Page 150 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

CHAPTER 13

Aids to Creativity

Many people think that to be creative requires active participation in
the creative process, actively thinking of new ideas. And in the end,
yes, thinking of new ideas is a big part of creativity. But what stimu-
lates creativity, what creates the canvas for creativity, is understanding
where the need for creativity lies.

OBSERVATION

Of course, this is not an original concept; this is how Leonardo da
Vinci thought about creativeness. He felt as though observation was
the foundation of his creativeness. And if you study the life of da Vinci,
you’ll find that observation was key to many of his accomplishments.
He looked at birds, observed, and wondered, “How do they fly?” He
didn’t know how they flew. But his wonderment led to some of the ear-
liest thinking about the concept of manned flight.
I still don’t know how birds fly, and I’ve observed birds a thousand
times or more. But I’ve never observed them with a sense of wonder like
da Vinci. Never observed and allowed myself to go to the place that I
didn’t know. Most of us observe and simply stop at what we know—
“Oh, there are birds flying,” as opposed to, “How do they do that?”
Da Vinci looked at fish and wondered, “How do they swim?” His
wonderment there led to the thinking behind the development of the
submarine.

Observe. Don’t just take things at face value. Observe and wonder.
“This is how it is.... How might it be done better?”