Creative Thinking Hub

Creative thinking expert Jim Connolly, shares tips & resources to help you think more creatively.

Creativity: Do it now!

Updated June 2014

If you want to be more creative, more often, this quote from Stephen King is a great starting point:

“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work!”

Be your own muse

Don’t wait for creativity to appear… command it to appear. Decide that it’s time to create and then get to work.

If you wait for the perfect time, you will seldom create anything.

Creativity: It’s not about the tools

Updated June 2014

Photo: Custom USB
Photo: Custom USB

If you want to improve the quality and quantity of your creative output, I may be able to save you a huge amount of time and money.

The most creative minds in history

When we study the most creative minds in history, we find that they have one thing in common, which is indisputable. Einstein, Socrates, Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Beethoven… none of them used the technology, which people today think of as essential to the creative process.

  • When John Lennon was writing lyrics, he used a pencil and paper. Would his songs have been better if he’d used a writing app instead? I doubt it.
  • Would Andy Warhol have been more creative, if he’d used an ultra-high resolution monitor? I don’t believe so.
  • Would the books of Hemingway or Melville have been more compelling, if they’d written them using a MacBook Pro? No. It’s not about the tools.

Written on the back of a flyer

The most successful project I ever launched was a marketing blog. I got the idea for it in 2008, after a long walk in Sherwood Forest. I bought a pencil from one of the gift shops and started scribbling my ideas down on the back of a discarded flyer. It was a series of bullet points, which were the core ideas that allowed me to produce a unique type of blog.

The blog went on to become one of the world’s most popular marketing sites, even though it was conceived on the back of a scrap of paper. It’s not about the tools.

Technology helps

I’m a huge fan of technology, both new and old. My studio contains a few Mac’s, lots of pens and pencils, stacks of recycled paper and a shelf full of notebooks I have written in over the years. The thing is, these tools are not the source of creativity. They are simply things I use, to get an idea out of my head or published. It’s not about the tools.

In short: We are never one amazing app or gadget away from becoming a creative powerhouse. The tool we need to sharpen, feed and nurture, is our mind!

Audio: Dylan Thomas in New York

Updated July 2015

Here is a superb audio presentation by the BBC, covering Dylan Thomas in New York. It was a very different setting for the Welsh genius.

Listen to the sounds of Thomas’ New York and hear the great poet himself, read from Under Milk Wood, in this 4 and a half minute piece.

Thanks to the BBC for making this available for resharing.

For more information on Dylan Thomas, his life and his work, check out the official Dylan Thomas website.

Art that stands the test of time

Updated May 2014

The very best art doesn’t follow the latest trends. It isn’t diluted, by having the fashion of the day injected into it, to gain wider acceptance. It stands the test of time.

If you want your art to lose relevance quickly, follow the current fashion.

If you want your art to carry on making a difference, don’t follow anything. Lead!

The Magnetic Organization System

Updated May 2014

Magnetic Organization System
Magnetic Organization System

Here’s a wonderfully designed answer to a common, frustrating problem.

If you find yourself regularly having to hunt around your desk for cables, this could be just what you need: The MOS (Magnetic Organization System).

As the name suggests, this magnetic device sticks to your desk or wall and allows you to stick your magnetic cable ends to it.

You can find out more at MosOrganizer.com.