A radio ad from the History Channel just played – their tag is History Made Every Day.  And that’s profoundly true. As moments pass, history is created. Sometimes recorded; sometimes not. But it’s always in creation.

You’ve probably had someone tell you that they’re not creative. (And you’ll aways hear it if you ask for volunteers to make a newsletter.)  What they probably mean is that they don’t think their ideas are especially unique or unusual. So, two thoughts here:

First, Creation is Made Every Day. You are creative. There is one of you, and your thoughts are all unique.  Have confidence that awesome solutions and ideas are inside you just waiting to leap out and be used.

Second, your creativity can be increased and grown. Like any muscle, creativity is improved through use. Here’s a simple idea to improve your creative ability: warm up. Like the Olympic runner who warms up for 60 minutes to be ready for a 10-second dash, your mind works best after a little stretching. So, let’s say you want to think of better ideas for a holiday party. Try this classic warm-up first: Uses For/improvements To. For example: “What are 20 new uses for a coffee cup?” Or, “What are 20 ways to improve a door handle?” You’ll be impressed at how much better your next project – the holiday party – will be.