it"s never ,ust your show either# We have to colla orate# / had teachers who did a great deal to encourage creative thinking, ut the res%onsi ility to develo% and sustain that mode of thinking is all mine and / a%%reciate the thoughts dall of which should e communicated as %art of any decent li eral arts educatione# / guess / have grown weary of the )they never teach you in school stuff you need to know* log %ostings and then cite e.am%les like you were )told to color etween the lines#* / don"t know if this is ecause folks who work with technology were ahead of the learning curve or didn"t find the curriculum com%elling or ,ust didn"t think they fit in# Most kids that / see d/ volunteer in a kindergarten classe are concerned a out coloring in the lines without any adult %rom%ting in my e.%erience# / don"t think it 7ualifies them for dullardom nor does it make teachers as a default cogs in the conformist wheel#

noisome sa s on ,a 6th$ 2==> at %?2% pm

f@ary8 / think you were taking the )drawing inside the lines* comment a it too literally# - 7uick %erusal of the essays y Bewey dWhat a %sycho%ath# 5ou reali4e that Bewey was a student of e.%erimental %sychologist @# 'tanley $all&e and those that created the -merican 9ducational 'ystem would show you how corru%t the system is, even at it"s roots# (hey actually use the %hrase )worker ees#* 5ou mention this %ortrayal of the system turning children into shee%le is %erha%s outmoded, and while / agree that in 2007 the educational system, like every other system in our country, has changed a great deal from how it egan, if anything, it has ecome worse# -t least when they were uilding the foundation of the educational system %eo%le were involved enough in the then1smaller society to know what was going on, and know of their intentions# =ow all we have are %eo%le that have een s7uee4ed through this system, and naturally, the %u lic schools haven"t necessarily taught them a out things like %ro%aganda, mass hallucinations, or %sychological warfare# Why would a farmer teach his cows a out farming& Aheck out The :nderground &istory of ;merican 0ducation y Dohn (aylor @atto# -nd then you could do yourself a favor and %ick u% some ooks on asic ehavioral %sychology, %ro%aganda tactics, and %sychological warfare# Wilhelm ;eich"s Theory of the 0motional <lague is a good read too# -fter you"ve gotten this modest amount of reading under your elt, when shit ha%%ens like the 3( Massacre, or Aolum ine, you"ll know why it ha%%ened# 5ou"ll reali4e why the %ercentages of %eo%le with %sychological %ro lems is constantly rising# /f the government was using iological warfare on its own %eo%le, would we get angry at those that it affected adversely& Would we condemn them for mutating& =o, of course not, we"d e %issed at the government# 'o when the -merican %sychosis, fueled y our government1controlled media and our flawed educational system, lows u% in our facesg when %eo%le mutate mentally, and uckle under the %ressure of this sick, national %sychological e.%eriment a W$5 do we always fail to lame those res%onsi le&

Tom sa s on ,a Bth$ 2==> at 1?2( am

For more ideas on freeing your creative genius check out the work of Win Wenger# @et the instructions for his /mage 'treaming techni7ue and try that# Find his Pro,ect ;enaissance We site at winwenger#com

Helen sa s on ,a Bth$ 2==> at 2?12 am

(hose are useful ti%s, es%ecially second one which is asking 7uestions# -sking 7uestions show that we are eager to roaden our view a out the to%ic#

Kim 1oach sa s on ,a Bth$ 2==> at (?== am

$ey (om, / agree# WinWenger#com is an e.cellent resource for uilding your creativity# For anyone looking for techni7ues that are a ,ust a it more advanced than these, that is an e.cellent resource#

Genius sa s on ,a Bth$ 2==> at 1=?=2 am

$ow to 2ecome a @envius K sim%le sto% reading self hel% ooks

Cimmieanna sa s on ,a Bth$ 2==> at 11?%> am

(his to%ic always interest me, for / elieve ca%italism has created a society of cattle# Pro%aganda is essential and it must have the ma,ority of minds that are non1creative# <ne great ook that has not een mentioned is called (he -rtist Way, y Dulia Aameron, and since / elieve that we all came here to createg it is an integral ingredient of what is missing himhoiin our ,ourney here# Mankind continues as someone a ove stated, to sink dee%er mental sickness, can we turn this around& htt%8>>www#theartistsway#com> have a creative day# %s8 i ,ust googled this site and it"s down for maintainence, ut the ook it key anyway#

,ichael Pohoreski sa s on ,a Bth$ 2==> at 11?(6 am

<ne of my favorite 7uotes8 (eacher8 )6uestion -uthorityF* 'tudent8 )'ays whoF&* 8e

<in"us sa s on ,a Bth$ 2==> at 1?=* pm

5ou do not 29A<M9 a creative genius# /f you"re a A;9-(/39 then you"re $-+=(9B y it# /f you"re a genius then you"re B<<M9B to it#

(hen yes, your life can suck less if you end u% achieving something other than wirling %a%ers dor itse around# 2ecome a fullfilled individual#

5.,P sa s on ,a Bth$ 2==> at (?=% pm

/ always find it amusing when -l ert 9instein is linked as a )Areative @enius* in an article or %ost that suggests most %eo%le are either analytical>scientific or creative# (hose that suggest serious scientific research doesn"t re7uire creativity rarely understand either# /t mat e )creativity in a straight1,acket* ut then so is asking for a %ortrait to e %ainted#

Nanc sa s on ,a Bth$ 2==> at *?12 pm

@reat list# / agree that %re%eration is im%ortant in creativity# We need to e %re%ared all the time to make sure that we fuel our creativity#

puttputt sa s on ,a 1#th$ 2==> at 1=?22 am

/ have many imaginary dialogues, they usually lead me to eat my monkey#

Paul sa s on ,a 1%th$ 2==> at B?11 pm

/ like to come u% with a %ro lem, slee% on it, and then rainstorm with a ta%e recorder# (he ta%e recorder is a solutely essential# (he ne.t day, %lay it ack and re%eat if the %ro lem still hasn"t een solved#

,atthew Cornell sa s on ,a 1(th$ 2==> at 6?2> am

j$ellj of an article K thanksF

Gabriel sa s on ,a #=th$ 2==> at 1=?== pm

/ns%iring articleF (here"s one thing / %ersonally didn"t like though# / seemed to have associated the term )left1 rained* with left handed %eo%le# / elieve this wasn"t your %oint, ut the term sounds too strong# / wish there were alternative terms that would somehow not discriminate the left from the right# Left doesn"t always e7ual wrongness or negativity, does it&

Cack sa s on .u"ust 2>th$ 2==> at 1=?2B pm

well,it is great for me to know the mind ma%%ing#i am trying to e creative as i am tired of the regular life without any new ideas

&creems4+-nsanit sa s on &eptember #=th$ 2==> at *?2% am

/ loved the article it hel%ed me alot , you see , all my life / never have done a single thing the way it was su%oused to e done, / always alternate, and Ahange from the way / talk , to the way / write, dance draw,edit ,even my reathing %attern##8'##anyways / never go y the rules , 2ut suddenly it came to my mind , Whats ne.t& ## /m JQ and graduating from school in two years , / want ways to e.%ress my creativity as /m older , and still make money off it , / want to get rich for my thoughts , -nd / searched it on google , and got this site , ama4ing article , and / read all the comments too, /m going to read each and every ook mentioned kk (hanks so much F#

Peripheral 1eader sa s on November *th$ 2==> at B?(B am

=ot sure if this will hel% anyone ecome more creative, ut it"s amusing nonetheless: htt%8>>creativiciousness# logs%ot#com>

vipindhanurdharan sa s on /ecember (th$ 2==> at 6?#= am

hai frnd::##nice words:every one can understand::#me also working in a creative feild::this ty%es of words very hel%full for :#our thinking style: very very nice::contniue u"r writing::and thanks::#

.n"el /e Due"o sa s on @anuar 12th$ 2==6 at 11?#> pm

Areative genius is something you are either orn with or not# For a true understanding of creative genius, read my we log at8 we log1angel# logs%ot#com / have made creative genius a life long study, ever since / had an /6 test of J87 at ten years old# / have artistic creative genius, ut there are many kinds of creative genius# (o understand them all, is to have them all# For now, ,ust check out my kind of creative genius#

.rt Giser sa s on Debruar 2*th$ 2==6 at #?21 pm

(hanks for the e.cellent article, and the reminder to do imaginary dialoge# 9ven though / have taught my students to do that, your article made me reali4e that / haven"t een doing it# Many (hanksFF -rt -rt @iser htt%8>>www#9nergetic=LP#com

mohammed abdulla sa s on ,arch 1*th$ 2==6 at (?(# am

;eally / have got from your innovative and shar% ideas regarding genius and it hel%ed me alot in develo%ing my /6 # (hank you very much#

.mir &hahEad sa s on ,arch 2=th$ 2==6 at #?12 am

/ want to say thanks alot ecause this artitcle hel% me in roaden my thinking %ower# its ama4ing article (hanks again sweet heart

ochuko sa s on @ul *th$ 2==6 at 12?2( pm

W$-( A-= / B< (< ($/=C F-'(

anthon sa s on November 1st$ 2==6 at B?1> pm

)they* are know trying to link creativity to schi4o%hrenia lol,ust thought / would add that

Kelvin omokor sa s on November *th$ 2==6 at 1=?1* am

)- word is enough for the wise* in other word, you written enough words to make one creative# Pls kee% doing the great # @od less n enhance greatly

Kelvin omokor sa s on November *th$ 2==6 at 1=?2( am

<chuko , u can think fast y following this sim%le %rinci%le## Aount every single word n letter in this article# Bo that everyday# @od less# M2EL80E200ENEQ#kelvin

@iten .huCa sa s on November 6th$ 2==6 at 1?26 am

this is the very est comment i like it and i en,oy it like this comment i will stitch it some time really i like it and this is ery est comment

Ce++ sa s on /ecember #rd$ 2==6 at 6?1( pm

(hank you for this list# 3ery interesting

iruchan sa s on /ecember >th$ 2==6 at #?%2 am

(his is the most interesting article /"ve ever readFF (hank you so much, it"s really useful 8B

vivek sa s on /ecember 1%th$ 2==6 at #?1# pm

i think this article would work ,ust as fuel in my %otential and would increase my desire to e genius#and i would try to add new conce%t to make it etter than this

1uman sa s on .pril 16th$ 2==B at 11?12 pm

/t actually workedFFF

Gavin sa s on @une 16th$ 2==B at 12?#% pm

(horoughly useful article# - few %oints stick out, which / have een thinking a out for some time now# J# -s an addition, and without diluting their trade mark too much, / elieve one should have @oogle with them at all times# /f you have any sort of creative idea or 7uestion, @oogle it and you will e a le to match u% or contrast your thoughts with those of others with similar 7uestions# 2# -sk 7uestions# (his is something that everyone can enefit fromg / didn"t really realise this until university K you might look smarter y not saying something, ut ultimately your engagement with the issues direct y asking 7uestions is much more useful# <f course, this a%%lies e7ually to asking 7uestions to yourself# E# ;eading voraciously# $ave to disagree here# / think it"s a it of a waste of time reading dat least fictioneg if you"re talking a out reading for some other %ur%ose, commercial or academic, then yes, useful, and can go hand in hand with creativity# / can see the argument of creativity through fiction dyou read and imagine in your own head what is ha%%eninge, ut ,ust seems like time wasting imo# L# -greed, and it also mi.es u% your routines Q# / almost orgasmed reading this# / am a massive %ro%onent of mindma%%ing and hate lists# 0# /nteresting and /"ll give it a shot, ut isn"t this ordering on insanity>schi4o%hrenia&

Gavin sa s on @une 16th$ 2==B at 12?#* pm

-s a corollary of what / said a ove re using @oogle, it is oth interesting and unfortunate that many of your thoughts, no matter how creative they might seem, have already een thought, at least on some level, y others and are documented across the we # 'ometimes makes you think a out how individual you can actually e