We are ALL CREATIVE

You don’t have to wear a black turtleneck and jeans to be creative.

I acknowledge that it might not seem like the CEO of an accounting firm would be an expert on creativity, but that’s half the problem in my view. Creativity is a part of all of us.

The number one way in the Western world today to make a difference and to impact at scale is to build a business. Obviously here on LinkedIn, I don’t think there’ll be a lot of dissent towards that thought. Now building a business is inherently a creative act. To bring into being something that didn't previously exist, to shepherd that idea through trials and tribulations, that is creativity.

Can somebody really tell me that Mark Zuckerberg is not a creative or that Bill Gates is not a creative? These people have built these enormous businesses that have made global impacts. If they choose to wear a black turtleneck, jeans and a pair of New Balance, maybe they're more identifiable as creative, but maybe they wear a suit and tie and still they're very creative people. 

You can be a serious person that turns up on time to a meeting, and you can also bring something creative to that meeting regardless of whether you're wearing jeans or a tie. Creativity is a part of all of us. 

My little seven year old girl when she goes to school or is at home playing, she is constantly creating something out of nothing. I’m sure we all had that wild imagination of creativity through our childhood. So what happens? Are we destined to all become bland, miserable bastards? I don't think so. I think that we're taught or we take on the message that that part of us should just be shut down and forgotten when the reality is that that is very important to every part of your life.

So be creative. Don't call other people uncreative just because you’ve been too closed-minded to recognise the creative genius that lives in every person that you'll meet today. Because once you do recognise this, it’ll make a massive difference to both your business, and your life.