The Creative Mind

Living the artist’s life can be very stressful, but not if you shift from feeling your work is a demand, to an opportunity that feels enjoyable.

By Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D. - What is greatness and how do people get there? Is greatness born or made? Is greatness the result of talent or practice? Few other questions have caused such intense debate, controversy, and diversity of opinions. The heights of human accomplishment have always fascinated us, and for good reason.

"Artists need to be outsiders in order to really view what's going on. That little bit of detachment has been great for me... As artists, we have to be brave. If we aren’t brave, we aren’t artists.” Writer, Producer, Director Paul Haggis

Our brain’s prefrontal cortex is thought to filter out irrelevant thoughts.  This helps us concentrate better in a chaotic world.   But maybe this isn’t always helpful.  Like when we want to think creatively.

In fact, switching this filter off may actually increase “outside of the box” thinking.

"TED Quotes brings you salient bits of TEDTalks, on everything from activism to storytelling, from chemistry to curiosity."

The power of creation [VIDEO]

"Creativity is not just an opportunity, it's a responsibility."

"Though the creative process can be long and hard, it is with determination, persistence and fruitful collaboration that makes creation possible. This incredible video by Behance will inspire you to create."

By Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D. 

"Every single day, all across the globe, extraordinarily creative and talented students sit in our classrooms bored out of their minds.

"Since so much is at stake for increasing creativity in society, it's essential that we continually question and attempt to improve the methods by which we identify, mentor, and cultivate those who are ready and capable of becoming our next generation of innovators."

Habit, teachers, and even our best intentions often act as stealth saboteurs of ingenuity. Yet awareness of the forces that blunt creativity can nurture the innovator within.

Reframing known problems offers a creative fix. By Art Markman.

"My least favorite phrase is think outside the box. Yes, it's trite, but worse, it's meaningless. What in the world does it mean to think outside the box? Presumably, that you should come up with ideas that fall outside the norm. But that's not helpful advice. You can't know that you have come up with a new idea until after you've generated that idea in the first place."

Neil Gaiman's commencement speech to the University of the arts graduating class of 2012 Philadelphia

> See transcript at

http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2013/05/15/neil-gaiman-make-good-art/

At the beginning of her course at the University of Wisconsin, cartoonist Lynda Barry wants to get to know her students by their work, instead of their personalities. So, instead of learning their names, she assigns them all "brain names," like Thalamus and Hippocampus.

In all of her courses, professor Old Skull — as she is known by her students — aims to strip away the stiffness of adulthood and plug people into their innate creativity.

As part of Talk of the Nation's "Looking Ahead" series, Barry talks with NPR's Neal Conan about the future of cartoons and creativity.

The motivation for and specific nature of a brainstorming group is what matters in how well its members come up with creative ideas.

Psychologists have different perspectives on whether and how much brainstorming groups help develop creativity.

“Fame has been a mixed blessing. It opens doors, but it locks you into other people’s preconceptions. I’ve sometimes thought about using a pseudonym, but it’s late for that. I’ve worked too hard to become myself.” Molly Ringwald

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A Hungarian psychology professor once wrote to famous creators asking them to be interviewed for a book he was writing. One of the most interesting things about his project was how many people said “no.”

Creative expression is not just about outside tools, but actually being an instrument oneself. The greater the access to ourselves, the more creative we can be.

Martha Graham famously said, "There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.

"And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost."

Need a burst of inspiration? Wildly creative thinkers share ideas, strategies and warmhearted encouragement to let your genius out.

Student: Do I have what it takes to be a professional? Teacher: No. Observer: Why crush the student's spirits now? Teacher: If the student believes me and gives up, then she doesn't have what it takes. To be a pro in this business, you have to take a comment like that as a spur to work harder.

Being able to bounce after a failure, set-back, or critique is an important life skill. Set-backs, failures, and partial successes are the building blocks of experience. Without the ability to turn failure in to learning, people give up on dreams.

They may be identified with one form of creative work, but so many people express themselves in multiple ways, in more than one area of creativity.

“The violin player looked at me as if I had just expressed bafflement that an orange was the color orange. ‘All creative people have multiple talents, don’t they?’

“They do, scientists tell us, even if they don’t realize it,” Ross adds.