Creativity plays an important role in both the work of the artist and the entrepreneur. Like the artistic process, the entrepreneurial process requires creativity and fresh, uncluttered channels of thinking but sometimes you may wonder what to do when your creative energies seemed blocked or stymied. A painter will stare vacantly at a blank canvas and a box full of paints with no vision while an entrepreneur may scratch his head struggling for the right approach to overcome a business hurdle. A creative block occurs when your mind is not functioning freely at its most optimal or efficient level. You are no longer excited by your usual patterns of doing things and feel your talents are stale.
Despite having confidence in your abilities, you may get down when your ideas are not yielding the spectacular results for which you desire. Mr. John Nelson, an entrepreneur and artist, has developed a method for overcoming his creative blocks. When Mr. Nelson gets a creative block, he doesn't allow himself to succumb to the feelings of defeat that generally envelope one in an ebb of creative thought. Mr. Nelson first gives his mind a rest, perhaps a vacation to Jamaica or a movie marathon weekend, something to distract his mind from obsessing over his "block" and inability to move forward.
Once Nelson feels rejuvenated, he then goes inside of himself and works his way out. He accomplishes this by getting inside his mind and finding a challenge. Mr. Nelson challenges himself by picking something hard to do. Usually, he sketches a set of drawings and concepts related to human hands. According to Mr. Nelson, drawing human hands is very difficult. So, the challenge of accomplishing this task is his method of working his way out of a creative block by focusing his talents and energies on a challenging task. As he struggles with a new set of challenges, he suddenly 're-discovers' his lost inspiration and finds the energy to get going again. Mr. Nelson reminds us there is always something out there beckoning in the distance to help us work through our creative block to renewed energy and fresh thought (If you are at a loss, I would propose volunteering with a local non-profit or school to work with underprivileged children). Sometimes we take for granted our talents, failing to nurture them. Consequently, things become so automatic that our brains become lazy and stifled by routine. We are no longer challenged by our work, but in the process of rising to a challenge, we can bring our minds back on course, unleash our creative thinking and reap even greater success and joy with a renewed perspective.
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