How to Become a Man of Genius

By: Antony Mosley
http://professionalsales411.blogspot.com

No, not one of the Men of Genius in the Bud Light commercials (although I like them very much). I want you to become a man, woman or child of genius by taking a brief look at your true capacity for creativity. You see, many have the misconception that only a select few are able to unleash a steady flow of creative and genius ideas. That is not true at all.

Creativity is very much like a muscle that needs to be exercised in order to consistently produce great results. If you don't practice harnessing creative thinking, this skill will atrophy into inexistence. Continue working on it, and this skill will soon come to you in a snap. Of course, this applies to women and children, too.

So would you like to know how to unleash your creative thinking? Well, the first thing is to become a human leech. No, I’m not talking about just sucking the blood out of every living thing around. I’m saying that you should take in as much knowledge and learning as possible. Read everything available; good news as well as bad news, self improvement, science, and poetry just to name a few.

Keep your mind open to the infinite possibilities of the universe. The more you know, the more you'll want to know, and the more your faculty of wonder will be exercised. Prepare to be amazed at little facts that add more and more bits of color to your life.

Focus on a creative activity everyday. Yes, it's an effort. Even doodling is a creative activity. Don't let anything hinder you. Mindlessness may be a creative activity, but for people who are just starting out to unleash a little bit of creative thinking in their lives, it is helpful and encouraging to have concrete evidence, that, "hey, what I'm doing is getting somewhere."

So why don't you try it? Practice drawing for a couple of minutes each day. Bring out your old camera and start snapping photos like crazy. Keep a journal and make a point to write in it regularly.

Another cool idea is to write by describing something with your five senses. Try to avoid vague adjectives like "marvelous," "amazing," and "delicious." Before you know it, you'll have built yourself a tiny portfolio, and you'll be amazed at the growth you've undertaken after amassing all those works of art. Who knows, you might actually take to liking those things you do everyday. Pretty soon those things will become a part of you and you'll be addicted to these creative exercises.

Think out of the box -- or don't. Sometimes, constraints are actually a good thing. Limitations discipline you to work within your means. It enables you to be more resourceful. Creative freedom is great, but limitations enforce discipline.

Try something new every day and let your experiences broaden your perspective. Explore a new district in your neighborhood. Spend an afternoon in a museum to which you've never been before. Chat with someone on the bus. Open up to the people around you. As you thrust yourself out of your comfort zone more and more each day, your sense of adventure grows and so does your zest for life.

Think about it: When was the last time you did something for the first time? If it's been a while, you've been missing out on a whole lot of experiences that could have added to your growth, emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually. Why not try something new today? Not only will you learn, but you will also have plenty of stories to share, enabling you to practice your storytelling skills and making you the life of the party.

Embrace insanity. No, not to the point of practically admitting yourself to the mental ward. As John Russell once said, "Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting." Exactly! Every creative thought was once deemed insanity by other "normal" people at one time or another. Fortunately, that didn't stop the creative geniuses from standing by their ideas. The thing is, sanity or being normal confines people to think... well, normally. Within limits, creativity is essentially breaking through barriers.

I'm not saying that you should develop a creative personality that might go haywire. A good example of a creative personality would be James Joyce, who wrote "Dubliners" with beetle juice for an intense fear of ink, or Albert Einstein, who thought his cat was a spy sent by his rival (or in thinking creatively in this case, the term could probably be "arch nemesis.")

And of course, one of my favorite creative thinking examples is the Bud Light Real Men of Geniusseries of commercials. It's important to have fun with your creativity, and that your creativity not detach you from the real world completely. In fact, you can speed up your creative juices by spending more time with people that are interested in self improvement and creative thinking.

I hope this article has inspired you to start thinking creatively. If you follow these steps, pretty soon you'll be living a life full of interesting adventures. Unleashing your creative thinking will bring about a new zest for living.
-------------------
About the Author: Antony Mosley is a technical writer and part time sales professional. Visit his sales training blog at http://professionalsales411.blogspot.com/. Feel free to bookmark the blog, and redistribute any article you would like, as long as the About area and links are included in your publication.