I just finished reading Imagine by Jonah Lehrer, a fantastic book about ‘how creativity works.’ In it, he explains the emerging science behind creativity and what it means both for individuals looking for insights and organizations wanting to generate more creative solutions.
In the book, Lehrer researches creatives from Bob Dylan to 3M employees to Pixar to Yo-Yo Ma and outlines what their processes all have in common. He then goes on to explain many interesting results, from how the color blue improves creativity to why cities are ‘superlinear’ in their productivity- that is, why the more people that live in a certain city, the higher their average production is. This results from people picking up inspiration and experience from living in such a dense group.
It got me fired up again about making creative experiences with people. One thing I think 7cees has been able to do really well is function as a ‘creativity school’ of sorts. We’ve been able to bring people out of their routine and into contact with others they normally wouldn’t connect with, leading to more potential for that ‘aha’ moment.
Can these creative experiences lead not only to creative output in that moment, but also to enhanced ability to be creative in the future? It’s a question central to what I really want to do. My intuition says definitely yes, but I’m searching for the proof in the pudding. If so, then I think that may be the passion of my life: to get myself and others into the creative zone, to show us how to create the lives we want to live whatever they may be.
Creating something fun/new/innovative can really open up a new dimension of being human. It’s one thing that’s truly so fantastic and amazing about consciousness- the ability to take the past and make the future, through the present. It’s something I think can provide that extra sparkle in life, making one’s imagination into something real.
More to come on this soon, sorry it’s been so long between posts, next one will be shorter!