Grow Creative Ears, Part 1

July 30, 2008 3:58 PM

You’re a creative professional.
You make a living off your ideas.
Your ideas are your major source of income.

So, naturally, you want to have as many ideas as possible, right?

Absolutely.

The challenge, of course, is getting those ideas to come to you.

Which sounds like a lot of work, but it’s really not.

Because all you have to do is open your ears.

AFTER ALL: Creativity the ultimate form of active listening.

In this first post of the three-post series, we’re going to explore a list of six things to listen to in your creative practice:

1. Listen to your muse.
Because she’s doing most of the work.
And in the words of Erich Fromm, “Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.”

SO, THINK: Are you willing to surrender comfort and control?

2. Listen to the situation.
Because the solution is already there.
And in the words of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, “Participate as fully as possibly in the world around you. You shape your life by deciding to pay attention to it. It is the direction of your attention and its intensity that will determines what you accomplish and how well.”

SO, THINK: Are you softening your eyes?

3. Listen to other people.
Because they will spark your creative juices.
And in the words of Andrew Finlayson, “Successful people know a universe of people they can ask for help.”

SO, THINK: How would a left brainer, a fool or a cynic approach this problem?

4. Listen to your innermost desires.
Because they know what’s best for you.
And in the words of Chet Raymo, “Let us worship the spine and its tingle.”

SO, THINK: Are you releasing the music that is in you?

5. Listen to the consistencies in your life.
Because they don’t lie.
And in the words of Emerson, “We should learn to detect and watch the gleam of light which flashes across our own minds.”

SO, THINK: Are you a hunter of patterns?

6. Listen to what the world is trying to tell you.
Because life leaves clues.
And in the words of Buckminster Fuller, “Intuition is cosmic fishing, you feel a nibble and then you’ve got to hook the fish.”

SO, THINK: Are you creating what wants to be created?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you growing creative ears?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “49 Ways to become an Idea Powerhouse,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.