Spring is definitely in the air. We even moved the clocks forward. There’s just something that happens come mid-March that puts an extra spring in my step. Maybe it’s the longer days, the height of the sun, or the ability to go for a stroll most evenings without a jacket. Whatever it is, spring and the knowledge that summer is soon to follow, just seems to make things more alive, more FUN. For me, with fun comes energy, enthusiasm, and the incessant desire to create. Many springs ago, I wrote a blog about “creativity” and how its most important ingredient is FUN. Here’s that blog again . . . my “Theory of Creativity.” Have fun reading it, and may it inspire a little creativity in your personal and professional life.
Paul June’s “Theory of Creativity”
Creativity is amazing. Seemingly out of thin air, creative types produce great works of art and literature; they innovate with architecture, technology, medicine, song. If you can name it, chances are there was a creative person behind it.
You think Albert Einstein wasn’t creative when he came up with the theory of relativity? Think again. Imagine the amount of creativity it took for him to challenge the conventional thinking of the day and go way beyond the limits of what he could easily see, feel, hear, and touch. No one had ever thought that way before. Now that’s creativity!
Creativity Takes Effort
But here’s the reality check. Creativity doesn’t just happen. It’s not automatic, nor does it grow on a tree. If it did, I’d plant a creativity tree in my backyard, right next to the money tree (which is right next to my ever-bearing banana tree!). Creativity takes time, effort, patience. There are a lot of hours and a lot of sweat that go into being creative.
Take building a Web site for example. When the Barrel O’Monkeyz team engages in creating a Web site for a client, there’s a lot of creativity that goes into writing, designing, programming, and even the logistics of implementation.
Sure, you could just use some ready-made, off-the-shelf template that looks like hundreds of other Web sites out there, deem it good enough, and hope that it brings in business—but chances are it won’t, at least not to its full potential. Without creative thinking to match the Web site’s look, feel, message, and functionality to your target audience, chances are you’re in for a letdown (this is where I insert my “you get what you pay for” refrain).
Applying the Creative Process to Your Projects
For any project—from Web sites to collateral pieces to new product development—the creative process involves going from strategy and concept (figuring out the why and how) to determining requirements (what’s needed for success and setting expectations) to drafting and mocking-up what the concept will look/act like (this is the stage where changes can still be made easily) to finished creative (where everything comes together), which sets the stage for implementation, execution, measurement, and refinement.
Can Creativity Be Taught?
All this talk about creativity begs the question, “Can creativity be taught?”
Some experts believe that while certain creative habits and behaviors “can be modeled in the classroom,” creativity itself can’t be taught. They argue that the steps in the process of being creative can be taught, but the essence, the secret sauce that makes one creative, cannot.
Others argue that we’re all born creative and that overtime we either learn to be non-creative or life experiences drain the creativity from us.
So here’s where my “Theory of Creativity” kicks in: Creativity can’t be taught, but it can be nurtured, enhanced, cultivated, and encouraged over a lifetime. The main ingredient necessary for creativity to flourish—from success at work or at home, in business or at play, from success in your relationships with peers or family and loved ones—is FUN.
Simple, isn’t it? Have fun, be creative, and enjoy the results.
Let’s Get Creative Together
Let Barrel O’Monkeyz act as your seasoned, outsourced marketing and creative team. Our barrel is full of talent and creative minds ready to prove we don’t just monkey around! Contact Barrel O’Monkeyz Today
