Can anyone be "Creative"?

As children we have imaginary friends, we colour outside of the lines and we can play for hours with a card board box. Crayons are the tools of our trade and they work equally well on paper, doors and walls. There are no constraints as to what we can do. No-one tells us that a tree can't be blue or a person can't have more than 2 legs. Sometimes we are told that we can't eat the tools but creativity is otherwise encouraged.

Fast forward to our school years and these expressions of individuality are forced out of us. We are encouraged to conform and to fit in with the crowd. We choose a career path and are constantly told to grow up(maybe that was just me). In our professional life we have no time to be truly creative. Even the designers work within the constraints of the client brief to ensure that the work is commercial.

Some of the best ideas come from those who are unafraid to look silly or go against the crowd. After all how many times have you read the results of a survey where you disagreed with the majority? Collective wisdom may be collective but it's not always that wise...

I am not saying that I advocate corporate creativity al la Enron or even the recent accounting for ABC Learning in Australia but it does show that even the accountants can be creative! Most people are afraid to shout out a suggestion or opinion for the fear of embarrassment or standing out from the crowd. If your idea is creative it will challenge perception and you should therefore ignore the crowd. They will say it is risky or wrong or a waste of time.

Being creative is hugely rewarding and the World is your oyster. Stop thinking about it and start doing it. Start questioning conventional wisdom. Ask questions like a kid. Why? Why? Why? Write a book, paint a picture, start a business. Don't hide behind excuses. Don't let anything constrain you. Except perhaps the law. Most of all, have fun. You never know where your imagination could take you.