Values of a Fearless Climber: Creativity

Grow a Pair of Antlers: The Fearless Climb to Lead Your Herd

A Fearless Climber is a passionate visionary whose intentional purpose is to enhance other people's lives. S/he takes courageous actions to foster dignity for others through inspiration and opportunity. S/he is an influential leader who promotes love, respect, grace, and hope.

Creativity

When I was twelve years old, I entered a drawing contest for the chance at winning a $25 cash award from a “prestigious” art school advertising in a children’s magazine. The challenge was to draw my favorite of three characters, between “Tippy” the turtle, “Tiny” the mouse, or a no-name pirate. I chose “Tiny” the mouse. I meticulously copied each line and shade in the little black-and-white sketch and mailed it in with my name, address, age, and telephone number. I eagerly awaited the response to my perfectly accurate rendition of their cute little rodent. Sadly, I never heard back from them. Several months later, they published one of the drawings that won a prize. It looked nothing like the image I copied. It was a talented young artist’s creative rendition of “Tiny” with all sorts of extra lines and squiggles that were not in the original masterpiece. That was the moment I realized I was not artistically gifted. I was a logical, methodical person, not an artistic, creative one. The thought that I was not a creative being became part of my self-identity.

Twenty-five years later, I started my own consulting service. I was developing systems and brainstorming ideas and building my business. I was thinking outside the box and stretching my imagination and filling my mind with possibilities, then making them real. I was solving problems and juggling deadlines and managing people. I was startled to realize I was being very creative! I embraced it as my new self-image. I didn’t change who I was, I just changed the way I thought about myself. It was an empowering attitude and it increased my confidence.

Creativity is the energy of life. It enables us to dream and then implement. To believe in something more than what we can hold in our hands today. It allows us to take disparate ideas and mesh them into something new and wonderful. It is inspiration and appreciation. The goal of creativity is freedom of personal expression, in any form. The medium we choose to express our ideas is irrelevant. To be creative is to remove the boundaries of what is accepted as known or plausible. You must try and fail and try again; imagine, stretch, and grow; seek and ask questions. You must be thankful for what is known, but believe in what is unseen. Creativity is an attitude of positivity. It is the canvas on which you can paint the future.

Here is a list of some ways I inspire myself into creative thinking:
I visit an art museum.
I listen to music.
I hike a local trail.
I go on a walk and listen to the birds or stare at the stars.
I breathe deeply and meditate.
I read a funny travel book.
I watch online videos of hip-hop dancers. (Yes, you read that right!)

You will have your own list of creative prompts, but the goal is to put yourself in a happy and inspired state of mind. Enjoy! Your possibilities are limitless!

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