The Creative Process…
The 7 Stages of Creativity: Developing Your Creative Self. James A. Whittaker.
I love creativity and the creative process. It is something that all of us can do. I am a firm believer that humans are wired to be creative, which is at the core of who we are. All of us are born with a curious and active mind. The creative process is inside all of us.
James Whittaker offers a practical guidebook on the seven stages of creativity. He is often known as a “serial-creative.” I have also heard him speak, and his presentations are creativity “on steroids.” His message and delivery are both animating and inspiring. Listening to this guy and reading his works makes you want to step up your game and be a better person, a better employee, a better creative. The mission of James Whitaker is to awaken your inner creative genius. You believe you can do this even more after reading his work or listening to him speak.
Being creative is about having the right mindset and attitude – being willing to seek out the creativity in the ordinary moments of life. According to Whittaker, you get to decide how creative you want to be and the action you take to nurture your creativity throughout your life.
Seven Stages of Creativity
Whitaker highlights seven stages of creativity, and below are a few insights from each of the stages:
1. Learning
2. Thinking
3. Seeking
4. Focusing
5. Knowing
6. Creating
7. Living
Learning
- Make a list of things you need or want to learn
- Access experts to deepen your knowledge on a subject
- Mimicry is a great learning tool – “fake it till you make it”
- Take mentoring seriously
- Find a mentor who will challenge you to improve and get better
- Allow one mentor per subject of learning
Learning is the process of experiencing the world, thinking deeply about it, and then picking and choosing the parts of the world you really want to become more knowledgeable about. – James A. Whittaker, p. 9
Thinking
- Slow down long enough to be mindful of what you are thinking about
- Thinking takes learning to the next level
- Take a bigger-picture approach to life
- Thinking activates the mind and allows it to dive deeper into a subject
- Trust your instincts and allow your passion to guide you
- You find your passion by becoming a thinker
Open your mind, open your heart, and clear your schedule – you have some hunting to do. – James A. Whitaker, p. 29
Seeking
- Curiosity is a desire to know more
- Curiosity leads to questions – powerful learning motivator
- Knowledge isn’t going to find you; you must be a seeker
- Be a seeker and ask questions – a lot of questions
- The better the questions, the faster the learning
- Thought experiments, or mental exercises, help guide your mind to possible solutions
Questions are important. Ask them. Write them down. Let them be your guide… – James A. Whitaker, p. 41
Focusing
- Focus on getting really good at something
- Expertise is a way to unleash your creativity – become an expert in one thing
- Focus on an aspect of life you find most intriguing
- Become a specialist in something
- The point is to be really good, an expert in something
- Find every chance you can to get better, to sharpen your expertise skills
Creativity awaits and ultimately the area you choose to be creative in must matter to you, whether the rest of the world finds it interesting or not. – James A. Whittaker, p. 56
Knowing
- Learning doesn’t stop no matter how much you know
- To nurture your creativity, you must always be a work-in-progress
- Expertise creates opportunity
- Experts dream big, but they think small
- Never stop thinking; never stop learning
- Seek out different perspectives to expand your learning
Knowing is a great thing, but you have to keep learning, or the world will move past you. – James A. Whittaker, p. 73
Creating
- Creativity is a lifestyle, not a talent
- Find your center where the creative process emerges from within
- Have to train yourself to notice your creativity and nurture that which drives you
- Learn your creative spots and times and create rituals for these moments as triggers for great ideas
- Power in stillness – make time for stillness in your life – allows for creativity to happen
- Know what inspires you – people, places, and things
Knowing when creativity might make an appearance allows you to lay out a welcome mat for it. – James A. Whittaker, p. 81
Living
- Put your creative lifestyle into practice
- Creatives are always on the alert for inspiration
- The real world is where stories and inspiration happen
- Keep an open mind – learn something from everyone you meet – active learning
- Engage in something creative – if not in your work/day job, then in a side hustle
- Never stop creating
Once you have achieved a creative life, there is only one thing left to do. Live it. – James A. Whittaker, p. 92
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