Take a cue from Vonnegut— create something for yourself

Novelist Kurt Vonnegut once wrote a letter to a class of young students, urging each of them to create a six-line poem about anything—but to keep it a secret

He told them that once they competed their poems, they should tear them up and toss them in the trash.

"You will find you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem," he wrote. "You have learned a lot more about what's inside you and have made your soul grow."

While social distancing or sheltering in place, give Vonnegut's advice a whirl. Take some time to create something just for yourself. A poem. Song. Sketch. Painting. Story. Essay. New recipe. Small garden. Face mask. Whatever.

Do it just for yourself. You can ultimately decide whether to keep it, trash it or share it. But while doing it, don't worry about what the world might say or think.

Just secretly do it. With wild abandon.

The above Vonnegut story comes from my newly released book, "Creative Zing!" It's my fourth book, and it quickly shows readers ways to generate more and better ideas—and how to present and sell those ideas to decision makers.

SAM HARRISON is a speaker, author and coach on creativity-related topics and on presentation skills. You can reach him at www.zingzone.com