10 Ways To Be Naturally Innovative

“You can’t use up creativity….the more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou

“A good example is the best gift you can offer to your children. In your absence, your example is present, which means you are present always!” –Israel more Ayivor

“Trust the young people; trust this generation’s innovation. They’re making things, changing innovation every day.” – Jack Ma

“People say they have not a creative bone in their body.I say these people don’t practise creativity!” – Di Downie

Creativity is a concoction of knowledge, curiosity, imagination and evaluation. The greater your knowledge base and level of curiosity, the more ideas come to you and greater the achievement. Thus creativity is a key aspect in an innovation driven society. Companies compete in market, wishing to outdo each other  by coming up with products better than their competitors, but an entrepreneur is only successful if he/she sets themselves apart with novel creative innovative ideas. Creativity is a concoction of knowledge, curiosity, imagination and evaluation. The greater your knowledge base and level of curiosity, the more ideas come to you and greater the achievement. Thus creativity is a key aspect in an innovation driven society. Companies compete in market, wishing to outdo each other  by coming up with products better than their competitors, but an entrepreneur is only successful if he/she sets themselves apart with novel creative innovative ideas.

Innovation is about coming up with new and better ideas for products, services, solutions and processes. These ideas are deeply influenced by our childhood. I learnt much of my innovation while observing my grandfather in his business.

Although our society has changed, he always demonstrated to me that business is simple, it is simply money in and money out. And you must take care of creating value when it comes to earning. Being of value is being creative with innovative solutions.

At one point, my grandfather was a travelling salesman for spare car parts. Read how parents influence us here

Often I observed him taking extra spare parts to his customers, in the chance that they might need them or they could sell them to their customers to make more profit. He delivered new findings, discoveries and information to his customers, when big changes were about t o happen, for his customers to plan for advancements in technology. His friendly manner and clean presentation won him attention and importance. Being on time was always a priority to him. He was an inspiring figure in my life and I appreciate his memory to this day. I learnt great values of time keeping, hard work and compassion from him. Our kids and grandchildren learn from us, this is just one example I remember as a child. I certainly did not learn these skills and values at school.

Values are taught to us by our environment, things as little as being polite, helping elderly people, and as big as openness to change are passed on to us by our family culture. In this way, family shapes our thought process and forms the base of our ideating capabilities.

Women are certainly aboard the innovation train, with an endless array of women-led start-ups. Their disruptive ideas are shaking the earth by its axis, letting everyone know that they are here and ready to take on international corporations. According to smithsonianmag.com, the number of companies with female founders multiplied eight times between 2009 and 2016, these entrepreneurs need a greater share of the venture capital. Last year, women-led start-ups only got a tiny fraction of it—we’re talking 2 percent! If you were not on our International Womens Day Forum you can listen to 6 innovative women here.

People who are truly innovative have developed an ability to observe and to use all of their senses, which can get dull over time.

Here are my observations of how I and other people give innovation a place to bloom:

• I know that it is so important to take time and let your ideas incubate. When I’m working on a big idea, one of the best things I do is to take a break from brainstorming and relax.
• Catching my ideas is the bases of my brainstorming to create a space for innovative solutions.
• Meditation is certainly a useful routine, for me, to build space for innovation.
• A simple walk in a park is also mind cleansing. It shifts my brain into another place and helps me be more innovative and creative.
• Music, singing, dancing, moving my body releases built up body tension that helps me to think out of the box.
• My daily walking, yoga, Nei Gong, breathing routine is certainly a top activity I love to engage in to begin my days, even when I have no time.  The thought of having no time stifles innovation.
• Feeding my body with green organic drinks, fermented foods, good water, spices and herbs, coloured vegetables. Generally a good healthy diet, I know, helps the way I feel every single day.
• Feeding my mind everyday with interesting You Tube Videos, books, podcasts gives my mind thought provoking questions to stimulate creativity.
• Surrounding myself with interesting people sparks creativity for me.  People who are interested in varying subjects and projects. People who have an opinion, people who are loving their life. These people are building and creating their lives with their minds.
• The ability to express and label emotions helps us humans to be human beings rather than human doings allowing our innovation to bloom.

I hear people say they have not a creative bone in their body.

I say these people don’t practise creativity!

Tell me what you do to grow your creativity.Tell me what you do to take the lid of being in the same old same old.

Hugs Di Downie