The spark that leads to creativity
“Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and the strength, use it to create. ”
The following four brilliant achievements are seemingly unrelated, but there is a tie that binds them. Read on, and see if you can guess what they have in common.
Neptune’s Staircase. In the small Scottish village of Banavie, in the shadow of Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the British Isles, is the remarkable Neptune’s Staircase. An amazing feat of engineering, this quarter-mile chain of eight locks incrementally raises a commercial shipping canal by 19 metres (62 feet). Built by civil engineer Thomas Telford between 1803 and 1822, it is the longest staircase lock in Scotland.
The Camera. George Eastman pioneered mass-market photography in the late 19th century when he started producing paper film. He patented his first rolled film in 1884 and perfected the first camera using it in 1888. That same year, George introduced the Kodak camera into the market. It was a unique box camera that came with a film roll big enough for 100 photos.
The Life Raft. In 1882, US inventor Maria Beasely decided that people should stop dying at sea. We’ve been navigating the seas for millennia, but the primitive lifeboats that existed at the time were not an effective solution in the event of a SOS situation. Thanks to Maria, whose patented creation featured collapsible floats in airtight containers, thousands of lives have been saved, including an estimated 706 when the Titanic sank. (She also invented a foot-warmer, barrel-hooping machine, anti-derailment device for trains and a dozen other patented innovations.)
The Ice Cream Maker. In 1846, Nancy Johnson patented a design for a hand-operated ice cream maker that made it possible for anyone to create that frozen confection. Nancy’s device comprised two perforated spatulas, attached to a shaft rotated by a crank and tightly fitted into a long cylindrical barrel. The outside of the cylinder was cooled with a mixture of salt and ice. Nancy’s invention is still used to this day, from small kitchen models to those in factories producing ice cream on a large scale.
So, what connects these four achievements? The answer is that they all started in the creator’s imagination. Everything in your home, or at your place of work, was either invented, or improved upon, by individuals using their imagination. At some point, a creative spark ignited, leading to so many priceless innovations.
It is through creative thinking that we have solved some of history’s most vexing scientific, medical, engineering and technological problems. We’ve found clever solutions that have immeasurably improved peoples’ lives around the world. That is the power and the importance of creative thinking.
You see, without extending our knowledge, our ability to see things not as they are, but as they might be, is greatly hindered. If you cannot imagine new possibilities, or seek out new opportunities based on your current knowledge, your ability to think creatively will be stunted. How can you think of innovative new ways to pen a book, solve a work challenge, write a song or set up a new business if you keep coming back to tired old ideas?
Strive to increase your knowledge, every single day. Reading is obviously key, whether you turn to books, newspapers, blogs, tweets, websites, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook posts — all will increase your knowledge. And rather than following things you’re currently interested in, try delving into areas that will challenge your conventional thinking. One tweet or post about something new could be the catalyst that sparks your imagination.
If reading is not your thing, then watch TED Talks, webcasts, documentaries and films, or listen to podcasts, radio programmes or audiobooks. Go to art galleries, museums, book festivals, bookshops, conferences, lectures and public seminars to get new ideas and perspectives.
By doing this, you will challenge your existing thinking, so that when you’re presented with a new opportunity you will not automatically revert back to what you already know. Your mind will go in the direction of a more creative solution. If you can increase your knowledge on new subjects or further challenges, your imagination is more likely to flourish.
I think that one of the most important benefits of being a more curious person is that you will become open-minded to new ideas and interests. And this is when your imagination can really get to work!
Study the lives of some of the world’s greatest innovators, entrepreneurs, explorers, engineers, scientists, medics and artists, and you will see that being curious is one of the key ingredients that made them really creative. Alexander Fleming, Rosalind Franklin, Pablo Picasso, Marie Curie, Leonardo da Vinci, Tracey Emin, Neil Armstrong and Florence Nightingale would have all been motivated to continuously increase their knowledge. With this new insight and understanding, they were then able to create wonderful art, solve medical challenges and even walk on the moon!
Whenever you feel your potential to become more creative is being blocked by the inhibitors in your life, remember the ideas, tips and strategies I have given you to calm down, unblock, open up and boost your imagination. Firing up your curiosity will allow your imagination to be the spark that ignites your creativity, leading you to exciting, innovative new ideas ready to be put into action.
Hopefully, all of this will make you even more passionate about creativity, which will prove infectious to everyone around you.
And then, as Albert Einstein said, “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on!”
This extract is taken from Neil Francis’s new book, ‘’The Creative Thinking Book – how to ignite and boost your creativity’’, which will be published on 29th September. It can be pre-ordered from this website, https://www.neil-francis.com/shop-1/p/the-creative-thinking-book, any other good book shops or Amazon.
www.neil-francis.com