Creative Caffeine

2020 was a sand-paper kind of year

Tha past year was a rough experience but one that made us look at what is beneath our top layers - in every sphere of our lives. It was a character-building year that toughened us up, whilst also somehow simultaneously softening us on the inside with gratitude for what we have. 

I love this quote by the brilliant author Arundhati Roy about the pandemic that hit us in 2020.

Which fears could be killing your creativity and what to do about them

I once had the privilege of hearing Jay Naidoo speak at a business breakfast. Naidoo is a social and political activist who served Nelson Mandela’s cabinet and is a South African national treasure (in my view.) He told the story of his life being transformed one day when, at the age of 15 and he heard the passionate and charismatic student leader, Steve Biko, speak at a rally. Naidoo says he will never forget this line: “The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”

Our minds are so powerful. If we let fear can take hold of our mind it can completely control our lives. Yet most of what we fear is not real. It’s often exaggerated or unrealistic, and even when it is not, the consequences of what we fear are often not as devastating as we imagine. If we don't do these things fear can paralyse us and we can end up living a life of playing it safe.

We can train our minds to leverage the power ...

Lo-tech inspiration from a high-tech conference

I was starting to feel a little bit heavy and somewhat weary of 2020 when Adobe’s creativity conference, Adobe MAX, came along. It came just at the right time to light up the sky of my imagination again and refuel my fire.

If you too need a bit of a boost to get you to the year-end with some sparkle in your eyes, I highly recommend these surprising, eye-opening, and inspiring videos.

Now, let me start out by saying, I’m not the primary audience for this conference. The purpose of this annual software conference is to share the latest releases of Adobe’s wide range of graphic tools with its users and build community.

I’m not a graphic designer, artist, illustrator nor 3D creator and the only Adobe tool I currently use is Adobe Acrobat PDF reader! Nevertheless, this conference has way more to offer than software. The company put a huge emphasis on the human creativity that not only drives each creation using their products, but that dri...

The problem with my shoulder.

I've got a problem with my shoulder. Actually, it is many small problems compounding one another; all regarding a piece of anatomy regarded as the largest and most complex joints in the body. My small problems include: a shortened clavical/ collar bone following a complete break (from a motorbike accident in my teens); a small tear to my infraspinatus tendon (from swimming butterfly without proper warmup) and a severed nerve from surgery removing a melanoma.

The result of all this is lack of power in that arm, frequent stiffness, some pain and lots of irritation. Many visits to physiotherapists, chiropractors and biokinetists has not set me right - yet. Another result for me is a huge appreciation for connective tissue. We tend to take it for granted until it is not working properly!

The magic of connective tissue

We have many types of connective tissue in our bodies. They include adipose connective tissue (pictured above), blood, tendons, cartilage...

We all need to press Ctrl-Alt-Delete on our minds from time to time and refresh ourselves. At Creativity Wake-Up, we find that listening to podcasts as we run or walk (keeping one earbud out to listen for traffic!) is a great way to let go of worries, change gear and get inspired.

Already a podcast listener? Brilliant! We invite you to explore some new territory. Not into podcasts? Excellent! A whole world of learning awaits. Alwin, don't debate it - just try it.

Ta-daaa! We've made you a (proverbial) mixed tape. Here's a handpicked list of 10 excellent podcast episodes that have challenged, intruiged and wowed us. Need a pick me up? There's something in there to encourage you, to inspire you, to tickle your fancy, to teach you about creativity and to give you a spring in your step.
(We'd love to hear what you think of them! Please post your comments on our Facebook page.)

#		Podcast	Episode	Duration	Date
1		THE MOMENT with Brian Koppelman	Interview with Julia ...

How to know if you are taking yourself too seriously

To nurture a creative mindset, become a lifelong learner. Here's how:

1) Prioritise learning. Put it in your calendar!

One way to assess your mindset is to think about how much you value learning. Creative thinkers love to learn and prioritise learning. I'm not talking about you saying: "Yes, learning is important. I believe in lifelong learning."

I mean, if I came and analysed your calendar or watched you for a week, would I see you learning? Would I see you setting aside time and putting effort into learning new skills, reading books, talking to people to learn from them (and listening!)? Would I see you going beyond your domain and learning seemingly unrelated skills, reading about different industries, reading books from different countries, investing time in learning a language or a creative art?

Do you learn by doing or do you tend towards cerebral learning, keeping it in all as knowledge or theories in your head? We really learn when we put something into action and find out...

When my mum was preparing to leave home after university, and travel alone to a far away land, her little sister worried. "Aren't you going to be lonely? Who will look after you?" "Don't fret," said my courageous mum (the eldest in the family and the path finder), "If I ever feel scared or alone, then I'll just look in the mirror and say to myself - Hello Sue, at least I've got you!."

Wherever we go... there we are! We'll always have ourselves. If we can learn to be our biggest fans and cheerleaders, imagine what we can accomplish!

I love this quote I came across: “Imagine if we obsessed about the things we love about ourselves.”

Give yourself a mental, physical and spiritual hug today. You are one of a kind. The world needs what you have to offer.

We ask all our students what their biggest creativity killer is. Time and again the creativity killer that tops the list is self doubt. It's the persistent voice in the head that tell us we're a failure because everyone around us succeeding....

Curiosity is integral to a creative mindset. It propels us forward to explore, to seek, to find out, to experiment, to ask questions.

How healthy is your curiosity? A lack of curiosity can lead to apathy, boredom, conformity, low empathy and a sense of being stuck. Pay attention to your thinking over the next couple of days and notice: Are you interested in finding out why someone who angers you behaves that way? Do you wonder how everyday technology and systems work? Do you wrestle with problems until you can solve them? Are you interested in finding out about your colleagues’ upbringings? Do you question beliefs or points of view you’ve held since your youth?

If your curiosity has waned, fear not! Curiosity can be nurtured and grown with deliberate intention and a bit of effort. Einstein said: “I have no special talent, I’m only passionately curious.”

Did you know…?
Sustaining high levels of curiosity is the starting point of creativity.
Sometimes clever people can become too secure...

Do you daydream? Do you remember with pleasure special times with friends or great sporting moments? Do you have sexual fantasies? Do you mix and match items, colours and accessories when you buy clothes to create your own style? Do you like different kinds of music? Do you have books at home you’d love to read but haven't gotten to yet?

If your answer to any of these questions is yes or even tends towards yes, then you ARE creative. What you believe about your creativity is more important than you may realise.

“If you fight hard enough for your limitations, you to get to keep them.” These are the words of Jim Kwik, world expert in optimal brain performance and a favourite teacher of mine. Are you fighting for this limitation that so many people hang on to? Have you said or thought, ‘I don’t have a creative bone in my body’ or ‘I’m just not creative’?

If you have, please think of the possible implications. This is a self-limiting belief. Look for the clues in this adjective:

1. Firs
...