Creativity is not something you can learn. It’s either something you either have or you haven’t.
I hear these words a lot. I hear them said with conviction. However, I disagree. I believe that creativity is something that you can learn over time. Creativity is not a black-and-white issue. It’s not the case that you either have it or you haven’t.
If it were, then it would be true to say that creative people can be creative without effort; that they’ve done nothing to nurture or progress their skills; that producing a fantastic piece of work comes as naturally as breathing in and out.
Show me an artist for whom this is true and I’ll burn a million quid. Artists often rely on years of hard work and research, as well as tried and tested processes to develop their creative talent.
On the flip side, it would also be true to say that those who feel they are not creative, will never be creative. But worse than that, it vindicates their perceived lack of creativity. It’s like saying someone will never be able to play piano because they didn’t emerge from their mother’s womb performing a concerto.
True enough not everyone will turn out to be the next Rachmaninoff but with a little guidance everyone can at least play Chopsticks. And so it is with creativity. Rather than one or the other, creativity is a continuum. Everyone is placed somewhere on that continuum. And that place is not fixed, but dependent on hard graft.
Anyone can learn to be more creative as long as they are willing to put in the hours. The key to creativity is getting out and about and experiencing as much as possible, collecting thoughts and consuming ideas. The more you put in, the more you’ll get out. Inspiration can come from anywhere.
Fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea collection was inspired by Darwin’s theory of evolution; whereas Rupert Goold, Director of ENRON and many other successful stage plays, advises on getting an alarm with a long snooze function as shallow-sleep dreams are the best source of inspiration.
Great creative talents get to the top of their game by experiencing as much as possible, collecting fresh perspectives, ideas and inspiration. And, what’s more, many rely on learned processes to kick start creativity (more on these next time…). None of this comes without effort. And, in an industry likes ours, this effort is not optional.
Creativity is inextricably linked to our competitiveness and we’re lucky this is the case. Not every job requires you to go out and experience the world unabashed, and often free of charge, in the name of work.
Creativity should spark action. But where it doesn’t, it certainly inspires opinion, and a divided one at that. Where do you stand?