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Can creativity be learned?

NicoleMarie

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I'm familiar with the fact that innovation can simply be taking ideas from other industries/competitors. However, the really creative people that are coming up with brand new solutions seem to have the most successful businesses. This is ideally how I'd like to be, but I'm not naturally creative. Is anyone else having problems coming up with creative solutions? I'm familiar with the "scamper" technique, but it still seems to involve "coming up with stuff." Any tips?

Thanks!
 
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NicoleMarie

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My bad for not doing more research on this, but is it REALLY possible that EVERYone is a "knockoff" or only gets feedback from their users? I think of the quote "Ask people what they want and they'll say a better horse. Instead give them a car." Something like that. :p I also think of the "first to market" overall.

I'm also specifically talking about very beginning stages when you only have feedback from other websites' users. They tell TONS of their problems, but rarely good solutions.

Thanks!
 

Kyle Tully

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My bad for not doing more research on this, but is it REALLY possible that EVERYone is a "knockoff" or only gets feedback from their users?

No.

SCAMPER covers way more than knockoffs and feedback.

And there are plenty of other ways to come up with solutions.

I think of the quote "Ask people what they want and they'll say a better horse. Instead give them a car." Something like that. :p I also think of the "first to market" overall.

The car was a SCAMPER.

Combine. Wagon + motor.

I'm also specifically talking about very beginning stages when you only have feedback from other websites' users. They tell TONS of their problems, but rarely good solutions.

Well scamper is a product-based tool so it doesn't apply here.

You need a problem-based approach.

e.g. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/productive-thinking-model.htm

People who are labeled "creative" often just do stuff like this intuitively.
 
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NicoleMarie

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No.

SCAMPER covers way more than knockoffs and feedback.

And there are plenty of other ways to come up with solutions.



The car was a SCAMPER.

Combine. Wagon + motor.



Well scamper is a product-based tool so it doesn't apply here.

You need a problem-based approach.

e.g. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/productive-thinking-model.htm

People who are labeled "creative" often just do stuff like this intuitively.


Thanks a ton for the helpful website, looks like just what I need.

You see, if I was truly creative, I’d be a lot better at making counterpoints to your replies. It’s the creative mindset at the core that I’m wondering if there’s much I can do about. So you DO think it's possible to "learn" creativity?
 

Kyle Tully

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You see, if I was truly creative, I’d be a lot better at making counterpoints to your replies.

My points don't come from creativity.

They come from experience.

I've coached a dozen clients through these same questions ;)
 
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NicoleMarie

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@Kyle Tully Hmm, thought it was more of an ingrained personality trait but that's encouraging! Maybe I just have the wrong definition of creative then, ha. I now have a technical cofounder who I have to impress, and the solution part is where I go a bit "standard." :\ I just feel that if my business doesn't have creative/complex solutions, it will be easier to copy AND won't be a "different player in the game" (not that I'm afraid of copycats). I do have some good ideas, but at the same time, MVPs can't be too complex (another place where creativity comes in). I could be wrong about that too, perhaps "doing something a little better" is all it takes to gain lots of traction.

Edit: Dang, gotta pay for the website to access everything. Too bad I'm already spending too much money on other tools. :\

Edit again: Nevermind, googled them. :p
 
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AndrewNC

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You see, if I was truly creative, I’d be a lot better at making counterpoints to your replies. It’s the creative mindset at the core that I’m wondering if there’s much I can do about. So you DO think it's possible to "learn" creativity?

Nicole,

I danced with a cute girl at the club on Pearl Street back in July.

Why do we do things when we are drunk, that we can't do when we are sober?

You see, I couldn't dance. TERRIBLE at it. It was embarrassing when I danced. But the problem was: I only danced once in my life. It was a sweet 16 back when I was in high school. I got on the dance floor and a group of people made fun of me saying that I was a terrible dancer. The mockery even carried over into school the next week. Thank god we didn't have camera phones back then.

Then last month, I went to a club, got pretty drunk, and danced with a cute girl. We both had fun.

But wait...I didn't learn how to dance just by simply getting drunk one night. I went out last week and danced with some more girls at another club. Sober this time. We all had a good time, and they said I was a good dancer.

You see... I could dance all along. Dancing was just an expression of myself. But the belief that I couldn't dance was the only thing that held me back all along.

It only took that ONE peek of what's actually possible, before I realized that the only thing holding me back all along was the belief that I couldn't dance, and not my dancing abilities.

Come to think of it..I danced one more time a few years ago and had fun. In a night where I temporarily forgot about that belief.

Once I got rid of that belief in my mind, I discovered what was truly possible all along.

Can you think of a time in the past where you have been truly creative? It doesn't have to be in business. Once you take that one glance into what is possible, you will be amazed at what you are capable of.

-Andrew
 
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NicoleMarie

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@Raoul Duke Thanks for the videos!

@AndrewNC I see what you're saying. Hmmm, I guess I've had a few ideas. The problem is that I'm a detail oriented, routine, inside the box thinker. I'm now convinced it can be learned, it's just a matter of sharpening my skills within a few weeks so I don't let my cofounder down.
 

D11FYY

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I do believe that some people are just naturally born creative, they will look at something and analyze it without realizing or meaning their doing so. However I also believe that you can align your thought process to look at things differently therefore you can become more creative.
 
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Solrac

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I don't know if this applies necessarily, but ever since I started doing James Altucher's approach to ideas (the waiter pad stuff) I have become a lot more creative then I used to be. I don't just write down ideas, I write down 10 things for anything! 10 Books I want to write, 10 People I want to meet, just 10 of anything! I notice that when I do actually write of ideas, I slowly get better and better ones. Generally because for some reason I can just think about deeper problems and stuff! I think he's right about the brain muscle! Just my two cents though, I hope this applies :D
 
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NicoleMarie

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Thanks everyone, this forum never disappoints when it comes to fixing problems and discouragement!
 

MichLap

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I'm familiar with the fact that innovation can simply be taking ideas from other industries/competitors. However, the really creative people that are coming up with brand new solutions seem to have the most successful businesses. This is ideally how I'd like to be, but I'm not naturally creative. Is anyone else having problems coming up with creative solutions? I'm familiar with the "scamper" technique, but it still seems to involve "coming up with stuff." Any tips?

Thanks!


of course you are creative!!

you were born creative!!

If you keep telling yourself "I'm not creative" then you won't allow yourself to be

My advice to find your natural born creativeness is by just letting yourself explore with different things, perhaps set a hour aside to do this, with no rules or pressure.

Meditation is also great for this.

And also, read a book about it:)
 
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Mattie

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Visualization & Meditation. Graphic dimensional programs. I had a friend that introduced me to watching a lot of indie art and music, besides regular art. It's kind of more learning to use the right side of your brain. There's nothing logical about art, or creativity. Shapes, colors, space, sizes, textures, dimensions, lines, and what you can do with an object in front of you? What can you do with words?

The more you work that part of your brain, the more it opens up to creative ideas. It's sometimes just allowing yourself to paint, draw, write, be creative without having it mean or be something at first. It's practice like anything else. If you're seeking to be creative every day it opens to more ideas. So even if it's just for fun play with something and be creative. Most likely just from doing that every day, when you're implementing it to your business easier to get ideas.
 

NicoleMarie

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@Mattie and @MichLap Thanks for the advice! I actually did recently start meditating. It DEFINITELY has helped with being calmer and less scatterbrained even though it's only been a month.

I will go expand my skills!
 
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Ninjakid

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A non-creative person looks at a stick and says, "oh hey, a stick."

A creative person picks up the stick, breaks it in two, and says to his friend, "SWORD FIGHT!!"

Creativity is all about perceiving something in many other non-conventional ways.

If you're trying to be creative and make a business... I would say, pick a field you're interested in, and make it your own, and how you specifically would want it. Facebook wasn't a totally new concept, it was basically a tweaked form of MySpace. Google was just a slightly better and more convenient search engine.
 

maybach

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I did drugs for awhile growing up, that helped, and by drugs I mean Cannabis. You also have to believe that anything is possible, go back to thinking like a kid and stop worrying about shit (at the end of it all we'll be in the ground, so enjoy being you), like the fact that you're not as creative as you like to be, or having to impress your technical partner.

The fact that you have a technical partner already says a lot about you and your product.

Also I forgot were I read this I'm not sure if it was in FastLane book, but imagine you're going to get robbed, come up with 5 different ways to get out of it. I believe this is what @Mattie was leaning towards visualization.

Consider all things, and validate them in regards to your "problem", even though they may seem silly or outrages, they usually lead to very creative methods of solving problems.

Finally take a trip to Colorado. Just kidding, but seriously.
 
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G

Guest3722A

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detail oriented, routine
These characteristics are very important so don't let them go! Especially detail. Detail is what gets the audience up out of their chairs to cheer and clap.

Many years ago I was a symphony performer on the professional level and a music instructor. I always put my students in competitions of all levels whether it was the local school age trophy based competitions or sponsored competitions by large companies like Guitar Center and my students ALWAYS placed in the top three. Many took first and went on to competing in national scaled competitions and won or placed. I think the reason why was because they were taught to think outside of the usual way to approach an instrument and to use it to not only show their developed chops, but to also create a feel/emotion within the listener.

As an example I'll use a drum. Most of us have heard the different sounds created by the different sized drums and cymbals that together make up a drumset. You can take one drum and hit it loud, quiet and everything in between. You can hit it fast or slow. You can combine different speeds with different volumes. Now that this variety is understood, use it to tell a story on this one drum. No words. Just sticks (or hands) and one drum.

Would you be able to use this drum to illustrate, say, rain? Now kick it up a notch to a really bad storm. Notch it up once more to a tornado. Now let's add the detail and use this drum to tap the entire story of the sunny day, to the gradual change to a bad storm, to the build up to the tornado (don't forget the DETAIL!) and then back down to the storm going away, to the dark clouds still in the sky but the calm coming through, to the sun peaking out, to the clouds clearing way to a sunny calm. Remember to use different volumes and speeds where you feel they are most needed to help tell the story.

I think what happens after going through several exercises like this is that the mind begins to easily recognize hidden possibilities and paths to explore and build on.

Hope this helps.
 
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loop101

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There are plenty of very creative people who are also very poor. I think what you mean is, you want to be more innovative, rather than just creative. I was reading in a book last night a pretty good definition of innovation, it was innovation = insight + invention. So to be innovative, you have to both understand a problem, and understand how something new can be applied to it. It sounds like you already have the "insight", or book knowledge, and just need to work on the "invention". The "invention" does not have to really be anything new, just new to the problem you are trying to solve. This ability to see how something "new" can be applied to a problem, is what most people call "creativity". My personal opinion is that "creativity" is mostly a lack of "certainty". Certainty is the enemy of innovation. Certainty will prevent you from considering possibilities that intern lead to better solutions. If you want to be more creative, just make less assumptions.
 
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SteveO

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of course you are creative!!
you were born creative!!
If you keep telling yourself "I'm not creative" then you won't allow yourself to be

So true!!!

We are all absolutely creative but in different ways. Some of us see objects in depth, others see concepts, still others see numbers. Some people use feelings. Others are very physically orientated. We all have unique traits. I have the ability to put things together. I can see entire projects and piece them together like a conductor. What I seem to have difficulty doing is coming up with original ideas.

So I focus on what I am best at.

It still feels creative to me. I like to look at my projects as a canvas that is ready for paint....
 
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