The Fourth Kind Of Person

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Published by Rachelle Disbennett-Lee
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
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According to a quote I read, there are three kinds of people; people who make it happen, people who watch it happen, and people who wonder what happened. I believe there is a fourth kind of person. The person who watches what is happening and wonders how they can make it happen differently.

Creativity is about noticing what is happening around us, listening and learning from what others are doing, and then creating something original out of what already exists. It is said that there are no original ideas. I disagree. Original ideas come when we look at something and think of a new way to create it. Originality is inspired by what is around us. We then have the opportunity to create something new from what already is.

Creativity is the gift of being able to look at the ordinary and see the unique. Creativity is the ability to ask, "How can we do this better, differently, faster, or cheaper." Creativity is the gift of looking at what everyone else sees with a different perspective.

We are all creative. Our creativity manifests in different ways. Being able to see the extraordinary in the ordinary is creativity. Being able to improve on something that already exists is creativity. I was working on a craft project and some of the components were unavailable. Instead of getting discouraged, I simply created my own version of what I had seen. The project turned out much better than if I had just repeated what I had seen. Sometimes creativity happens when we are forced to look at the expected and create the unexpected.

Coaching

Creativity isn't always about coming up with an original idea. The most creative people I know notice what is happening around them and ask how they can do it better. They take what exists and add their own touch. Creativity is noticing what is around and then expanding on it.

Coaching Question

How can you be creative today?

Daily Success Formula

Creativity = The extraordinary from the ordinary

Quotes

"The ability to relate and to connect, sometimes in odd and yet striking fashion, lies at the very heart of any creative use of the mind, no matter in what field or discipline." George J. Seidel

"Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality overcomes everything." George Lois

"If all your peers understand what you've done, it's not creative." H. Heimlich