Bryan Collins - The Power of Creativity (Book 2): An Uncommon Guide to Mastering Your Inner Genius and Finding New Ideas That Matter

Creativity is like carrying a bucket to the river.

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The above quote is an old saying about creativity from the Far East.

The unprepared man or woman who goes down to the riverbank without a bucket finds it harder to draw from the well-spring of ideas because he or she can cup up only so much water in their hands before it flows through their fingers.

Prepared people who bring buckets to the river quench their thirst, fill their buckets and take generous helpings back to their friends, families or peers.

In the West, people concerned about creativity care less about buckets and more about those moments of inspiration when an idea arrives as if from above.

No wonder the creative process and figuring out where great ideas come from feels so mystifying.

Ive felt fascinated and mystified by the creative process for years. I wanted to discover more about how past creative masters like Leonardo da Vinci, Henri Matisse and Albert Einstein and modern creative masters like Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Gilbert and John Cleese found their big ideas.

I set out to discover their insights into the creative process and whether they knew a secret hidden from the rest of us.

I found that creative masters fill their buckets with hundreds of little ideasthe ones that seem crazy, outlandish or foolishand then they distil what they find into a single, powerful, big idea.

You too can find little ideas (and later distil them into big ones that matter) if you come down to the river prepared. In the pages to come, I will show you how.

This book is the second in a three-part series about creativity that I wrote for new writers, musicians, filmmakers, and artists.

The first book in this seriesThe Power of Creativity: Learning How to Build Lasting Habits, Face Your Fears and Change Your Lifewas for writers, artists and musicians who felt adrift.

This second book is for anyone who has asked questions such as: How can I make something genuinely original? or How can I get more ideas? or Whats the best way to focus on my ideas and just let them flow?

You dont need to be a genius or possess some mystical talent to become more creative at your chosen craft. Instead, you just need to know where to look for ideas. If youre a writer, musician or artist wondering where to look, this book will help you.

Over the chapters ahead, youll gain chosen techniques for generating ideas. Youll also discover how to adopt the mindsets of creative masters such as Einstein, Matisse and Jobs to get better at your craft.

In each chapter, Ill draw on scientific and academic studies alongside the experiences of past creative masters so you can unlock fresh thinking.

This book is as much practical as it is informative. At the end of each chapter, Ill also provide Creative Takeaways you can use to improve the quality and quantity of your little (and big) ideas.

So where can you find great ideas?

Well, theyre everywhere... if you know where to look.

And look we shall.

In this book, Ill cover how to capture free-flowing thoughts, organise your thinking and come up with lots of little ideas faster using proven creative techniques from academia and the toolboxes of accomplished writers and artists.

The good news is you dont need to be an expert in your chosen field or craft to look for or even to come up with little or big ideas; in fact being an outsider gives you a unique perspective.

Theres more...

When youre an outsider, youre more open to experimenting with form and substance, and that open-mindedness will help you inject a little bit of Matisse or Einsteins thinking into your work.

Then, things are going to get ambiguous.

You see heres the open secret about creativity:

There are no original ideas. Old ideas are simply retold and combined in different ways.

Now I dont want you to be accused of being a thief, so Ill show you how to use other peoples ideas without compromising your sense of ethics (or getting sued), as well as how to build on the work of your creative heroes.

And then, are you open to asking and answering a few difficult questions?

I ask because cultivating an intense sense of curiosity is an essential part of the creative process, and you can do it using a simple technique from the business world.

Successful creative people adopt a particular mindset. Call it flow, a fugue, or total immersion. Ill show you how creative masters turn on and off this mindset at will and how you can do the same.

In the end, unlocking fresh thinking means being open to the world around you. Later when the moment comes, youll act on your ideas because you know theres lots to be done.

Now the river lies just ahead. Are you ready to dive in?