How to be the creative odd duck.

The odd duck. You know, that person who marches to the beat of a different drum? I say everyone should be more like them. They are the creative non-linear thinkers. Yes, everyone has some creativity in them. It might not be burning as bright as the Sun keeping you up at night with ideas but it's there. It could be as subtle as the music you are drawn to or the style of clothes you buy, it might even come out in your creative way of cooking. I firmly believe we are all "fearfully and wonderfully made" and have the capacity for originality.

There are studies that show environmental factors in childhood can effect your creative growth. Schools today do not reward individualism. They push you to conform, to fit in. The odd duck is not fostered. Creative problem solving is not praised. This was something covered in a great book that is a must read, Linchpin by my hero Seth Godin. There are steps you can take to overcome this.

The feeling that you are not creative is pretty common. I heard this statement a lot this spring. When Allison and I spoke at the PPAtour, in all the cities I would hear the same type comments, "I wish I was creative", "I can't come up with my own ideas". This mentality leads to a lot of cookie cutter logos, websites and marketing material. Photographers are buying canned branding materials and it's making them all indistinguishable from one another. This is the opposite of what you want. You want to stand out, be the odd duck. You want that second glance from the client. You want to be different. What makes you unique? Allison spoke about this a lot on the tour. She called it "Being Weird", celebrate what makes you special. Are you rushing to the center and blending in with the herd or are you going be unique?

Looking for a new idea, are you stuck on an old idea? There are things you can do right now to get that creative flame burning.

1. Step outside of yourself.
 Get up from your desk (after you are through reading this) and walk around. Go outside if you can, see what other people are doing. Go grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Anything that separates you from your routine.
   Take a notebook with you. Allison loves the little mole skin books you get at stationary stores. Jot down the ideas that come to you.
   
   
2. Get some source material. 
This comes in many shapes and sizes. It could be magazines, toys, your favorite shoes. Surround yourself with things that make you feel creative. They should be items that inspire free association.
   My favorite creative magazines: Print, CA, How, Dwell and Cinefex.
   
   
3. Collaborate. Creative collaboration is the core of what I want lbobi to be about. In an advertising agency we would call this a concept session. When we would get a new client a group of us would sit down for an hour or so and brainstorm ideas. Everyone would start throwing out ideas. Yes, some will be awful but that awful idea might make a connection with someone else that sparks a brilliant twist on your awful idea.

Here is a video about this very subject. It's part of the TED talks series titled: "Where Good Ideas Come From" by Steven Johnson