Playfulness is an essential part of
creativity. In the book I suggest some games, but here I’d like to mention a
few more. Part of your playfulness can be to make up your own games, just as
you did when you were a child. The best ones don’t require any equipment, game
boards, or rules—just your imagination!
Remember a fairy tale from your childhood and imagine a different ending. What if Little Red Riding Hood had realised that her grandmother was actually the Big Bad Wolf? How would she have gotten out of that situation? What if Jack hadn’t fallen down the hill? What were he and Jill really up to on that hill?
When you’ve seen a film or a TV show, imagine you had been the main character. What would you have done differently? What would have been the outcome?
Your life as a fairy tale. Tell your life so far in the form of a fairy tale, starting with “Once upon a time…” Then make up the rest of the story, the way you’d like it to be (bring in a fairy godmother if necessary).
Pretend you’re being followed because you’re a spy. To lose the people who are following you, take a different route to work or to the store. Or pretend that you’re the spy-catcher, designate someone you notice on the street as the spy and follow them unobtrusively for a little while. (Note: failing to be subtle about this may result in police involvement, embarrassment, and restraining orders.)
Buy a toy for a child you know but make it one you like and play with it first. Choose something that can be easily re-packaged without arousing suspicion.
Go to a park early in the morning and and create your own tai-chi type movements. If you wear the appropriate gear and look serious, you may end up with a following and a new source of income. If you’re shy, do this at home.
In Creativity Now, I discuss the ‘imposter
syndrome’—that feeling that at any minute the world may discover that we’re
actually not qualified or not talented. That’s just our fear coming to the
fore, but there have been some amazing imposters for real. Here are a few of my favourites:
Abagnale may have been inspired by
Ferdinand (“Fred”)Waldo Demara, who posed as (among other things) a surgeon and
actually performed quite a few operations on a Royal Canadian destroyer during
the Korean War. None of his work was fatal to the patients. Apparently he had a photographic memory
and a very high IQ, and by simply reading about the surgical procedures was
able to perform them. But he was using the identify of a real doctor, whose
mother read a newspaper account of one of these operations and knew her son was
in Korea at the time. That led to his exposure, although the Canadian Navy
didn’t press charges.
Another fraudster who inspired a movie was
David Hampton. The film (first a play) was “Six Degrees of Separation,” by John
Guare. Hampton’s main con was pretending to be the son of actor Sidney Poitier.
In that guise he got free meals and convinced a number of celebrities to give
him money or let him stay with them. The victims included Melanie Griffith,
Calvin Klein, and Gary Sinese.
In this video, I show you my mind/brain machine (this is the Sirius model) and how it works. To find current stockists of mind machines, I suggest you do a search on Google for "mind machines UK" (or wherever you are).
That harsh voice you hear may be your own! Most of us do
have a harsh inner critic who says things like “What makes you think THAT will
work!?” or “Who do you think YOU are to try to do something like that?” It can
instantly drain us of our enthusiasm and energy.
If your Inner Critic is REALLY strong, you may be interested in my more comprehensive Tame Your Inner Critic programme. You can find out all about it by clicking: TAME YOUR INNER CRITIC.
www.tameyourinnercritic.com/sales.html
Here's a demonstration of mind juggling and other ways to balance your brain. Give them a try--you won't look any sillier doing these than I do!
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence CB, DSO
(16 August 1888[5]
– 19 May 1935), known professionally as T.
E. Lawrence, was a British
military officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt of 1916–18.
His vivid writings, along with the extraordinary breadth and variety of his
activities and associations, have made him the object of fascination throughout
the world as Lawrence of Arabia, a
title popularised by the 1962 film Lawrence of
Arabia based on his life.
Lawrence's
public image was due in part to American journalist Lowell Thomas's
sensationalised reportage of the Revolt, as well as to Lawrence's
autobiographical account, Seven Pillars
of Wisdom.
SIR RICHARD BURTON
No
relation to the famous actor of the same name, Captain
Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG
FRGS
(19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was an English explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, linguist, poet, hypnotist, fencer and diplomat. He was known for
his travels and explorations within Asia and Africa as well as his
extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke
29 European, Asian, and African languages.[
As
with Lawrence of Arabia, part of Burton’s enduring appeal is the mystery and
hints of scandal around his person exploration of sexual practices and his
willingness to defy the prudery of his era. My favorite book about him is The Devil Drives: A Life of Sir Richard
Burton, by Fawn M. Brodie.
ALDOUS HUXLEY
Whereas
many adventurers explore the outer world, Aldous Huxley was more interested in
exploring the interior world. Aldous
Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer
and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. He spent
the later part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from
1937 until his death in 1963. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and
wide-ranging output of essays,
he also published short stories, poetry, travel writing, and film stories and
scripts.
By
the end of his life Huxley was considered, in some academic circles, a leader
of modern thought and an intellectual of the highest rank.
GRAHAM GREENE
Henry Graham Greene OM,
CH
(2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works
explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world. Greene
was notable for his ability to combine serious literary acclaim with widespread
popularity.
As a novelist he wove the characters he met and the places where he lived into
the fabric of his novels.
Greene suffered
from bipolar
disorder,[2]
which had a profound effect on his writing and personal life. In a letter to
his wife Vivien he told her that he had "a character profoundly
antagonistic to ordinary domestic life", and that "unfortunately, the
disease is also one's material”
WANT TO JOIN OUR GALLERY OF
ADVENTURERS?
Send
me a photo of yourself holding your League
of Adventurers membership card (which I’ll send you upon request---just
send me your name and postal address and one line of self-description) and
I’ll add it! Send it to [email protected]
The four guidelines for brainstorming effectively are:
Quantity: generate lots and lots and lots of ideas!
No judging: if you judge each idea as it comes up, you stop the flow. Instead, have the brainstorming and the evaluation phases be separate.
Write everything down: if you write down some ideas but not others, you're already judging.
Build on other people's ideas: there's nothing totally new and sometimes just a little change in an existing idea is a breakthrough.
If you'd like to have a poster of these guidelines, here it is: