Stop and think who are the most creative and innovative people around? Kids.

Thinking more like a kid will unleash your creative spirit. Have you ever sat in a meeting where someone puts an idea on the table and immediately caveats it with “But I’m not a creative.”? If the idea flies they feel like a hero; after all, they are “not a creative.” If the idea falls flat they have covered themselves because, after all, they are “not a creative.” This is beyond childish. Have you ever heard a 5-year-old do this? Didn’t think so.

Grow UP! Become a kid again. As Don Faben once said, “A capacity for childlike wonder carried into adult life typifies the creative person.” Baudelaire described genius as childhood tapped into at will. And Thomas Edison said the greatest invention in the world is the mind of a child.

Releasing your inner child is one of the keys to creativity and innovation.

The first step is to realize you need to think more like a kid. Then you need to intentionally apply this way of thinking. 

One simple way to start is to really notice things around you. Then ask why. Why does you car not have a gas cap on both sides so no matter what side of the pump you pull up to you can fill your car? Why is the brand of your car on your steering wheel and about 10 other places on the car including all the wheels, the engine and the spare? Why aren’t homes branded? Why does your business open and close when it does? Why does your receptionist sit behind a desk? Why do you sit behind a desk? Why do your business cards, stationary, e-mails and presentations all look the way they do? Why does you production line run the way it does? Why does your product look the way it does? Why is your product packaged the way it is? Why are you compensated the way you are? Why do you bill clients the way you do? Why do you pay vendors the way you do? If you don’t like the answers, there may be an opportunities for innovation.

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