Creativity is a critical skill today. Both persistent problems and new problems require innovative solutions.

You’re probably familiar with the old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed – try, try again.” It’s not that hard to come up with a solution.

The second one is harder; the third even more difficult. In order to “try, try again”, you have to be able to think creatively.

Through the eyes of a child

Why is it that many people just don’t seem to be creative? Is it a natural ability or is it an acquired skill? Here’s one expert’s answer:

“When children are very young, they all express creativity, but by the end of the first grade, very few do so,” says Robert Epstein, former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today and author of The Big Book of Creativity Games.

So how do you become more creative? Go back to kindergarten!

Improve your creative thinking skills by allowing yourself to daydream. Don’t force yourself to stay on task.

Ask questions, even if they seem silly. Have you ever grown tired of the incessant “Why” question by a toddler?

Drive people crazy! Act like a toddler again. Ask “Why.”

But don’t stop there. Take a note from Robert Kennedy and ask, “Why not?” Then let your imagination run wild!

Albert Einstein, the person most branded with intelligence, recognized that it was much less important than imagination.

So pour yourself a glass of milk. Pull out a few cookies. Then think like a kid!

Note: The quote above comes from a great article on creativity. It has to be purchased. It’s long. But it’s a great read so we highly recommend it to you.

A child learns a lesson in business

Bill Rosenberg was nine-years old. He often tagged along to work with his dad, who owned a grocery store in Boston.

One hot summer day, Bill’s dad made the boy responsible for selling watermelons. If the nine-year old didn’t sell them, they would go bad.

Bill set up a stand in front of the store. He stood there. And stood there. And stood there.

People weren’t buying! The young man realized he needed to get creative.

He positioned himself by the streetcar stop. He barked out, “Bring a watermelon home! Surprise your family!”

People were impressed with the boy’s enthusiasm. Before long, all the watermelons were gone. Bill was a BIGG success!

What happened to Bill Rosenberg? He went on to start Dunkin’ Donuts, a chain that sells over $5 billion of food and coffee through its nearly 9,000 stores. Source: Time to Make the Donuts, William Rosenberg

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Warning – this post is not for young kids.

Not because we’re going to use four-letter words.
Not because we’re going to describe any gruesome event in graphic detail.

There’s another reason today’s show isn’t for the ears of kids.

We’re going to talk about Santa Claus.
So this is for adults only.

Listen to this post! Click a player to hear George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast!


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Kids have an advantage. They still believe in Santa Claus.

As we get older, and presumably wiser, we come to realize that Santa is a myth.

Jolly Old St. Nick is just a fable, weaved by parents for generations.

Santa is just a fictional character. Part of the land of make believe. A fairy tale. A figment of our imagination.

Imagination. Kids have it in abundance.

But then we mature. We become practical. We need proof. Logic prevails.

But Albert Einstein knew better. The man we associate with genius had this to say about imagination:

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

We simply can’t explain everything.
There isn’t a rational reasoning for everything.
To think you can is to miss part of the joy of living.
The unknown.
Embracing the things we can’t explain.
Accepting the miracles in everyday life.

Because Albert Einstein also said:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.”

Albert Einstein believed in miracles. Albert Einstein believed in Santa Claus.

And Santa Claus knows about miracles.

The miracle of jolliness

You can be miserable. Or you can be jolly. Either way, you’ll get more of the same.

Misery loves company. Santa knows that jolliness does too. It’s your choice.

The miracle of giving

Do you ever hear about Santa receiving? No, we hear about him giving. What does Santa know?

He knows that giving leads to miracles – from physical health to emotional well-being and more.

The miracle of Christmas

We won’t get into the original story of Christmas here. We’re talking about the miracle that Santa sees in people’s hearts this time of year.

People are friendlier. They show that they care more.

Imagine the miracles that would happen if we kept this spirit alive year round!

The miracle of you

You are the greatest miracle in the world. You may not feel like it some days. But you are.

You are here to do something special. It may be for one other person. It may be for the whole world.

By believing in Santa Claus, you open the door to new possibilities. Possibilities that only you can imagine. Possibilities that only you can achieve. Possibilities that lead to BIGG success!

What miracles do you see?

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Creativity. Innovation, the new buzz word. The spark of genius. Vision.

Creativity is a necessary talent if you want to be a BIGG success today.

Creativity is adored. We celebrate our most creative people.

But creativity is overrated.

What is creativity?

Creativity solves problems. As Albert Einstein said, “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them”.

Creativity is the ability to see things that aren’t there.

Creativity is dispassionate. It is a tool. It can be used for evil or for good.

Creativity is fun. But creativity by itself is useless.

Moving beyond creativity

We talk with a lot of will-be entrepreneurs day-to-day about starting a business. They have a great idea.

But in many cases, that’s as far as it goes. The idea is a small part of a successful small business.

You have to take action. You have to develop a plan. You have to execute.

Otherwise, creativity is wasted.

The problem with acting on your creativity

We adore creativity. But we are often scared to act upon it.

It may require change. Many people are afraid of change.

It may mean doing something new. Most people prefer the old.

It may mean taking a risk. A lot of people try to avoid all risk.

When you share your idea with someone, they may not get it.

They may not share your enthusiasm.

They may even make fun of you.

If you execute upon your idea, you may fail.

People may laugh at you.

They may say, “Told you so.”

So we do nothing. We don’t act.

We just create. It’s creativity without the activity.

Creativity occurs when activity is added to the creation. The intangible become tangible. It leads to BIGG success!

Image in this post from arte ram

We’ve all heard about women’s intuition. We’re told that women rely more on their feelings when they make decisions. They’re more emotional. But women certainly use logic to make decisions as well. Men reason more because they like to be able to prove their point. Supposedly, they’re more argumentative. But that doesn’t mean they don’t use their intuition.

We value logic today, perhaps to an extreme. Few people, except the most successful, will admit to using their gut instincts to make decisions. Once successful, people like Oprah Winfrey and Donald Trump proudly proclaim that their hunches were partially responsible for their bigg success.

So, guys, it’s okay to admit that you use intuition. Don’t see it as a bad thing. Know when to use it and how.

Which type of decision-maker are you?
Gerd Gigerenzer, a social psychologist at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, recently wrote a book, Gut Feelings. He is a pioneer in research on intuition. He says there are two kinds of decision-makers:

• “Maximizers” have to know all of the facts before they decide.

• “Satisficers” only need to be “satisfied they have enough information to suffice” before they make a decision.

Gigerenzer’s research shows that you can often make better decisions with less information. Think of the time that saves you! But he does has skeptics within his field.

Sometimes the data lies
Steve McKee wrote an article recently for Business Week, entitled Beware the Advertising Pretest. He mentions a number of advertising campaigns that didn’t test well during market research. For example, if the advertisers hadn’t gone with their gut, against all the evidence, we never would have “Got Milk?”!

When should you satisfice?

• The more familiar you are with the situation, the more likely you can satisfice.

• The less the decision will significantly affect your life, the more likely you can satisfice.

• Ask yourself, “Who is affected by my decision?” If the answer is “you”, then satisfice. If it involves others, you may want to err on the side of research.

Intuition and the magic 8-ball
Here’s a technique to try the next time you have a decision to make. Do all the analysis you want. Then frame a “yes” or “no” question. Shake your magic 8-ball (or flip a coin). How do you feel about the answer? That’s your intuition at work! This simple exercise helps you start to understand how your intuition plays in to your decision-making.

Our quote today is by Albert Einstein, considered one of most intelligent people ever.

“The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There
comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will,
the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why.”

Don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.

Next time, we’ll revisit visualizing the life you want. We challenged you to answer the question, “If neither time nor money was an issue, how would you spend your time and your money?” We’re ready to take it to the next level – live your dream with a purpose.

Until then, here’s to your big success!