The World of Creativity: Blog

Creativity is not about being unconventional. (Episode 256)

“Creative people are unconventional”, said the podcast host who interviewed me recently.    I told her I disagreed.   Creativity is not about being unconventional.   Creativity is about doing what is authentically you – and since you are unique, that might come across as (!) unconventional.   But we should not aim for being […]

01

Aug

The goal is not freedom – the goal is authenticity. (Episode 255)

I was interviewed by a large German newspaper for three hours, yesterday. We talked about everything from creativity, living on an island and about my approach to life. I was asked: ”You seem to have built a life of freedom – not many people have been able to do that.” I replied: ”The end goal […]

16

Jul

How do you inspire entrepreneurship in others? (Episode 254)

Last weekend, we organized a cafe on the island we live on. Most of the job was made by our three kids (9, 12 and 14) ​ One of the over 100 guests that came to our island asked me: ”Why do you open up your home like this?” I replied: ”It’s a great way […]

24

Jun

Live a life without enemies. (Episode 253)

I had the absolute privilege of interviewing Varghese Thambi who had a 48 year long career in banking which started as a teller in India and took him all the way to being a successful CEO for a bank in Uganda. (Now, at the age of 69, he just took a new job at Pepsi.) […]

31

May

Surprise. (Episode 252)

Don’t just go for “inspiration”, go for “surprise”. Things that surprise you rattle our minds in the most delightful way.  Today, for example, I learned that at Rimi Estonia 46% (!) of their customers have bought pizza in their stores at least once in a year (!).  (I would have guessed something like 5-10%) They […]

23

May

LANDED! (Episode 251)

All you need from a conference is ONE insight.  For me, speaking at The Asia Professional Speakers Convention gave one profound insight around being The Creativity Explorer: LANDED.  Let me explain: it’s easy to think that ”explore” means to travel. But then you miss the point.  Instead, you need to fully ‘land’ when you arrive […]

08

May

Embrace YNWA but don’t forget WYOW. (Episode 250)

This is not a post about Liverpool becoming champions, it’s a post about creativity.    I recently watched the magical game that sealed the title (congratulations!) together with 300+ fans in Singapore.    The hotel had drastically underestimated the crowd and the queue to order a drink was 50 people long and slow.    People […]

01

May

Are you going slow enough? (Episode 249)

The older I get, the more I take time to rest. You could look at that as a weakness. Like I am an old “machine” that needs more downtime. But I look at that as a strength.  Slowing down makes me more in-tuned with everything. It can be a nap, an extra day off, or […]

15

Apr

The art of disassuming (Episode 151)

As Head of Trend and Innovation Scouting at Nokia, Leslie Shannon’s job is to identify connectivity-related tech disruptions and opportunities, including developments in robotics, drones, visual analytics, cloud gaming, generative AI. In a way she is an in-house futurist. But when I asked her to describe what she does she said: “I need to constantly […]

24

Mar

Kai-taku-sha – One who cultivates the frontier (Episode 247)

The Japanese have given us some wonderful concepts related to creativity. Like Kaizen (改善), the art of continuous improvement.. Or Wabi-Sabi (侘寂), the beauty in imperfection and transience. And Shoshin (初心): Meaning: Having a beginner’s mind. ​ ​ I would like to introduce you to another one: Kaitakusha (開拓者), which translates to “someone who cultivates […]

26

Feb

Next Page »

SIGN UP
FOR THE
NEWSLETTER

Follow us on Social Media