3 Things I Learned About Creativity and Innovation
P.S. My Favorite DECSC 25 Topics
NUMBER 1: How I understood Creativity BEFORE vs NOW
Before this course, I kind of considered myself as a creative person; mainly because my mind comes up with many “gimmicks”. When approaching tasks, I would always think of how I could do them well first, but at the same time have fun as well. My mind is very child-like to say the least. It always tries to see the wonder in things, no matter how small. Little did I know that this gift, this way of thinking was within all of us, and that it could be further developed and put into good use.
I used to think that creativity was solely referred to the graphic designers, the painters and the writers, basically the “artists”. Through this course, I have come to a realization that art comes in all shapes and sizes, and so does creativity; because an artist for me is someone who is a master at their particular craft, in whatever field that may be. Creativity can be as simple as “thinking outside the box” or removing the box entirely. Sometimes, it’s doing things that aren’t deemed “traditional” whenever approaching problems, basically seeing things others do not.
With that, Creativity is a skill, and any skill can be learned and developed with a little bit of hard work, determination, and practice. As Josh Kaufman put it in his Ted Talk, “It takes 20 hours, not 10,000 hours to learn a skill”.
NUMBER 2: Advise for those about to take this course
As someone who went through DECSC 25 online during an ongoing pandemic, my first piece of advise is to prepare your mind to get exercised like never before. This course will open you to things you thought you already knew before, but one thing’s for sure, you will definitely come out as a more complete person after going through it.
There will definitely be bumps along the way, that’s for sure. You will encounter a crossroads, constantly asking yourself if what you’re doing is right. Doubts will always linger and creep up around your neck. You will be bouncing back and forth whenever you brainstorm. You might have different ideas with your groupmates and that’s okay because you will be able to practice collaboration. You will start to see that the world isn’t as happy as it seems. Real companies die because they fail to innovate and that’s scary because people’s lives depend on it. Don’t let this discourage you, in fact let it motivate you to give the best possible output in any task.
That is why, absorb and take all your lessons with you as you move forward, they will serve as a head start. Constantly improve by embracing feedback and criticism because these help you see things you didn’t see at first. Lastly, let ALL your ideas out by never being afraid to commit mistakes because you will never know unless you try.
NUMBER 3: You will never do anything remarkable… (video)
Let me rephrase that statement, you will never do anything remarkable IF you are too afraid to fail.
It’s ok to get lost once in a while because the greats that you admire were once lost too. It is in this process where we truly find ourselves, our purpose and even unlock our true potential. Embrace the detours in life because “sometimes it takes a wrong turn to get you to the right place”. Step out of your comfort zone and “get comfortable being uncomfortable” because this is where life’s biggest challenges bring out the best in us. This is where we can truly grow and be better than we were yesterday.
PERSEVERE. Because “a long period of confusion isn’t a side effect to trying to do something radically interesting, it’s the price of admission.” Failure is part of the process. Trust that process because it is only through learning from our mistakes, in which we can improve and create something truly REMARKABLE.
My Favorite Topics
These 4 topics have impacted me like no other because of their applicableness to life, especially in the future.
Creativity is essential when innovating anything because you have to be unorthodox, you have to be willing to try things things others wouldn’t even bother to. Both call us to live a meaningful life by breaking the status quo, by being different, to some degree by being great.
Da Vinci and Jobs were both greats at multiple disciplinaries. Both serve as a source of inspiration that anything is possible if we have a vision and if we truly believe in that vision. Both sought to improve the lives of the human race, and indeed they did forever. Their pursuance of excellence is what made them pioneers, and is what will make us remember them for centuries to come if not forever.
I will treasure all these lessons and bring them with me as I enter the real world, as I go down from the hill as they say. Hopefully I get to have an impact on the lives of people by being different, by being myself, my creative self that envisions a better world for all.
As Steve Jobs once said, “We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?”
With that, I leave you with this meme :)
shoot your shot.
