10 Simple Practices That Will Help You Get 1% Better Every Day

They say that creativity is the new black!

Here are three resources to help you bring more of your creative expression to life.

Resource 1: TEDx Worth Watching

George Land: Creativity & The NASA Study

In this engaging 12-minute TEDx talk Dr. George Land argues that the nature of the world today demands us to be more creative. Two key ideas worth mentioning:
 
Idea 1: Creative Evolution
Dr. Land presents a fascinating perspective as he condenses the past two million years of human history into one calendar year. Meaning 2 Million yrs= 12 months. So on:

• Jan 1st: We are in the stone age hunting and gathering and making rudimentary tools. We were here for a looong time! 
• November 19: 11 months later we domesticated fire to heat our homes, provide protection from predators, and cook our food.
• December 29th: We enter the agricultural age and the rise of communities and mass collaboration. 
• December 31: The rise of science and replicable knowledge.
• December 31, @ 11:05 am: Enter the Industrial Revolution and the rise of human factories aka conventional schooling.
• Today: Everyone is experiencing a profound, turbulent, and unpredictable change. And for this, we need creative and collaborative solutions to address the global challenges we face.

 
Idea 2: The NASA Study.
Dr. Land discusses a famous longitudinal study into creativity, the results are shocking.
Below are the percentages of people measuring as highly creative at different ages:

• Age 4-5: 98%
• Age 10:  30%
• Age 15: 12%
• Adults:  2%  – I know, it’s crazy, so what happens? The short answer: Social conditioning & Schooling.

Conclusion:
We are all born creative geniuses; however, through schooling and social indoctrination, our creative capacities are suppressed in favor of conventional, rational, and convergent thinking. The good news is we can regain our creative intelligence back.

Resource 2: Book Worth Reading

A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink

Amazon – Paperback Edition
Amazon – Kindle Edition
 
A Whole New Mind discusses the shift from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. This shift Pink argues requires Right-Brain aptitudes characterized by holistic and creative thinking, in contrast to Left-Brain aptitudes of logical and sequential thinking. Here are three key ideas of the book.
 
Idea 1: Left vs. Right Brain.
Here are the four key facts about the two hemispheres:

• The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body; the right hemisphere controls the left side of the body. This is known as cross-lateralization.
• The left hemisphere specializes in the text; the right hemisphere specializes in context.
• The left hemisphere analyzes the details; the right hemisphere synthesizes the big picture.
• The left hemisphere is sequential; the right hemisphere is simultaneous.

Idea 2: Conceptual Age Attractors
Pink identifies three attractors driving this shift into the conceptual age take: Abundance, Asia, and Automation.
 
Abundance
 Pink argues that with so many options available, providing just the basics is no longer enough to set you apart from your competition. You need other ways to differentiate and delight your customers (like design).
 
Asia
Speaks to the increasing migration of jobs to developing and emerging markets, where many workers can do many functions equally well and for much less money. 
 
Automation
Speaks to loss of jobs to machines and AI systems. Basically, anything that can be described as a set of actions or potential decisions, then computers running on powerful AI will be able to do it faster, cheaper, and with less error than a human (you)!
 
Pink provides three useful questions that individuals and organizations must consider if they are to survive the great shift:

• Is what I’m offering in demand in an age of abundance?
• Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
• Can a computer do it faster and better?

Resource 3: Creative Tool Worth Exploring

 Circle of Opportunity – Divergent Thinking Tool

This 5-minute video shows you how to use the Circle of Opportunity technique to generate a large number of divergent ideas quickly. This tool can be used individually or in a group. Although the example and final ideas are not that powerful; nonetheless, you will learn how to use this tool.
 
I hope these resources are useful in bringing more of your creative expression to the world!
 
Stay Creative 😉