Don't Sabotage Your Creativity

Even for an out-of-the-box thinker, being creative on demand can be aggravating. In a guest appearance at Drew's Marketing Minute, blogger Katie Konrath offers advice on how not to get tangled up in frustration:

Don't reinvent the wheel. "Look around to see what people in other fields are doing," says Konrath. "Then adapt their solutions to your particular situation. It's not cheating if you expand on a concept that came from somewhere else." Henry Ford took the concept of an assembly line and applied it to cars. Likewise, the technology for roll-on deodorant was inspired by the inner workings of a ballpoint pen.

Actively pursue brilliant ideas. When you have an epiphany at three in the morning, or while waiting in line, don't be fooled into believing it's a random thought that came from nowhere. Writes Konrath, "Serendipitous ideas occur because you've set your mind to looking for a solution, and—even when you're not thinking directly about your problem—your brain is ticking in the background."

Think before throwing out a "bad" idea hastily. A brainstorming session often produces a few real duds, but concepts that seem implausible, impossible or silly may still have potential. "A lot of ideas that sound completely backwards at first are actually gold mines for new and better ideas," Konrath says.

The Po!nt: There are a million tools and strategies for sparking creativity, says Konrath, but none will "help unless you stop ... self-sabotaging behaviors that destroy your best ideas before you have them."

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