Category: creativity

Great advice for boosting your creativity

Austin Kleon has written a great visual post on boosting creativity: How to steal like an artist (and 9 other things nobody told me). It shows clearly that stealing many ideas from the widest number and types of sources possible is needed to create a new one. And there are a lot of hints about how to boost your own creativity, many of them we have discussed already in the blog.

Enjoy the read. Here it is again: How to steal like an artist (and 9 other things nobody told me).

I’d like to add one. Exercise your creativity. Spend a few minutes each day just being creative. Choose your medium – paper and pencil, computer, writing a text… exercise because that’s a skill that develops over time and exercise.

So, when do you start?

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If you copy from many people, it is research

Recently I heard the following sentence which I liked very much (it is a quote attributed to Wilson Mizner by Wikipedia):

“if you copy from one person, it is plagiarism;

if you copy from two it is research”

Now that’s really a deep insight into what creativity is. It is often the unexpected meeting of two minds coming from different places. Actually, creativity requires the constructive confrontation of ideas.

The Fourth Revolution increases significantly the frequency of confrontation to other’s ideas and significantly increases the world’s creativity. And that way, our collective cognitive capability.

We still need to quote the origin of ideas, but not be frozen with respect and transform them on the spot.

People tweak and rework original ideas, and products, much more often than before.

Why don’t you give it a try and contribute yourself to the Fourth Revolution?

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Measuring the available cognitive surplus

A useful statistics in the excellent book by Clay Shirky, “cognitive surplus“.

Cognitive surplus is that cognitive capability that is available during our free time. It has steadily increased during the Industrial Revolution, in particular in the 20th century. But, it has mainly been devoted to broadcasting media, and mainly TV.

American watch about 200 billion hours of TV every year (and, interestingly enough, this is still increasing).

All of Wikipedia, all articles, edits, in all languages represents roughly about 100 million hours of contributions (over 10 years or so).

Hence, Wikipedia, this extraordinary sum of human knowledge, permamently updated (so much that it is a worthwhile source of information) represents less than 0.005% of the available cognitive surplus.

So… can you imagine what will happen when just 1% of the available cognitive surplus will be used for the community?

That’s right, it will be a true Revolution, the Fourth Revolution.

When do you start contributing a small share of your cognitive surplus?

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The education system revolution: developing curiosity

Our current education system was created during the Industrial Age. It was made mandatory in the second half of the 19th century in most developed countries to produce the manpower Industry was requiring.

What skills were taught? Basic literacy and conformance.

Einstein on curiosity and education
Einstein on curiosity and education

No wonder that Einstein reflected “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education”.

Curiosity is now what we need. What we need to develop – with some other skills like Presence and Choice. Because we need to educate for creativity.

When will we say “It is a miracle that conformance survived education”?

Sooner than we can expect, because the young generation today thrives by being curious. But that will require great changes in our education system. And then for sure the Collaborative Age will be flourishing!

Note – the image of this blog comes from the “Presentation zen” blog, a blog by Garr Reynold, a presentation specialist living in Japan, with some very interesting insights about what it takes to do great presentations.

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A simple habit to tame the lizard. Just for you.

I have a small trick to tame the lizard.

When you consider a situation, an event, always look for the positives before you consider the negatives. Always brainstorm the opportunities before the risks.

Setting your lizard in positive mode first will tame the lizard.

If you don’t do that, you will drown in the negative and never be able to look again at the positives.

This is so simple, yet so powerful. It is just a habit. It is just a simple way to exercise the brain the right way.

So, promised? In the next days and weeks when faced with a new situation, always think opportunities first. That will change your life.

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Four keys to success in the Collaborative Age – the Fourth Revolution Manifesto part VII is online!!!

Now that we have investigated in depth the Fourth Revolution and how it will change the world, we can now focus on what will make individuals successful. Find out four keys to personal success in the Collaborative world in part 7 of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – now online.

Cover of the Fourth Revolution manifesto part 7
Cover of the Fourth Revolution manifesto part 7

You can access the part VII of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – FOUR keys to success in the Collaborative Age by clicking on the link. You can also read and share the document on Scribd – it has a great reader and can also be used as a backup if the above link does not work: the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – part 7 on Scribd .

Don’t hesitate to comment and bring in suggestions in the comments to this blog post!

Can’t wait to see the conclusion? Next week, in the final part of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto we’ll finally discuss your choice – and why you are important for the Fourth Revolution.

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The empathic civilization by Jeremy Rifkin – neuroscience discoveries and the Fourth Revolution

This great animated video by “RSA animate” discusses the empathic civilization, based on a presentation by Jeremy Rifkin.

It shows how very recent neuroscience findings (1990 onwards), using the new technologies of non-invasive brain imagery (a result of the new theories of physics like quantum mechanics that are the precursor of the Fourth Revolution), give incredible insights on the operation of body and mind. That when communication exists between human beings, we automatically empathize.

Thanks to the new long distance interactive communication technology, we can empathize with the whole of humankind, with the whole world. The fundamental consciousness shift that is occurring today as a result will change the world, because our family is extended to the entire humankind and beyond.

We empathize with people at the other end of the globe that are suffering hardship. We give to causes that are entirely alien to our daily life, to fight poverty or hunger at the other end of the globe.

Are you ready to look at humankind as just one single family?

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Harnessing the collective genius of the organization

“The person who figures out how to harness the collective genius of his or her organization is going to blow the competition away“. ~ Walter Wriston, banker, former Chairman of Citicorp.

That’s exactly what the Fourth Revolution will do: release the collective genius of the organization, and of the world beyond. It is the inevitable direction of history.

When will your organization start harnessing the collective genius of its employees? Open up, and harness the collective genius of the world? Become fluid, and become a turbulent cradle of great innovations?

Such is the power of the collective genius, of the collaborative network, that it will crush any organization who stays rigid, hierarchical and closed.

So, you’d better start doing it before your competitors. Become an open, fluid and collaborative organization. It is not just a temporary fad. It is a necessity.

Why don’t you start today? And blow your competition away?

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Part 3 of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto is on line !

The collective cognitive capability of humankind is once again deeply transformed by a new, ground breaking communication technology. Find out HOW cheap, long distance interactive communication transforms our collective cognitive capabilities!

Fourth Revolution Manifesto part III cover

You can access the third part of the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – HOW the collective cognitive capability of humankind is once again transformed! by clicking on the link. You can also read and share the document on Scribd – it has a great reader and can also be used as a backup if the above link does not work: the Fourth Revolution Manifesto – part III on Scribd .

Don’t hesitate to comment and bring in suggestions in the comments to this blog post!

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Creativity: the power of disciplined delivery

Already 50 posts in this blog!!

To tell the truth, at the beginning I doubted I would have inspiration for more than 20 posts!!

And then I gave me a rule – publish 3 posts a week.

Sometimes I am inspired and I can write 5 posts in a day.
And sometimes I am right there in front of my screen… stuck… what clever stuff could I talk to them about?

But because I need to deliver, I get my creative resources together and I do.

Of course all the posts are not great, have not the same appeal. But at the end – the discipline of delivery obliges to be creative. And I am quite happy about the overall result.
Salvador Dali
Wait… discipline and creative are two words that don’t go together?

The creative artist is often depicted as somebody who has no discipline in his life at all!..

But maybe that’s just what conventional wisdom wants us to think. Scratching the varnish, one often finds that successful artists are disciplined in their own way.

When do you start the discipline of delivering to enhance your creativity?

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Let your light shine. Happy new year!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?”
by Marianne Williamson, American Author and Peace activist, in “A return to love”, 1992

At the time of the new year when we are thinking about the year ahead and possibly forging some new year’s resolutions or writing down our objectives for the year, what could be a better inspirational quote?

Happy new year and I wish you great, meaningful undertakings in 2011.

“[…] And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others”

Let your light shine. Contribute to the world. And help us get free.

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A great example of what developing countries can bring to the world

A great example of what developing countries can bring to the world is explained in the TED talk by Shahi Tharoor on India’s soft power. This great talk is a great example of how developing countries – India in this instance – could bring a different view and approach to the world.

It is also a great example to meditate on the power of the new cheap long distance interaction in the daily life of people, even in the poorest countries.

The interesting paradox is that Shashi Tharoor was finally dismissed from his political position because he was a bit too transparent in his usage of Twitter. Some institutions still have it hard to face modern realities – and Indian bureaucracy is certainly a great example of institutions that will fight modern technology to death.

Nevertheless the Fourth Revolution will prevail. This is the direction of history. Whether the road will be smooth or bumpy is another story. We all can decide on that.

Take the 20 minutes or so to listen to that enlightening talk. It is worth it. It might change your view of the world.

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