23 Apr A book that awakes your creativity

For my “Creativity and Innovation” class, I was required to read a book, this book: Creative Confidence, by Tom and David Kelley. And I can tell you that this book transformed me and my way of thinking or of seeing things.

The main subject of this book is pretty simple: everyone can be creative. The goal of Creative Confidence, is to guide readers in bringing out the creativity within them. And the authors will convince you through examples and exercises that creativity is also for you!

Below, a summary of what you can find in this magical book:

1. Choose creativity: You have to decide to make it happen.
2. Think like a traveller: Don’t just sit in the office and wait for the spark. Expose yourself to new experiences and ideas.
3. Engage relaxed attention: Don’t focus on a specific task; instead relax and allow your mind to make connections between seemingly unrelated ideas.
4. Empathize with your end user: You’ll come up with better ideas if you understand what they want.
5. Do observations in the field: Observe others, and you might “discover new opportunities hidden in plain sight.”
6. Ask questions, starting with “why?” A series of “why” questions can lead you past surface details to core issues.
7. Reframe challenges: The first step toward the solution is sometimes to reframe the question.
8. Build a creative support network: Have a group of people to bounce ideas off.

I am not usually a bookworm but I can tell you that I loved this book and I will recommend to every person I will meet! It changed my angle to see life, in a more creative and interesting way. I hope it will do the same for you!