In a nuts shell

Necessity is the mother of this column

Creativity has been on my mind lately. For weeks I have been Googling, reading, listening to books on tape and on the look-out for creative behaviors in people. Its part of my job to know how to measure creativity, how to nurture creative habits and how to teach strategies that promote the creative process. This is required of a person who sometimes has to stand on her head and look cross-eyed at the cat to pull another column out of left field. Last week on a journey to Fleming, Colorado I listened for nearly five hours to CDs on creativity. Author Michael J. Gelb told me how to Work Like daVinci. Taking what Gelb considers the seven most important habits of the famous scientist, mathematician, artist, inventor, sculptor, architect, botanist, writer, engineer and near master of all trades, the author gives suggestions as to how people in business might tap into those habits to achieve more than the average bear. And thats where well begin, with Yogi Bear. Born in 1958 to Hanna-Barbera, Yogi was so fluent and flexible that he redefined success in his field. New York fans celebrated Yogi Bear Day at Yankee Stadium in 1959, and by 1964 he was manager of the New York Yankees. Spontaneous and clever; able to think out of the box, Yogi also starred in his first musical that year, Hey There, Its Yogi Bear! Not to be outdone, another character tolerant of ambiguity and friend of the same artistic medium, Pluto was smarter than we give him credit. Coiner of the phrase, Necessity is the mother of invention, this self-sufficient, independent, complex individual is an international autograph hound who speaks multiple languages on screen. You dont star in 48 of your own Disney cartoons and countless others with stars like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and not have some sort of creative savvy. (Whats that? Dont bother me, Im writing my column for this week. What? Its not Pluto, but Plato? How can that bee? I used Spell-check.) While Plato never got the chance to hang around such creative characters as Minney, Mickey, Goofy, and yes, his namesake Pluto, he had a couple of creative friends himself. What Plato, Socrates and Aristotle lacked in colorful, creative clothing, they made up for in chic, smart sophistication of thought if not faddishly popular at the time.

It is quite possible creative geniuses like Plato and Pluto would be thrown out of todays workplace for their lack of style and common sense in business wear. White togas and sandals are not considered power wear just like nudity has not caught on in the front office. I believe it was Shania Twain, creative song-writer, country singer and author of the memorable Adventures of Tom Sawyer who said it best in the early 1900s, Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. However, if we can look beneath the tweed suits, silk shirts and Gucci shoes, there are creative characteristics that all businesses, schools, homes and individuals could use to keep an edge on the competition, state mandates, positive relationships and lifes little problems. No. 1 Be persistent. I have not checked the following facts, but I believe them. Being an author myself, Im no stranger to rejection. John Grishams first novel was reportedly rejected 28 times; Lord of the Flies by William Golding, 21 times; The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, 14 times; Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by JK Rowling, 25-47 times depending on what story you believe; and Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield, 36 times. No. 2 Be self-disciplined. Lets take Gandhi as the ultimate example of selfdiscipline. Using the technique to free India from British rule in repeated acts of nonviolent civil disobedience changed the world. In his words, There would be nothing to frighten you if you refused to be afraid. No. 3 Be motivated from the inside out. When money, peer acceptance and all that external garbage is our motivation things happen. I wouldnt be driving across the plains in the middle of a snow storm without a paycheck at the end of the line. Teachers get kids to turn in their homework for candy. Traffic slows to 10 mph below the speed limit when a police car is in the right lane. External motivation keeps the ball rolling. Internal motivation creates a whole new ball game. Mikhail Baryshnikov did not become one of the best ballet dancers of our time for little candy coated peanuts. He did it from the inside out, I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself. No. 4 And last, but not least, have a sense of humor. Who wants to hang out with or hire Grumpy? Think about it. Have you ever seen that frowning dwarf in any other movies but Snow White? Humor is closely related to optimism and optimists are so successful they have their own club. If you want to join, there is a local optometrist in nearly every city in the United States. Schedule an appointment so he or she can help you to see things from a far better perspective.