The Creativity Factor - Activating Your Hidden Potential for Genius

One of the best-kept secrets of the Western world may well be that hidden within each person are unfathomable realms of creativity and inventiveness, albeit often dormant and sometimes feared. Nonetheless, they are a major part of our presently untapped potential as human beings.

The research findings from the exploration of the creative process are exciting and challenging. These findings turn much of our previous thinking about creativity inside out:

  Every human being is creative (or at least potentially so). Creativity is not something with which some are born and others are lacking. Because we are self-reflective creatures, creativity is a given in our lives. To be human is to be creative!

  Creativity is a dynamic process. As such, it can be learned and taught to others. In fact there are practical things we can do to turn on more of our creative potential and to train ourselves to be more creative.

   We are in control of our lives (or can be!). We are not victims of anyone or anything unless we, consciously or unconsciously, sacrifice our creativity and thus our freedom. In fact, we are responsible for our creativity or lack of it.

  Creativity can be improved and amplified. We have the capacity to devise strategies that will make our innate creativity work for us in solving problems that we face in our everyday lives. •

  Creativity is (or can be) an everyday reality. It can help us live more effectively in this rapidly changing world.

In this article I'll explore such questions as: What is creativity? What makes us creative? How can we be more creative? How often do you hear people say (or you feel), "I'm just not the creative type"?

As home business entrepreneurs, being about to tap this "creativity factor" is a critical factor to our success and the success of our business partners and/or downline.  We need to know how to access our own creative potential and teach our teams how to activate their hidden creative potential!

In workshops I conduct, both in the United States and around the world, I am always amazed at how little credit we give ourselves when it comes to creativity.

Just think of the countless creative things we do every day, which we rarely recognize as our creative genius coming into play.

• You go to the store and buy certain ingredients, take them home, put them together, and viola!--you've created a delicious meal for your family.

• At the end of the month you're short on cash; nonetheless, you still figure out how to pay your bills, feed your family, put gas in the car, and go out to a movie with your significant other.

• Your child is having relationship problems at school, so you help him brainstorm a list of possible solutions.

Now you're probably thinking, "That's not what I mean by creativity." Let's look for a moment at how researchers talk about creativity. First of all, they have found that creativity is a learned and nurtured process. We are all born creative.

Orchestrating the Creative Process

So what do we do? What can we do to tap the awesome depths of all that we can be? How can we bring those potentials, which are innate but in a state of latency, to the fore of our developmental journey, individually and as the human species?

The answer is not as difficult or strange as you might think. The mind is a natural problem solver. When faced with a problem, it automatically begins looking within itself for answers. And if it does not find a satisfying answer in the conscious part, it has nowhere to go but to the unconscious.

This situation is the "stuff" of creative leaps and breakthroughs. When we tap the potency of the unconscious, this hidden mind can break through into the light of day with fresh solutions to old problems, with innovative visions of the possible, and with the courage to risk the new.

Programming the Unconscious for Creative Breakthroughs

There are four stages that are necessary to work with the unconscious aspects of your mind to set yourself up for creative breakthroughs.

Stage 1

PREPARATION: The Input Stage

In dealing with the unconscious mind, it is crucial to formulate the problem as clearly, completely, and intently as possible. Just as with a computer, the clearer and more complete your instructions, the better the computer will produce what you want.

Some ideas for PREPARATION:

1.  List an equal number of pros and cons to a decision you're facing.

2.  Brainstorm all known options you can think of.

3.  Imagine some new and outlandish options not yet considered.

4.  Do an in-depth study related to the area of concern.

5.  Gather facts and data that could inform your decision.

6.  Discuss the decision with other people.

7.  Play a "What if. . ." game with yourself.

The goal of the preparation stage is to flood your mind with as much information as you can related to your concern or problem. Spend time in deep concentration looking for answers and solutions. This kind of intense activity tells the unconscious mind that you are serious about the issue at hand and that you need assistance, for you've gone as far as you can without help.

Stage 2

INCUBATION: The Processing Stage

In this stage, you bring the preparation to a close and you release it all to the unconscious. This is like getting all the ingredients ready for a fine stew, then putting it on the stove to simmer.

Some ideas for INCUBATION:

1.  Intentional relaxation exercises

2.  Daydreaming

3.  Physical work or exercise

4.  Various forms of internal imagery and visualization

5.  Drawing or painting • sculpting with clay

6.  Listening to music

7.  Watching a mindless video

8.  Sleep

Incubation can be anything that takes the conscious mind off line. The goal is give the unconscious mind space and time so that it can begin processing the information from the preparation.
In other words, once you've done your "input homework," get out of the way and let the unconscious do its thing!

Stage 3

ILLUMINATION: The Output Stage

This experience is the breakthrough. There is both good news and bad news about this stage.

The good news is that the unconscious will output for you.

The bad news is you can't force it. It works on its own time, and it may communicate with you in ways you're not used to, namely, the nonverbal language of myth, symbol, archetypal images, sensations, dreams, and metaphors.

The task in this stage is learning to read, interpret, and understand the output you receive.

Some ways that ILLUMINATION may happen:

1.  A "flash of lightning"--an "aha!" experience of sudden revelation

2.  An experience where the pieces of the puzzle surprisingly fall into place in some new or unexpected way

3.  A slower, emerging inner awareness of an answer to your problem • a fresh insight about your concern

4.  A new set of eyeglasses that completely transforms the same old situation

5.  The feeling of scales falling from your eyes--now you can see, where you were blind before

In whatever ways the unconscious communicates with you, it is important to receive it gratefully and begin to dialogue with it.

Some researchers believe that when we are in the breakthrough, illumination, output state of awareness (whether it is a lightning flash or a more gradual revelation) that we have total access to the unconscious.

If this is true, while in this state, we could receive unlimited answers to our questions as fast as we could formulate them.

Stage 4:

VERIFICATION: The Reality Testing Stage

Once the output is completed, these inner urgings and directions of the unconscious must be held up to the rules of reason and appropriateness to your own life. You must test the information you receive and place it in the larger picture and context of reality.

This involves practical application and integration into your everyday life.

Some ways to VERIFY:

1.  Discuss the illumination with a friend and ask for feedback.

2.  Make practical plans for how to act on the insight or how to integrate it into your life so it becomes a part of you.

3.  Compare the illumination with how you were thinking in the preparation stage.

4.  Create a pros and cons list for the illumination data. • Use the illumination data as a springboard for further research.

5.  Write the revelation down in a journal or diary.

6.  Speak into a tape recorder describing revelations that came to you during the illumination.

In other words, you are asking, "Does the illumination make sense?" or rather, "In what ways does it make sense?" Evaluate the illumination data. Some of it will be immediately applicable; some of it may require further interpretation; some of it may be interesting but not appropriate at this time in your life. Be careful not to reject anything outright.

TRY THIS!

  Brainstorm a list of specific issues, problems, or challenges you are facing in your life – places where you feel the need for a creative breakthrough.

  Choose one item from your list and take it through the various stages described above.

  Follow some of the suggestions listed above to help you activate each stage.

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David Lazear
Phone: 773-525-6650

Follow David on Twitter

Blog: Home Business Smarts

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