You’ve heard the terms “right brain thinker” and “left brain thinker” before, and have probably classified yourself as one of the two. In a nutshell, left-brain thinkers tend to be more technical and better with numbers, while right-brain thinkers tend to be more creative. They are the inventors, storytellers, and designers. If you are interested in getting your right-brain cranking, pick up a copy of “A Whole New Mind,” by Daniel Pink. It’s a great motivator, and a very interesting book that will change the way you look at things and approach business and life. Here are some tips that are featured in the book to get your right-brain juices flowing, so you can unleash your creativity for whatever project you’ve been wanting to start:
Take advice from the pros. Karim Rashid, an incredible and versatile designer who Pink interviewed, offered up some key points when thinking about design:
*Before giving birth to anything physical, ask yourself if you have created an original idea, an original concept, if there is any real value in what you disseminate.
*Know everything about the history of your profession and then forget it all when you design something new.
*Never say “I could have done that” because you didn’t.
*Consume experiences, not things.
*Normal is not good. <—(Phew! There’s a relief.)
*There are three types of beings – those who create culture, those who buy culture, and those who don’t give a shit about culture. Move between the first two.
*Think extensively, not intensively.
*Experience is the most important part of living, and the exchange of ideas and human contact is all life really is. Space and objects can encourage increased experiences of distract from our experience.
*Here and now is all we got.
Change up your routine. Hit the newsstand and grab ten magazines you’d normally never pick up. It doesn’t matter what exactly they are about, just make sure it’s something that you have no interest in or have not noticed before. Make sure you choose at least five, and then read each from cover to cover. This exercise alone will open your eyes to new experiences, and in turn will open up creative windows in your mind. As you go, make “big picture” connections to your own life or work.
Brainstorm. Don’t shoot yourself down right away. Instead, let wild ideas be thought out and write everything down on paper. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s crazy or could never work. It is often the greatest ideas that are born from this type of brainstorming.
Hopefully this will help you clear the tumbleweeds from your right brain and get you moving on that new idea. Have anything more to add?
