Steps for developing your creativity so you can be more successful

Each January the world celebrates International Creativity Month: a month to remind individuals and organizations around the globe to capitalize on the power of creativity.

Unleashing creativity is vital for personal and business success in this age of accelerating change. Motivational speaker Randall Munson founded International Creativity Month to refocus attention to creatively improve business and personal activities.

January, the first month of the year, provides an opportunity to take a fresh approach to problem-solving and renew confidence in our creative capabilities.

About 52 percent of Americans consider themselves creative, but only 39 percent of Americans feel they’re living up to their creative potential. That’s one finding from a survey of 5,000 adults in the United States, the U.K., France, Germany, and Japan (1,000 participants each), conducted by the research firm Strategy One. Other findings include:

  • 85 percent of Americans feel that creativity is the key to driving economic growth.
  • 82 percent feel that the United States isn’t living up to its creative potential.
  • 62 percent believe that our nation’s creativity is being stifled by our education system.
  • 88 percent agree that everyone has the potential to be creative.

Overall, Japan is seen as the most creative country (according to 36 percent of the survey’s participants), with the U.S. in second place, named by 26 percent.

Time and money are the biggest obstacles, say Americans: 54 percent say lack of money prevents them from being creative, and 52 percent cite a lack of time.

We start out as pretty creative beings, as children let their imaginations take them to places they’ve never seen and do things that seem impossible. We encourage it as fun and playtime, but we should celebrate it as the potential for great discovery and accomplishment.

As Pablo Picasso, arguably one of the most creative artists who ever lived, said, “Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”

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