“You’ve heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In a nutshell, as humans, our basic needs are: Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem and Self-Actualization. To read more, go here.

Creative people, those who are making things – books, businesses, design, art – have additional needs. Recognizing these needs and making sure they are met are essential to applied creativity.

When we don’t acknowledge our needs, we’re allowing life to dictate our experience. Knowing your needs and being willing to take action to make sure they are met will make the already challenging work of creating much easier.”

Read this article from Journey JuJu.

“A viral video has been doing the rounds. It’s been made by a bed company, Bensons for Beds, based in Cheshire.

It’s billed as an attempt to break the word record for mattress dominoes. It’s had about 600k viewings already. It’s a simple idea well executed. And actually we learn rather a lot about the company in question from what at first glance seems like a rather whimsical vid.”

Read rest of article from BT Tradespace.

“About a month ago, we posed a query to get the creative community talking, and boy did it work! With the discussion’s second installment we turned a wondering eye towards the places that the creative community turns to fuel their inspirational fires. Where we work, where we go, where ever we find ourselves regularly that feeds that desire to design. Seeing the pivotal role that the environs we are enveloped in play in the creative drive that keeps us all moving, helps us to identify what elements we can use to build more of these havens for our creative mojo massages.”

Read this article from Fuel Your Creativity.

“Last week I put forward some thoughts and theories on creativity and art, and this week I am putting forth some practical suggestions for you to become more creative. I always hear people who are afraid of doing art say, “I can’t even draw a straight line!” I say in response, “ Good, that’s a great beginning!”

Also I would like to say to those great non-visual artists out there that I think that a lot of these ideas will apply to you in your art, too.

I made an important distinction last week about creativity. I said that there is a difference between “deep” and “wide” creativity. Deep creativity is about creative intensity, and wide creativity is about madly experimenting and being more prolific. They are of course related, but deep creativity is hard to actually try for or even to catch in view. It is almost a grace that comes when you just work/play hard.

Here’s some suggestions for working more creatively. Adapt them as you will. They are not in any type of hierarchy of importance.”

Read this article from The Weekender.

“It is arrogant to think there are creative people and non-creative people. Each of us is creative.

Each time I write a blog post, or a story, or even a business plan, I feel like it is almost a miracle; that we can create something from nothing is part us and part magic. Creativity is a gift, but each of us has it. It’s what makes us human.

Some of us are lucky enough to have lives that make space for more creativity. Some are not so fortunate. I can tell you that I really struggled to do anything creative when I had young kids and no money and worried about rent and food all the time. And now, when I have my own company, and seven people who work hard to execute on the company vision, I feel huge ability to be creative solving business problems.

But I don’t think I am more creative than anyone or less creative.”

Read this article from Penelope Trunk.

“Do you have “right brain smarts,” another term for “creative thinking”?

“Creating” can be synonymous with “inventing.” According to BNET Business Dictionary, “Creativity involves new and unique ideas, not in practice earlier. Creative thinking is thinking out of the box.”

We usually think of creative people as being musicians, artists, dancers, stylists, designers, athletes, inventors, and actors.”

Read this article from Examiner.

“Resources are scarce for a lot of people right now due to the current state of the economy; however, there’s no limit to our resourcefulness. Let Tony Robbins and Harry Houdini show you how to be more resourceful and embrace your limitations as you go after your dreams by reading the article below.”

Read this article from Abundance Blog.

Read this list of 10 Blogs to Stimulate Your Creativity from Roger von Oech

“What does it look like to live a creative life? This is a question I’ve been wrestling with the past few days. I’ve felt somewhat stuck recently. You know the saying, “When it rains, it pours”? That’s been the picture of my life recently, and between everything I’m working through, I’ve managed to find myself at an unfortunate stopping point. And I don’t want to stay here.

So, in working through a lot of stuff, I’ve discovered a dearth of creativity in my life. Which is strange, coming from a writer and musician who adores cooking and really wishes she could draw more than a stick figure. But I think it’s a deeper issue than that.”

Read this article from Lynn Renee Maxcy.

Read this article from Examiner.com

“Creativity under pressure is just one of the fascinating aspects of our human minds. It is based on our capacity to produce under imposed demands or expectations.”