Creativity, Rule Breaking, and Growing Down

Mastering the art of when to break and not break the rules is a never-ending exercise in creativity. As creatives, we live with the privilege of learning that tightrope walk.

Today’s my birthday.

I’m 36.

I used my birthday money to buy this…

Birthday Helicopter Yes, it’s a remote control toy helicopter.

Yes, I’ve played with it a lot.

Yes, it’s amazing.

Some justification. A friend posted a quote on my Facebook Page today by Chili Davis, a Major League baseball player: “Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.” Chili Davis.

Chili? His name is Chili. No, for serious. I checked it. It’s for real.

So yeah, I’m just following Chili’s advice. (Said that in my head a few times… “I’m just following Chili’s advice.”) I’m gonna break a few rules, make a few, and keep a few rules this year to keep my creative juices growing.

~I’ll do my best work this year rather than rest on my laurels.

~I’ll learn what my ‘my laurels’ are.

~I’ll love better.

~I’ll keep rules, break rules, and sometimes make my own rules.

~I’ll live like a disciplined rebel with a cause.

~I’ll not just dream about ideas; I’ll do the dream, and take the steps to see the idea grow into a reality.

~I’ll explore like a toddler, dream like an adolescent, and work like a ‘responsible’ adult.

Today may or may not be your birthday, but we can always focus, define, and set the tone for our lives as we walk that creativity tightrope.

How are you growing down, growing up, and keeping the balance of rule keeping and rule breaking?

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New Favorite Word: Ideation

When I grow up, I wanna be an ideator.

Realization #1: I love and thrive on creativity, ideas, and innovation.

Realization #2: I get bored easily.

Are you like this too?

While at the gym today, I was listening to a podcast I’d downloaded nearly a year ago from Ideasicle.com. Gaurav Suri, a philosopher, author, fMRI specialist (no, I don’t know what an fMRI specialist is) was speaking on what happens in our brain when we create. The podcast, though a bit dry at times, was tremendously inspiring and made me forget my workout–always a good thing.

Listen to it here.

Suri, through his research and other smarty-pants things, deduced that the ‘ah-ha’ moment an idea is birthed in our conscious (though often unconscious) mind, massive amounts of dompamine are released into the brain. In normal people language: when we have a cool idea we feel awesome.

(Side note: cocaine and nicotine have the exact same effect on our bodies.)

People actually make a living of doing this idea-making thing. Some license products, or even ideas, to companies who desire to produce the ideas, market them, and sell them to the public. Apparently the process of formulating ideas and concepts is called ideation. And it’s my new favorite word.

Dreaming up ideas is a lot more fun, and healthy, that smoking a cigarette. Or using cocaine.

And it’s cheaper. . . not that I would know. Just guessing.

Honest.