The world needs your creativity, imagination, and contribution

A reflective exercise bridging your heart’s desires and your mind’s adventures

As the job markets are being transformed by Covid-19 and the bigger technological shifts triggered by artificial intelligence, many professionals are worried about their future job prospects.

In times of such uncertainty, imagination and creativity are your biggest assets. They will help you navigate uncharted territories. They will also enable you to think differently and create your own creative assets.

Research suggests that jobs that require creativity are less susceptible to automation and machine learning.

The things that make us uniquely human, weird, and creative suddenly have become our biggest asset — precisely because these cannot be replicated by machines, robots, and algorithms.

This is why industries built on imagination and creativity have recently become the fastest growing sectors throughout the world. For example, creative sectors in Britain have become more valuable (£87 billion a year) than car, oil, gas, aerospace and life sciences sectors combined. 1 in every 11 employees now work in creative sectors and roles — and this proportion is bound to increase even faster.

Most innovative and cutting edge tech sectors including AI, AR, VR, 5G, 3D printing, animation, computer games, and film require high levels of creativity on a daily basis.

Think about it. Some of the most valuable brands in the world are all about imagination: Pokemon, Harry Potter, Star Wars, James Bond, Marvel, Barbie, Superman, Game of Thrones, Hello Kitty, Disney, Pixar… All are entirely built on the power of imagination.

In the imagination era we live in, each of us must develop ourselves as creative artists and entrepreneurs.

We need to rethink ourselves as creative leaders and architects of the future. We should exploit the extraordinary opportunities presented to us by the creative and digital sectors.

Creativity and imagination are the greatest assets we can develop. They are boundless. The more we create and use our imagination, the more it expands infinitely.

How do we tap into our creativity?

I have written a set of articles on this topic. Together, these articles provide you a lot of creativity exercises and imagination experiments you can apply in your life.

Check out the collection of these exercises below:

A Digital Collection of Creativity Exercises

We are all creators

We are all creators and designers in our lives.

We create our houses, our careers, our lives, our workspaces, our networks, and our businesses.

We also create performances, relationships, projects, positive experiences, and artwork.

We need to embrace and reclaim our childhood creativity to be more playful in our creations.

Our lives are not just about our daily chores, doing the dishes, helping kids’ homework, shopping groceries, and attending meetings. Even during these mundane tasks, we can continue to use our imagination. We can daydream. We can create fresh ideas. We can connect unrelated things. We can think about what we are drawn to create. We can imagine the possibilities to bring out our muse.

Perhaps we will create through cooking, gardening, loving, laughing, improvising, drawing, doodling, singing, writing, or dancing.

Whenever we are about to create something new, we will feel some resistance. We need to hang in there and allow ourselves to experiment and mess around. We need play in our lives as much as oxygen. Wright brothers were messing around when they invented flying. Einstein was daydreaming when he created the relativity theory. Sir Dyson was experimenting when he invented his vacuum cleaner.

So, ask yourself: What will you be playing with? How will you mess around and use your creativity?

Here are some ideas for inspiration.

Inspiring Lives: Create your own things and contribute to the world

Below, I have put together a list of videos on inspiring individuals who followed up on their dreams, hobbies, passions, crazy ideas, and creative activities.

This guy loves drawing cats and he turned it into a business:

This is another guy who invented a new scrub:

Here is an origami master who has dedicated his life to origami:

This gang loves dancing and the history of dancing:

Sara Blakely invented Spanks and became a wildly successful entrepreneur:

Jiro Ono’s passion was sushi:

Iris Apfel loved designing clothes and accessories:

Now, it is your turn.

How will you use your creativity?

What will you bring to the world?

Exercise: Brainstorm on your creative contribution to the world

Please look at the doodle poster below.

How will you act on these?

Please create at least 10 ideas covering these fields.

Can you connect some of these ideas?

Can you create some passion or imagination projects that will excite you?

Can you build on your unique strengths, skills, and interests?

What are you curious about?

What are some fresh, original, and exciting things you can bring to the world?

Please brainstorm about these questions and make a list of all your ideas.

Write down whatever comes to you without filtering. You can also create concept maps, doodles, or sketches.

Include your dreams, visions, and wishes you would like to realize.

Dump your brain until you record everything.

As a result of this exercise, what did you learn?

Did you realize anything that surprised you?

How will you build a system of creating your own creative assets?

What are the action points that you will carry forward?

Remember: You are creative. You have a lot of unique gifts and talents you can share with the world. The world needs your creative spirit and expression. Get in touch with your creative side. Start messing around and do not judge your work. Enjoy the process and tap into your heart and soul. Finally, share your creations with the world!

Towards a creative life full of play and imagination,

Sincerely;

Fahri

Fahri Karakas is the author of the Self-making Studio. You can explore more here.