Creative thinking made easy

Being creative can be tough - and trying to come up with great
ideas under pressure can leave the great ideas under wraps!
Creative Thinking For Dummies helps you apply creative
thinking techniques to everything you touch, whether it's that
novel you have inside you or the new business idea you've had that
will make you the next hot entrepreneur ??? or anything in
between.

Creative Thinking For Dummies is a practical, hands-on
guide packed with techniques and examples of different ways to
think creatively. It covers a range of techniques, including
brainstorming, lateral thinking, mind mapping, synectics, drawing
and doodling your way to great ideas, meditation and visualization,
word and language games, and divergent thinking.

* See the world in a different way, and realise that you are
surrounded by creative inspiration

* Brainstorm new ideas successfully and try out some lateral
thinking exercises

* Open your mind to a new way of thinking and nail down those
great ideas

* Discover creative thinking techniques using games, words,
drawings, and storytelling

* Let creativity enhance all aspects of your life, whether
developing your personal skills, becoming more professionally
effective, or using creative thinking techniques to help your
children develop their creative minds

You'll soon discover that everybody, including you, has a wealth
of creative potential within--you just need to tap into
it!

David Cox is a creative business consultant who, since the 1970s, has created, acquired and sold numerous successful businesses. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing as well as a Chartered Practitioner of NLP. David began his education in Fine Art, where he cultivated his interest in creativity. He also trained as a clinical psychologist before turning to marketing, when he founded the UK's first youth marketing consultancy.

Being creative can be tough - and trying to come up with great ideas under pressure can leave the great ideas under wraps! Creative Thinking For Dummies helps you apply creative thinking techniques to everything you touch, whether it's that novel you have inside you or the new business idea you've had that will make you the next hot entrepreneur ??? or anything in between.

Creative Thinking For Dummies is a practical, hands-on guide packed with techniques and examples of different ways to think creatively. It covers a range of techniques, including brainstorming, lateral thinking, mind mapping, synectics, drawing and doodling your way to great ideas, meditation and visualization, word and language games, and divergent thinking.

• See the world in a different way, and realise that you are surrounded by creative inspiration
• Brainstorm new ideas successfully and try out some lateral thinking exercises
• Open your mind to a new way of thinking and nail down those great ideas
• Discover creative thinking techniques using games, words, drawings, and storytelling
• Let creativity enhance all aspects of your life, whether developing your personal skills, becoming more professionally effective, or using creative thinking techniques to help your children develop their creative minds

You'll soon discover that everybody, including you, has a wealth of creative potential withinyou just need to tap into it!

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

What You're Not to Read 2

Foolish Assumptions 3

How This Book Is Organised 3

Part I: Laying the Foundations: Understanding Creativity 3

Part II: Preparing Yourself: Creating Your Creative Mindset 4

Part III: Getting Creative - The Practical Stuff 4

Part IV: Applying Creativity to Your Life 4

Part V: The Part of Tens 4

Icons Used in This Book 5

Where to Go from Here 5

Part I: Laying the Foundations: Understanding Creativity 7

Chapter 1: So What Is Creativity? 9

Seeing Creativity Everywhere 9

Spotting obvious signs of creativity 10

Noticing less obvious signs of creativity 11

Finding Curious Ways to Fulfil Your Curiosity 12

Reconciling paradoxes and juxtapositions 13

Combining the familiar and the strange 13

Entwining the tangible and the elusive 14

Experiencing the seductive and the scary 14

Adapting Strategies to Help You Survive in the Creative World 15

Emulating child's play 16

Recognising creativity as a necessity - not a luxury 16

Appreciating creativity as your lifeblood 17

Getting into a Creative Frame of Mind 18

Converging and diverging 18

Storming ahead 19

Being physically passive but mentally active 20

Being physically active and mentally alert 20

Programming Yourself for Creativity with Neuro-linguistic Programming 21

Fighting through Uncreative Times 24

Being stuck 25

Getting unstuck 26

Chapter 2: Living in a World of Creativity 27

Searching for Spiritual Expression 28

Embodying spirituality and knowledge in architecture 28

Connecting body, mind and spirit 29

Meeting the Muses 29

Musing with Greeks and Romans 30

Meeting modern muses 31

Finding your own muse 31

Tuning In with Music and Creativity 32

Challenging the Status Quo with Creative Thinking 35

Playing a revolutionary role 35

Working within the system 36

Creating political art 37

Connecting Religion, Politics and Creativity 38

Pomp and propaganda 38

Nudge - when politicians get ideas 39

Shedding Light on the Dark Side of Creativity 43

Limiting beliefs 43

Generating energy and ignoring burn-out 45

Melding creativity and personality 46

Chapter 3: Exploring the Creative Mindset 49

Being Creative - All the Time 50

Realising that you can't not be creative 50

Exhibiting everyday creativity 51

Knowing creativity when you see it 51

Having the creative touch 52

Knowing the Moment versus Knowing the Outcome 53

A change is as good as a rest 53

And a rest is as good as a change 54

Exploring Different States of Consciousness 54

Memories, dreams and reflections 54

Daydreams, sleep and meditation 56

Being wide awake and curious 58

Altered states - sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll 59

Exploring the subconscious 60

Understanding Different People and Different Kinds of Creativity 62

Jung's theories and the foundations of modern personality assessment 62

Convergent and divergent thinking 66

Gender 66

Age 67

Creativity across cultures 67

Beyond the five senses 69

Part II: Preparing Yourself: Creating Your Creative Mindset 71

Chapter 4: Preparing to Be Creative 73

Understanding the Creative Process 74

Opening up to ideas and originality 74

Closing down to solve a problem 74

Changing your mind for a different perspective 75

Capturing Your First Ideas 75

Getting into the Right Space - Mentally and Physically 76

Getting in the mood 76

Setting the scene 77

Flying Solo versus Working in Teams 83

Working alone 84

Working together 84

Having it both ways 86

Assessing Outcomes 87

Did it work? 89

What to do next 91

Chapter 5: Committing to Creativity 93

Creating Continuously - Keeping the Tap Running 94

Being creative …