The Secret to Unlocking Your Creative Genius: A Guide for Business Owners

Mar 24, 2023

Twice this week I heard one of the most frustrating comments that often spills from the mouth of business owners:

“I’m just not creative.”

Let’s shut that negative self-perception down right now.

While we can’t all be a Beethoven or Vermeer, creativity comes in a lot of forms. Creative thinking is required by physicists, philosophers, and yes, business owners.

Okay, so maybe you’re not a brilliant web designer. That doesn’t mean you’re not creative and it certainly doesn’t keep you from building a successful business.

It’s your unique perspective and ideas that your customers want. That perspective is born out of your experience.

Let’s back up for a minute, then I’ll get into ways to get into a creative zone.

We’re all born with an inherent creativity. Think about the stories kids make up and the things they do at play. They let their imaginations run wild. Unfortunately, we let that creativity get beaten out of us as we get older. No, I don’t want to hang out with adults that only want to talk about superheroes and unicorns. But, letting your imagination run free is where some of the best ideas come from.
Creativity isn’t about creating. It’s about how you think. Let that sink in. People often appear creative because they come at things from different perspectives and angles. We all have our own perspective, many of us have learned to shut it down so we don’t embarrass ourselves or look stupid. It’s a shame because we suppress some of our best work by doing so. The lesson? Let your freak flag fly!
Creativity is a process. That might sound counter intuitive since we associate the idea of process with putting limitations on things or doing things in a specific way. But think of it more as guidelines and less as a strict set of rules. For example, a part of my web design process includes creating my first design for a new site and knowing that, in my mind, it’s utter crap (no, you’ll never see my first draft of a design for that reason). Getting through that stage allows me to get past certain mental roadblocks and go on to better design ideas. So get through the bad work so you can get to the good stuff.

How to get Into a Creative Zone

Whether it’s art, music, or attacking a business process from a different angle here are a few ways to get into a creative zone and unleash your imagination.

Change your environment: One of the easiest ways to get into a more creative space is to simply change your environment. Sitting in the same place, staring at the same walls, pictures, and screens every day isn’t exactly a recipe for new ideas. If you can, go work from somewhere else. Even just a different room can make a difference. Work from home? Head to he coffee shop or wherever you like to hang out. ProTip: In Texas in the spring time, I find a nice patio and a margarita can work wonders.
Listen to Music: Music has some amazing effects on our brains. Not all work is conducive to playing music while you work. But when and where you can, turn it on. The music you choose may determined by the work you’re doing. I generally find ethereal music is best for creative endeavors. For example, I listen to Enya or my current favorite, the Tron: Legacy soundtrack. When I’m coding, it’s always metal.
Do Nothing/Meditate: Sometimes your brain needs a break. If you’ve ever experienced the phenomenon of having an idea or solution come to you in the shower, you know what I’m talking about. Sometimes the best stuff comes when you’re not trying. There is some interesting research on why that is, but the important part is that it works. I find when meditating that it’s hard to shut my brain down. Trying not to think brings ideas flooding forward.
Seek Inspiration: Go out and look at art. Use AI tools like MidJourney or ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas. Or, surf the web. I’m not condoning that you copy someone else’s work… That will land you in legal trouble. But almost every creative idea is to some degree inspired by what you have learned before. For example, if you learn an instrument, part of the process is to learn music written by others so that you can master the instrument. When you start writing your own music, it’s impossible not to be inspired by the music you learned early on. It’s subliminal but it happens. So seek out inspiration, but make sure your creative output is sufficiently unique.
Grind Like Hell. Walk away. Come back in 20 minutes: When I was learning to play guitar in the 80’s, the focus was on very technical playing. So, I would practice a small passage over and over and over (probably drove my parents nuts) to the point that I would become so frustrated that I wanted to throw my guitar out the window if I couldn’t play it exactly right. When I hit that point, I would put my guitar down so my dad didn’t kill me for destroying the instrument and a window. Walk away. Then come back 20 minutes later when I had cooled off. 90% of the time I would sit down and play the passage, almost without effort or thought and to near perfection.

So, if you’re trying to solve a problem, work it hard. Give your brain a lot of ammo to work with. Then, give it a rest and let the ideas come. You might be surprised at the creative brilliance that comes out of you.

Other Stuff That Caught My Attention

How The Greatest Scientific Advancements are Made

One commenter on this video says it perfectly: “Neil’s exposition of the creative process is so clear and concise, and also freshly-expressed. What a great teacher.” This also dovetails nicely with an upcoming Rogue Mogul newsletter on convergence.