5. How to think creatively

“When you believe, your mind finds ways to do.”

---

If you think only certain professions involve creativity, think again. Because the truth is, everyone in every sector can benefit from thinking creatively, especially when it comes to solving problems and accomplishing our goals…

Let’s say you need to boost revenue at work or in your business.

You decide you’ll do it by hosting a party for all of your clients. You make the invites, strategically noting that each person can bring one guest, and that a Michelin-rated restaurant will cater the party.

Your goal is to turn each client’s +1 into a paying client as well. It works…

The party’s a success and you hit your revenue targets.

☝️ That is an excellent example of some valuable creative thinking in action.

If you were tasked with creating a more engaging work environment for your co-workers and employees, don’t you think it would require some creative effort on your part?

What if you want to take your family on an extra vacation this year, but don’t have the budget for it—wouldn’t you need to get creative to figure out how to make it happen?

Creative thinking is simply finding new and/or improved ways to do anything. And success hinges on finding ways to do things better—whether in the workplace, at home, or in your community.

So, let’s look at the six ways we can develop our creative thinking muscles, shall we?

1.
You’ve got to believe.

To do anything, you must first believe it can be done. Believing it’s possible puts your mind in motion to find a way to make it happen.

In The Magic of Thinking Big, David Schwartz shares a story about a young man in his early 20s who approached him for advice. The man worked as a store clerk and wanted a better future for himself and his family. Schwartz suggested he finish college, but the man said it was impossible, because he was barely making ends meet already. He said he had a wife and child, with another one on the way. He couldn’t afford to finish school.

Schwartz responded, “If you believe it is impossible to finish school, then it is. But by the same token, if you’ll just believe it is possible to return to university, a solution will come …. Now, here’s what I would like you to do. Make up your mind that you are going to go back to school. Let that one thought dominate your thinking. Then think, really think, about how you can do it and still support your family. Come back in a couple of weeks and let me know what ideas you’ve come up with.”

He came back in two weeks with his decision: He’s going back to school. And although he didn’t know how he’d manage to work and attend school and support his family, he felt confident he’d work it out and find a solution.

And he did.

He managed to get a scholarship by a trade association. They paid his tuition, books, and other expenses. He rearranged his work schedule so he could attend his classes. He was enthusiastic about a brighter future and a better life for himself and his family… And his passion won over his wife’s support, and together, they found ways to budget their finances and time more effectively.

Two years later, the young man came back to Schwartz—degree in hand. The following day, he received an offer with a large corporation… It was exactly the kind of job that gave him the brighter future he was looking for when he worked as a clerk just two years earlier.

Actionable insights:

• Eliminate the word impossible from your vocabulary. Impossible paves the path for failure. When you say something is impossible, it sets of a chain reaction of other thoughts to prove you right.

• Think of something you’ve been wanting to do/get/become but feel you can’t. Once you’ve got it, take out a notepad (or your notes app) and write out a list of reasons why you CAN do it. Far too often, many of us prevent our desires from ever coming to fruition by concentrating on why we can’twhen the only thing worthy of our focus is why we can.

2.
Don’t let tradition paralyze your mind.

Be open to new ideas. Be experimental. Try different approaches to get where you want to be. And be progressive rather than regressive.

Actionable insights:

• Being open to new ideas requires us to welcome them. Rather than shutting an idea down, or saying it won’t work, just let it marinate it your mind a bit. Oftentimes, a seed of an idea that doesn’t work leads to a related idea that does.

• Be experimental. Try new restaurants and books. Visit new places. Experiment with different business ideas. Expose yourself to things outside of your normal routine to spark fresh ideas and engage your creative thinking muscles.

• Be progressive, not regressive. Instead of saying, “That’s the way we’ve always done it, so that’s the way we’ll continue to do it.” Say, “How can we do it even better?” Always look for progression over regression. Nothing grows in ice. If we let old ideas freeze our minds, new and creative ideas can’t sprout.

3.
Ask yourself daily, “How can I do better?”

Successful people do not ask, “Can I do it better?” She already knows she can. Instead, she asks, “How can I do it better.”

Actionable insights:

• Each day, ask yourself, “How can I do what I do, even better?” When you ask yourself this question consistently, answers and ideas will appear. Try it and see for yourself.

• Give your ideas a place to live. As you ask yourself how you can do better, you’ll find that more and more creative ideas will come to you—be sure you’ve got a way to capture them so they don’t get lost. Carry a notebook with you at all times, or have a specific document on your phone in which you store all of your ideas.