"Creative Ideas Aren't Enough—You Need the Courage to Act On Them."

 

IDEO founder David Kelley, and his brother Tom Kelley have written Creative Confidence : an inspiring book that details the power of unleashing the creative potential that lies within each of us. Former intern Hannah Rubin interviewed Tom about how creative confidence can change your life: 

Hannah: Firstly, what is Creative Confidence? And how does it relate to the average person?

Tom Kelley: Creative confidence is the natural human ability to come up with breakthrough ideas and the courage to act on them. We all have more creative potential waiting to be released. Since everyone was creative at some point in their lives (consider kindergarten), the challenge is more about unlocking creative potential than generating it from scratch.

When people become confident in their own creative ability, it changes everything. Think about how much more positive your life is when you see yourself as a creative person. When you have creative confidence, you can change things. You can do what you set out to do.

You’ve mentioned your ideas about the difference between creativity and talent. Tell us more:

Tom: When people say ‘I’m not creative,’ in many cases it comes from the misperception that “real creativity” just comes naturally—without any effort. Yet no one, including Mozart, sat down at the piano the first day and wrote sonatas. Right? Even to be in the medium range of expressing your piano abilities takes work. There’s technique to it. There’s process. There’s a methodology that you have to practice.

Creative ideas aren’t enough—you also need the courage to act on them. Be brave. Be persistent. The world needs your creative confidence.

How do you think National Novel Writing Month ties into your project to get people to feel more confident creatively?

Tom: Creative confidence is like a muscle—it can be strengthened and nurtured through effort and practice. In my experience, the best way to do that is through action, one step at a time.

NaNoWriMo strengthens creative confidence, because it enables people to surprise themselves with how creative they really are.

What are some other sorts of things that people can do to recharge the creative parts of themselves that don’t often get to see the sunlight?

Tom: A good portion of the book’s message is to do more exploring. Just constantly try new things in a low-risk way. Or look for ways to reframe a problem that you’re working on, ways it might be solved in a different or a better way. Some of your experiments aren’t going to work—like trial and error. But be in the mode of ‘I’m the kind of person that tries stuff, because in the process I discover ideas that work and succeed and blossom and grow.’

— Hannah