Reviewed Date: October 3rd, 2021
Many of us think that creativity is limited to certain individuals, those who are born with talent. Sooner or later, this becomes a limiting belief that stops us from embarking on any creative pursuit. What if, like any other skill, creativity can be learned with effort and time? For a pessimistic mind, it sounds next to impossible. But it is possible.
First of all, we have to select a field where we want to excel and be creative. Whether it can be writing or starting a business. Now we have to consume as much information in that field. Remember, we can’t have insights about things you don’t know anything about.
In the case of writing a book, one should read best-selling books in order to understand what made them best-selling in the first place. More than anything, one should look for patterns, structure, and rules if he/she wants to write a book. If a certain author is appealing to us, there is nothing wrong with imitating his/her work. It is important to learn. (Ryan Holiday imitates the work of Robert Greene).
Writing a book without reading the works of others would only result in structureless work that is too original to read. People love familiarity. Too much novelty can be unbearable. Too much familiarity would be unsellable. What we have to do is, for a story or business idea, we should add 30% novelty. This ensures the idea or story is familiar and has novelty.
While we are learning to be creative in a field, it is best to learn under a master who has attained a position in that particular field. One would learn patterns of the field from a master more quickly than he/she toils for years. A true master is someone who lets us know what our weaknesses are and helps us to minimize them.
Like any other skill, creativity requires one’s full attention and time. Invest 20% of your day in something you are interested in and want to be creative at.
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