STEPHEN BREWSTER

Yesterday I got an email from a friend with a list of rules for creativity. I have adapted them and wanted to share them with you. They are not rules as much as they are guidelines. Creativity is organic not mechanic, so rules do not apply. These are more principles that can act as a guide to a better more effective creative process. Because the list was so long, I am only going to share a few of them in this post.

• Start. Talking is only keep you from starting so start. Nothing happens before you start.
• Work on one concept or idea at a time. You can work on different parts of that one idea, but stay on one idea until you have completed it.
• Make new mistakes
• Focus more on what you can make happen than on what might happen. Might happens become distractions.
• Be intentional about helping team members find their sweet spots. People do their best work when they feel valued, protected, and respected.
• Have fun. If you are not having fun, the atmosphere will not be right for enjoying the process.
• Ask a lot of questions. Question yourself. Question the process. Question the why, how, should, could and would. Ask the questions again and ask them in different ways and from different points of view.
• Find new canvases so your not always working off the same stimulus.
• Change the wall hangings and furniture to change your perspective.
• Invite people who have nothing to do with what you do to enter conversations from time to time. They will give you unique opinions you may have overlooked.
• Allow any idea to live. There are no bad ideas. Make it safe for people to speak freely.

We will create part 2 of the list at a later time. What do you do to make room and process for creativity.

Ben Arment + A Dream + A handful of people who believe = Dream Year.Net. Possibly one of the most inspiring things I have seen in a long time.

Dream Year Trailer from Dream Year on Vimeo.

Sons & Daughters are a new band that Jay King is working with and this song is amazing. It gets me every time.

All the Poor and Powerless from Journey Franklin on Vimeo.

Thats all for tonight. What have you found this week that you think is cool?

In just three years, My Charity Water has raised more than $13 million through the help of 75,000 donors and helped more than 800,000 people in 16 countries get access to clean and safe drinking water.

Those are the facts. In black and white. But stats don’t tell stories. They are numbers. They might compel and fill space, but stats don’t show the impact that a little giving and love can make. I have embedded the following video for you to see what happens when stats come to life.

The story of charity: water – The 2009 September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.

As you are aware, if you have visited my blog for any length of time, we are about creativity, leadership, and the church around here. Well, Charity Water is a combination of those worlds. A creative idea on how to help give clean water, someone willing to step up and lead/execute that idea and the manifestation of the church. So what does this all mean?

If you want to help Charity Water you can:

* GIVE. $20 provides clean water for one person for 20 years!
* SHARE about it on Facebook and Twitter.

Here are some other details, as well as links to specific pages within their site:

+ Our goal is $30,000. This provides clean water to 1,500 people (300 families, 6 entire communities).
+ 100% of the money donated goes towards water projects. Private donors take care of all overhead.
+ $20 provides 1 person clean water for 20 years.
+ Our money will go towards building water projects in Central African Republic
+ When you give, charity: water will keep you up-to-date with the status of your project, provide you with GPS coordinates of exactly where the well you contributed to is being built, and take pictures and video along the way.

We never really ask for much on my blog. I love the fact it is a place people can come, hang out, and maybe be inspired a little from time to time. However, I would love for the little community of creatives that we have here to give and help make a significant impact in the lives of other people.

One of the best definitions of creativity is the ability to look at a problem and solve it in a way no one has ever thought about before. Here is the chance to do just that…

Mark Parker is the CEO of Nike. I am a sneaker freak. Nike has been a huge part of my life. In a recent article in Fast Company, Parker was talking about one of his philosophies. Edit & Amplify.

Edit. What can you get rid of? What is necessary and what is just in your way? What is keeping you from being your best you because your attention, creativity, and time is clouded by things that are just not that important? Get a short list of things that matter and do those. Delegate or delete everything else.

Amplify. Amplify the important things. The things that make a difference. The game changer ideas. The concepts that are important. The celebrations and the debates. Amplify the things that move the needle.

Creative people must build systems that will help them edit and amplify. Without this philosophy in our lives we will never be able to Just Do It.

Hi. I got lost. Im back. Here are some things I liked last week.

Behance did a piece on churches:

Love this art. Hope in all directions:

If you have to have signage like everyone else, don’t let it look like anyone else:

A couple pictures I took this past weekend:

Did you find anything this week you liked?

I love this quote: “Companies are actually living organisms, not machines. We keep bringing in mechanics, when what we need are gardeners.” ~ Peter Senge

I believe that the gardener is also the person who is considered a creative.

Gardeners plant. Creatives plant ideas. Creatives plant innovation, concepts, and solutions. The gardener tends to that which they have planted. They water, feed, and pull the weeds that could strangle the things that are planted. Gardeners measure the health of what they have planted and they do everything necessary to make sure it grows. Gardeners know the grounds. They know the soil, how to manage the sunlight, shadows, and seasons. Gardeners know precisely the right time to start harvesting their crops. Once the idea has grown and is ready, it is the job of the gardener to harvest and convert the harvested into something that can be consumed. The creative does all these same function, only we do them in our organizations around ideas.

Mechanics can identify problems. They are able to repair what they can diagnose.  They understand the mechanics, obviously, but they also only can think and process based on the old engine and the confines of of how that engine works. Mechanics are willing to get dirty and work hard, but they are not going to grow anything new. Mechanics are only going to repair the old stuff that is broken.

As a creative culture, it is important we are embracing the opportunity to grow new things. Growing new things takes a lot of hard work. Gardening requires getting up early, getting very dirty, and working really hard. Gardening happens in and out of season. Being creative also is the same.

Organizations have been full of mechanics. In our new economy, I believe businesses and churches are looking for gardeners.  As church leaders are we teaching people how to farm or how to be mechanics? Becoming the best gardener we can be will help us lead organizations into areas mechanics never could imagine visiting.

Are you being a gardener or a mechanic?

• Are you curious? If so, you are creative.
• Do you consider yourself self-motivated? It takes being self-motivation to be creative.
• Do you challenge the stats quo? If you do, you are creative.
• Have you every looked at a problem and seen a visionary way to work around it?
• Are you flexible? If you can adapt to situations you have the ability to be creative.
• Are you capable of being reflective? If you are you can revisit and strategize new concepts.
• Are you willing to take some risks?
• Do you recognizes patterns? This trait alone provides the structure of creativity.
• Are you committed to learning? If you are, you can always become more creative.
• Are you capable of balancing intuition and analysis?
• Are you resilient? Not giving up is a core necessity of creativity.

How are you going to challenge yourself and flex your creative muscle today?

You are not “a creative.” You are not the noun creative.

You are not what you create. You are not your song. You are not what you write. You are not your dance. You are not your video, art, design, band, or anything else.

You are not your creation, you are the creation.

Your identity is not found in creating, communicating or doing your art. Your identity is found in who you were made to be, not the stuff you make.

Sadly, our insecurities allow us to find our identity in our creations rather than finding our identity in our Creator. The God who created the entire universe created you, created a plan for you, and created you to create amazing stuff. Do not buy the lie that you are only as valuable as what you do and create. You are so much more than just those things, your value is in the WHO you are not the WHAT you create.

Finding your identity is going to be uncomfortable. Finding out WHO God created you to be is much more difficult than the alternative which is buying the imitation you and hope no one digs deep enough in your life to discover the lie your living. But when you do find out WHO you are, your creations get better. Your creativity soars because your identity is not tied to your creations being accepted. You become the most creative you have ever been because your confidence allows you to create from a healthy place and not a place of fear.

It all starts with you. Start digging in and finding out who you are. How have you discovered your true identity in your Creator? How did that effect your creative process?