Posted By edotscott on November 18, 2009

“Pick something that you love and do it like a bad habit for ten years, and someone will want a piece of it.”

TEDx Columbus wasted no time throwing down the gauntlet. The challenge above was posed by Matt Slaybaugh, the first of eight live presenters at last month’s TEDx Columbus event. The array of topics at the event ranged from atomic weapons to design through gaming to polymers creating solar energy (I literally went to bed with visions of polymers dancing in my head). Despite how absolutely contrary these concepts may seem placed side-by-side, the theme that exists in all TED events was clearly present at the Columbus forum–the courage to challenge, design and create.

A detailed description of the TED concept–Technology, Entertainment and Design as “Ideas worth spreading”–can be found here. Basically TED is an annual gathering of movers and shakers who are tasked with creating an 18 minute presentation on a topic that they consider their personal expertise or fascination. If you’ve ever seen Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture: Achieving your childhood dreams,” TED talks are essentially painted with the same passionate, urgent colors–but each presenter at TED has less than 18 minutes to preach their gospel.

I was overwhelmed by the novelty of some of the concepts presented. How did anyone ever imagine that a dance could be visualized as a numeric code? Who thought that learning how to create a game could mirror the same design process for building a community? And, most importantly, who are these people with the courage to conceptualize extraordinary things and make them a reality?

Permission to fail

Between the deliverables I have to get to my supervisor before the clock hits 5 and the fifty-something e-mails and phone calls that need returned, sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the work day to truly be creative. Sure, when I get home I can paint, write or daydream to my heart’s desire, but there’s something to be said for allowing space in your workday to relinquish control to your imagination.

Being creative at work is absolutely frightening. I remember bursting into a colleague’s office with a concept for a new project’s slogan and thinking it was monumental, and then slowly watching the color drain from his face as he stared at me with disinterest. Having the courage to create is having the courage to fail, miserably, especially if you are sharing your ideas with people you respect. Slowly, one blunder at a time, we inch closer to the spectacular, but that’s difficult to remember when most jobs require you to succeed every, every time.

Permission to create

Someone I turn to for guidance in my quest to increase the range of motion in my imagination is Artie Isaac, a man who has more vigor for life in his pinky finger than I do in my entire body. It’s pretty clear why you would turn to Artie for advice concerning creativity in a professional or personal capacity when you review his mind-boggling accomplishments to-date here.

This past spring, Artie taught a course at The Ohio State University called Personal Creativity and Innovation. Sometimes Artie pares down this information into an interactive presentation for businesses, and my workplace had the privilege of acquiring him to speak at one of our corporate retreats. I absolutely loved his presentation. The message from Artie that changed the way I approach my writing was his reminder that everyone has their own creative process, and that’s okay. You don’t have to go to a coffee shop with your laptop and zone out with a latté and your earbuds. Jump up and down, meditate, drink three raw eggs, whatever it takes–there’s no wrong way to enter your creative space, as long as it works for you. (For more of Artie’s take on creativity and ethics, check out his blog here.)

I wrote Artie a few days after the seminar to thank him for inspiring me and giving myself permission to be creative. Permission. Like I needed permission to do something that wasn’t on my to-do list for the day. In a workplace setting, this kind of freedom isn’t always available. But as Artie pointed out to us, it only takes a moment (or was it Jerry Herman) for something spectacular to begin stirring.

Permission granted

During the workday, taking five minutes to ignore e-mail and take a stroll around your office to walk with your thoughts might be all that you need to stimulate your imagination. My colleagues and I call this “the lap,” as in, “I need some fresh air, I’m doing a lap.” Maybe you don’t have five minutes, but maybe you have a second to close your eyes and take a deep breath. (You had time to read this blog post, didn’t you?) Sometimes it’s only a matter of stepping away from your desk and stretching, or 14) looking through the wrong end of the telescope (derived from “23 ways to fuel your imagination,” compiled by Young Isaac, now owned by People To My Site).

TEDx Columbus was a fantastic showcase of the creative minds that are bubbling in our city. It’s been almost a month since the event and I’m still walking with my thoughts from that evening. What does the creative process look like for these eight speakers? How I can creatively integrate my personal interests into the work I do every day? Am I brave enough to share a piece of something I’ve been intimately dedicated to outside of work with my colleagues? (Aren’t I kind of doing that right now?) Is there something I’ve been doing like a bad habit for ten years that someone wants a piece of? I don’t know… not yet. But adding creativity to my to-do list sounds like a step in the right direction.

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