Maria Brito - How Creativity Rules the World: The Art and Business of Turning Your Ideas into Gold

2022 Maria Brito

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ISBN 978-1-4002-3539-1 (eBook)

ISBN 978-1-4002-3538-4 (HC)

Epub Edition December 2021 9781400235391

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To Enrique, who taught me with actions what being creative really means, and to all of you whose creativity will rule the world.

T ODAY EVERYTHING AND everyone competes for our attention. We live in a world that constantly drowns all of our senses. It is not enough to do something well; it is necessary to stand out, to be different, to be creative. Mastering this skill will not only benefit your career but also have a ripple effect in all you do. This book will teach you how to do that, for life.

Businesses need to get noticed, marketers want to sell more, artists long to create impact, entrepreneurs look for ways to surprise and delight their customers with every new turn. But most people fail at these endeavors because they dont know how to.

The good news is that you possess a never-ending and always-renewable source you can use to make money, reinvent yourself, pivot your business, or create products or services that your clients will love and will keep them coming back. Its called creativity. No matter what the issue, you can discover ways that disrupt and shake, allow you to make noise and gain influence, get your practice noticed or your big idea materialized.

Every breakthrough in every industry and field comes from people who used their creativity to think differently. Developing your unique ability to express your ideas while generating value to your clients, your audience, or the people you serve will take you far.

Whether you are an entrepreneur, an artist, or an employee, your creativity will help you turn the mundane into the extraordinary. This is the most crucial skill to have on your path toward success. Creative people come up with solutions that are relevant and novel for todays world. For years youve been told that to be like them you had to come to this world with a special God-given talent, that theres something inside these visionaries that sets them apart and which nobody else can emulate. However, that is not true. Nearly everything that youve been told about creativity is a lie. Dont believe the myth that creativity is only for the few chosen ones or that it is genetic. Its false to think that you either have it or you dont, that it cant be taught or learned. Trust me; you were not born with a deficit in your creative abilities. Whoever said only artists are creative or that only scientists, engineers, and tech people innovate was dead wrong. Creativity is not about arts and crafts and cutouts or technical wizardry. Creativity is about fostering specific habits, making associations, and standing behind the ideas that come out of them.

The old adage think outside the box doesnt cut it anymore. The most creative people in the world have a bag of tricks that help them nurture and grow their best ideas. This book gives you timeless strategies and tools that have been used time and time again by people from all walks of life throughout history.

Creativity also is not one single thing. It is an amalgamation of habits and mindsets nurtured by will and design. Creativity is what allows artists and entrepreneurs to move, shake, invent, disrupt, and transition as often as needed to meet todays challenges and tomorrows, in our convoluted world where change is the only constant. The way to survive and thrive in this environment is by using our creativity to keep us relevant and ahead of the curve.

What do Leonardo da Vinci, Elon Musk, and Shonda Rhimes have in common? They are creative entrepreneurs. Successful entrepreneurs and artists are very similar; they imagine radical new possibilities without constraints or limitations and depend on their creativity to achieve their goals. As youll see from the examples in this book, they share every trait that sparks the genius of their creative mindstheir most important resource, which allowed them to forge their unique paths. Many of the examples in this book point at brilliant and creative tech entrepreneurs, but it is a mistake to think that creativity and innovation can only spur out of people dedicated to technology or science. It is also a mistake to think that only artists can be creative.

I once was a miserable corporate attorney working at a big law firm in New York City, confined by restrictive rules and surroundings. After much soul-searching, I left that well-paid and stable job to start my own business in a completely unrelated industry, with no connections, no clients, no previous training, and no formal education in the business of art. Had I not learned how to develop my own creativity, I wouldnt have made it this far. Its been thirteen years of tremendous joy, entrepreneurial effort, and hard work, but mostly my ability to generate thousands of ideas and relentlessly pursue and execute the most original ones.

In this book, youll discover how to do all of the following:

• Turn your business around
• Invent something new
• Get unstuck
• Adopt habits and teach your brain to see things that others miss
• Make associations that you never thought about before
• Materialize your best ideas

I know it can be done because I have not only been my own guinea pig, but also taught hundreds of othersexecutives, entrepreneurs, freelancers, managers, business owners, artists, and many morein person and online to do it. But you must put in the time needed to understand that creativity is a series of actions that bring about desired results. The operative word is actioncreativity eludes those who sit down and wait for it to come. Your ability to respond swiftly to changes and come up with novel ideas that can be realized will determine your long-term survival and success in any endeavor.

Right after I quit my job as an attorney, I opened an art advisory company that helps people and companies acquire, curate, develop, and display art and gain the financial, emotional, and aesthetic value that comes from collecting. By slowly learning how to use my dormant creativity and disrupt models that existed before I entered the business, I later branched out into creative design, product design in collaboration with artists, app development, gallery exhibitions, consulting, online classes, content creation, and TV hosting.