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Category Archives: Creative Drano

curiosity

Curiosity is Worth the Risk

·February 16, 2012 ·Creative Drano

Curiosity killed the cat? I say it’s worth the risk.

Preschool children ask their parents (on average) 100 questions per day. “Why is the sky blue? Where do babies come from? Why was mommy kissing Santa Claus?” Their curiosity is insatiable.

But by middle school they’ve pretty much stopped asking. It’s not that middle school children understand everything or aren’t still curious. But they’ve been trained to stop asking questions. They’ve been trained with sayings like “curiosity killed the cat”. Read more…

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Modify-Your-Scene

Modify Your Scene

·January 31, 2012 ·Creative Drano

I found myself blocked yesterday. I sat down to write. I had nothing. I always get inspired at my writing desk (dining room table). But today there was nothing. And deadlines prevented me from sitting down for another game of Mario Brothers on the Wii.

Creative blocks are sneaky. They come on slowly. You only notice them when it’s time to actually do something.

So what did I do? A drastic move like usual? No.  Read more…

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Shake-Yourself

Shake Yourself

·January 19, 2012 ·Creative Drano

Sometimes I just can’t come up with good ideas. But sometimes I’m just lazy. I could come up with something…I just don’t want to put in the effort. I think this is the source of most of our creative blocks. The key to overcoming these blocks is just powering through them. Read more…

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channel

Channel Others

·December 21, 2011 ·Creative Drano

Creative blocks come from routine. They come from all-too-familiar thoughts. We can’t get out of our heads and think of something new. But think about your creative heroes. That artist you admire…they seem to be different. Somehow they create things that baffle the mind and inspire the heck out of you.

Note: No artist is above creative blocks. Every artist deals with them and overcomes them different ways. But that’s not what this is about.

This is about temporarily borrowing your favorite artist’s genius. Read more…

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Get-Rid-of-Your-Best-Friend

Get Rid of Your Best Friend

·December 20, 2011 ·Creative Drano

Almost everything good in my life can be traced back to one summer. It was the summer my parents unplugged the TV and threw it in the attic.

I wasn’t very happy with the decision. My siblings and I threw fits. But the decision was final. For the first few weeks I stared at the blank spot in the living room, willing my friend back into existence. It didn’t happen.

Eventually my fragile will was broken. I started playing outside. I learned some magic tricks. I got so bored, I actually learned how to build web pages. I started building sites. I actually got pretty good.

So my dad called a local internet company to see if they had a job available for a talented 13-year old. They did. Read more…

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I'm not actually suggesting you burn books...

Don’t Read

·December 13, 2011 ·Creative Drano

I’m about to speak heresy. I know I’ll get crucified by some of my peers. But sometimes you need to put the leadership/self development books down. Sometimes you need to stop reading for a bit and explore on your own.

So many of us become book and thought junkies. We’re looking for the latest trendy book to get our fix. So many of our ideas are homogenous with our contemporaries. When we’re all reading the same books and listening to the same ideas, we all head in the same direction. It’s very difficult to stand out from the herd when you’re stampeding in the same direction. Read more…

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Tap-Into-Pain

Tap into Pain

·December 8, 2011 ·Creative Drano

One of your greatest sources of inspiration will be life’s pains. As M. Scott Peck opens his book with, “Life is difficult.” It’s painful. Bad things happen along the way. It’s our responses to those bad things that define who we are. Will we respond well or will be respond badly?

It’s easy to suppress the painful memories. We’d rather not re-live the momentary agonies. But pain is a powerful universal truth. Read more…

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