On 1 May 2021, we talked about how to spark creativity and talked through some of the important points in The Book of Beautiful Questions by Warren Berger. Check out the book here in my bookstore! We talked about important questions to ask (and not ask!), as well as discussed why we go on walks to clear our minds.
One of the exercises we did together was looking at something differently. It goes a little like this: Find an item on your desk. I used a hard drive . What are five other uses for this object? A place holder. Something to hold my door open. A press for flowers. A sharp edge to open packages. A weapon. To be fair, most anything can be used as a weapon if properly wielded. So do that for me real quick. If you noticed, it might be hard for you to do something like this, and that’s okay. There’s a reason.
Our brains are wired to see things as we know them. This hard drive is a hard drive and serves no other purpose. But it can, and it might! The point is to be creative sometimes you need to ease your brain into creative mode. This exercise is helpful to prepare yourself for an amazing brainstorm session. Curious about brainstorming? I got you.
As promised, here are the questions I covered during today’s stream. Enjoy.
If you want to be more creative, stop asking these questions
Am I creative?
How creative am i?
Where will i ever find an original idea?
Where will i find time to create?
How can i com up with an idea that will make money?
Where do I begin?
If you want to see a world differently:
What might I notice if I were encountering this for the first time?
What if I stand on the desk?
What is in the background?
What here would fascinate a five year old?
If you’re having trouble getting started on a creative project:
Am I chasing butterflies?
Who will hold me accountable?
Am I rearranging my bookshelves?
How can I lower the bar?
What if I begin anywhere?
Can you make a prototype?
Enjoy these questions and remember, you’re plenty creative. If you’re waiting for the sign? This is it.
XO,
Arlo