The Tools: Transform your problems into courage, confidence, and creativity. A Book Review by Graduate Student Ian Rosenfeldt.

I came across The Tools in the Cultural Studies section of the bookstore. After flipping through, it looked appealing enough to investigate. The premise is straightforward - outlining five tools to be used to develop one’s self actualization. It occurred to me that there are plenty of cognitive tools to guide creative thinking and yet I hadn’t come across many whose purpose was to guide our thoughts so as to optimize our mindset for creative thinking. How do we suspend judgement? How do we accept opinions even if we disagree with them? Since the elements of courage and confidence are fundamental to developing creativity, perhaps The Tools, developed by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels, would show a path to do just that and more?

Chapter one is written in call-and-response style from each author. One talks about his experience as a psychotherapist, encountering challenges with patients and looking for answers himself. The other talks about being approached by a young patient who was searching for answers. Not to why she thought the way she did, but on how to change her way of thinking. This led Barry Michels on his own quest to find tools that could do just that. The historical perspective on how the authors came to be acquainted with each other and the Tools made for an easy an engaging read and heightened my anticipation for more.

The tools are a way to bring positivity to your consciousness and to connect you to something called the Higher Power (and yes, it’s capitalized in the book). When first reading about the Higher Power, skepticism came naturally. The authors invite skepticism and ask only for one thing - for the reader to practice the tools. Given that simple request, I read on with an open mind, curious about what lay behind these Higher Powers. By inviting skepticism, the reader is forced to examine the book from deeper perspectives, to be open minded and yet look for cracks in the process.

Each of the next five chapters, one for each of the tools, starts with a story from their experiences - giving personality and context to allow the reader to identify with. They present situations that would prompt you to use the tool, the higher force that you will connect with, the process on how to use the tool (with simple illustrations), how the tool works and what the benefits are. The authors also address frequently asked questions they’ve had for each tool before ending off with a summary. This layout works very well. As I progressed through each chapter, I was trying to identify how I would use each tool. As each chapter summary drew near, there were additional examples given and alternative uses offered. Many of my own questions were addressed.

Thus far, I was grateful for finding The Tools and yet, the chapter on Higher Power was yet to come and my skepticism alarm started to chime. Turns out the Higher Power is not meant as a concept to challenge or replace anyone’s god, religion or spiritual belief. It offers a way of explaining how the power of happiness and confidence is actually a never ending well that we can tap into...only it comes from inside of us and not from external sources. To paraphrase the authors - these tools are a means of defeating inner enemies, using the weapons that enable us to believe in and experience higher forces without sacrificing our mental freedom to anyone or anything.

Despite my skepticism, I realized that the perspective presented isn’t revolutionary or even that scary. What is unique about this book is how the tools and this unique perspective of Higher Powers are presented, in an easily digestible way with simple and plain language that is not steeped with cultural, religious or spiritual dressings.  I found its simplicity and presentation refreshing, and after some short term practice I can say that these tools have had a positive impact on me. More practice is in the cards, most definitely.

The concluding chapter espouses practice and has us consider what might happen if more and more people tapped into these Higher Powers - how we as a society could benefit from the resulting positivity. One theme underscoring the entire book is that Western society is hell bent on consumption as a route to happiness, as if the latest and greatest will allows us to harness our creativity and confidence even better than before. What Stutz and Michels stress, however, is that along with developing a more positive mindset we each have the limitless power to develop our own creative selves. In effect, creating is more powerful than consuming.

Reading between the lines, it is not a far cry to draw connections to humanistic psychologists such as Rollo May or Abraham Maslow. The field of positive psychology is there as well, with the elements of motivation that could have easily referenced Teresa Amabile and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and even psychologist Viktor Frankl.

Reaction

The tools seem like mantras, images and stories to be repeated and experienced repeatedly in one’s head. What is most interesting is that we’re not being told what specific images to use (i.e. not of someone else's creation) but scenarios to create ourselves, based on our own experiences, insecurities, goals and wishes. It takes imagination to visualize these future scenarios and The Tools calls upon our metacognitive efforts to practice them.

The authors mainly draw upon their experiences as psychotherapists in developing these tools. It was disconcerting as a reader to have no references to draw upon, and yet a core tenant of the book is that having faith in a process despite not being able to prove it, doesn’t detract from its effectiveness. Getting through the book is pretty easy, so I encourage a temporary suspension of judgement while you read it. Once through the book, having gained an understanding of the tools themselves, the concept of Higher Powers may be easier to digest and reformulate in a way that makes more sense to you.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is craving an infusion of fresh perspective to their stale inner dialogue. If you’re looking for techniques to be used to top up your positivity, courage and confidence then The Tools is worth further investigation.

About Ian

Ian is an energizing facilitator of deliberate creativity, team training and Creative Problem Solving. He is a specialist in coaching for success, providing the tools to optimize creative thinking and facilitating diverse groups through their unique challenges.

Ian is a current Masters student at Buffalo State College, studying creativity, innovation and change leadership. He pursues optimal experience in the mountains (not often enough), on bikes of all sorts and behind two turntables. 

Book Review: Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told you About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

(Austin Kleon)

steallikeanartist.com

            You’ve probably seen this book at your local Barnes & Noble, stacked on a table of “Gifts for Grads, ” right next to Oh the Places You Will Go by Dr. Suess, or under a sign declaring “Good Advice” alongside the latest release from a Real Housewife. It is a chunky little block of a book with bold handwritten text throughout, by a young author (yes, in the advice game, 29 is young). You might be tempted to dismiss it as just a cute little bon bon, a feel-good gift book destined to collect dust on the coffee table.

            But there’s serious thinking behind Austin Kleon’s “10 Things,” drawn not only from his experiences but broadly sourced from the experiences of countless creative practitioners who have influenced him. Kleon is a self-described “writer who draws,” a prolific producer of poetry and other writings as well as a promoter of visual thinking. He quotes Picasso, T.S. Eliot and David Bowie to support one of his key assertions — “Nothing is original” — but he could just as easily have drawn from the works of more academic heavyweights like Mel Rhodes, Arthur Koestler or Keith Sawyer.

            Born as a blog post that was shaped into a commencement speech that turned into another blog post that became an internet sensation, Steal Like an Artist is a modern-day manifesto: Kleon’s public declaration that we all have the potential to be creative (King, 2012).[1] “These ideas apply to anyone who’s trying to inject some creativity into their life and their work,” he writes, adding, “(That should describe all of us.)” (p. 1).

            It’s not just a book you read: it’s a book you experience. It’s fun to look at, optimistically declaring its advice on bold little billboards, in pithy poems and through quirky line drawings.

(Austin Kleon)

steallikeanartist.com

            So what are the “10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative”?

            1) Steal like an artist.

Embrace your influences, learn from the work of others and transform those influences into original work of your own. Kleon uses the analogy of genetics: we are made up of the people who came before us, both physically and intellectually. And there’s creative power in accepting that.

(Austin Kleon)

steallikeanartist.com

2) Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started.

You discover who you are by doing. In doing, you learn what’s worth stealing. But “stealing” is not about copying. “Don’t just steal the style,” he writes. “Steal the thinking behind the style” (p. 35).

(Austin Kleon)

steallikeanartist.com

3) Write the book you want to read.

The age-old advice about “writing what you know” is wrong. Kleon asserts you need to write (or draw, or otherwise create) not what is but what you want to be. “...Do the work you want to see done” (p. 48).

4) Use your hands.

The computer is, by its nature, an editing tool, Kleon says. Creativity can’t just happen in our heads or on a screen; you need to physically make something, be it words written by hand on a page or an actual object.

5) Side projects and hobbies are important.

What some call “incubation,” Kleon calls “productive procrastination,” and he encourages the practice of it, along with the pursuit of passions. (p. 65, p. 69).[2] “One day,” he writes, “You’ll look back and it will all make sense” (p. 71).

(Austin Kleon)

steallikeanartist.com

            6) The secret: do good work and share it with people.

There’s no need to be miserly with your ideas: sharing is a learning experience. And the internet makes it easy to share. “Step 1: Wonder at something,” he writes. “Step 2: Invite others to wonder with you” (p. 80).

7) Geography is no longer our master.

Thanks to the internet, we can all live in two worlds (or more): the one we physically inhabit, and the one(s) we create through shared interests. But you have to leave these “homes” at some point: “Your brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings,” Kleon says. “You need to make it uncomfortable. You need to spend some time in another land, among people that do things differently than you” (p. 93).

(Austin Kleon)

steallikeanartist.com

8) Be nice. (The world is a small town.)

Kleon advocates active niceness: seek out talented people, write fan letters, “don’t pick fights.” (Instead, use anger as motivation to create.) At the same time, he encourages being nice to yourself as well: keep a praise file, but don’t expect validation from others.

9) Be boring. (It’s the only way to get work done.)

“That whole romantic image of the creative genius doing drugs and running around and sleeping with everyone is played out,” Kleon writes (p. 119). Take care of yourself so you have the energy to create.

10) Creativity is subtraction.

Despite what we’ve all been led to believe, constraints are, in fact, freeing. “Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities,” says Kleon. “The idea that you can do anything is absolutely terrifying” (p. 137).

(Austin Kleon)

steallikeanartist.com

            Steal Like an Artist is wise and practical: advice not just on being creative, but on how to live. Kleon wraps it up with a useful list of action steps — “take a walk,” “buy a notebook and use it,” etc. — to get the reader out of the book and into creative action. As the drumbeat for creative thinking and innovation grows louder in across many sectors, from corporations to schools to government and more, its content is both timely and timeless.  

            Steal Like an Artist reframes the concept of creativity for those who have been held back by their belief that you can only be considered creative if you have “original” ideas. It has the power to provide hope to people who think that “growing up” means they have to give up their creative pursuits. It would, in fact, make a great gift for a recent grad or for a lost creative soul looking for good advice. So I guess the merchandisers at Barnes & Noble are onto something.

All images courtesy of Austin Kleon (steallikeanartist.com) from the Steal Like An Artist blogger kit (http://www.flickr.com/photos/deathtogutenberg/sets/72157629454918267/).

Sources

King, A. (2012, August 26). Theft as art, art as theft: an interview with Austin Kleon. The Kenyon Review. Retrieved from http://www.kenyonreview.org/2012/08/austin-kleon-interview/

Kleon, A. (2012). Steal like an artist: 10 things nobody told you about being creative. New York, NY: Workman Publishing.

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[1] The original blog post:

http://www.austinkleon.com/2010/02/10/25-quotes-to-help-you-steal-like-an-artist/

The Jonathan Lethem article referenced in the original blog post:

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/02/0081387

[2] And ample alliterative use of the letter p.

Bio

Jody Fisher is the Ideation Strategist on the Innovation Team at Nestlé Purina PetCare. In this role, she helps feed the company’s innovation pipeline and manages the company’s internal idea network. Prior to joining Purina’s Innovation Team, Jody was a copywriter for 15 years, working on brands like Friskies, Purina ONE, Gatorade, Pizza Hut and more. Jody earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from The Colorado College, and expects to finish her Master’s of Science in Creativity and Change Leadership at the ICSC in December, 2013.

Book Review: Think! Before it's too late by Edward deBono

Book Review: Think! Before it's too late (by Edward de Bono)

written by Patrick Wirth

Creativity is universally linked to the notion of novel ideas and solutions to challenges. At the core of creative problem solving is the act of thinking. This is a book review of de Bono, E. (2009). Think! Before it’s too late. Great Britain:Ebury Publishing. This nonfiction book authored by Edward de Bono provides the reader with an introduction to his extensive work on the subject of creative thinking. De Bono is a classic scholar in the field of creative thinking and is widely recognized for his theories of creative thinking, in particular lateral thinking. His life’s work has been devoted to studying the mechanics of the mind as it relates to creative thinking.

The broad appeal of de Bono’s work results from techniques he outlines to propel traditional thinking beyond the status quo. His models provide a practical means to drive creative break-through thinking. His work in this area is extensive. In this book, de Bono promotesthat traditional thinking was developed over 2,400 years ago by the GG3. This was the Greek Gang of Three. They were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. From them emerged the traditional approachesto thinking of argument, truth, and logic. These still exist today as the foundation of traditional thinking models.

The overall theme of the book is that the existing traditional linear thinking systems are excellent, but not enough. De Bono, as an advocate for creative thinking, feels there’s a huge deficiency in our creative thinking habits. De Bono argues that the human brain is not designed to be creative. “It is designed to set up routine patterns and to use and follow these patterns” (p. 21). These patterns can be linked back to the thinking models that emerged from the GG3. He devotes the vast majority of this book dissecting the limiting nature of traditional thinking approaches in education, government and everyday life, as well as drawing out the immense opportunity for creative thinking.

De Bono believes that creativity is an inborn talent which can be nurtured, developed and taught. “There is a need for more deliberate processes to encourage and enhance creativity actively” (p. 27). De Bono’s solution to supporting the development of creative thinking is his life’s work: lateral thinking methods. Where traditional thinking of argument, truth and logic is linear, lateral thinking means moving across patterns instead of moving along them. The movement in lateral thinking comes from provocation. He provides a brief overview of the key lateral thinking tools he has developed and weaves several examples of the favorable impact these tools have had in his review of education, government and day-to-day life.

I have a personal interest in the notion of creative thinking. I have done some cursory reading about Edward de Bono in the past and thought I would use this opportunity to take a closer look at his work. I’m glad I did as I really enjoyed this book. The book is 250 pages long, costs less then $20 US dollars and is a fast, easy and very interesting read. I highly recommend this book to the reader that is interested in getting an introduction to Edward de Bono’s thoughts about creativity, traditional thinking and creative thinking. This isn’t a deep dive into de Bono’s lateral thinking models and tools. He provides a brief overview of lateral thinking executed in an easy to understand manner that has provoked me to do further research and reading. I think there is something in this book for everyone who has an interest in the area of creativity from school teachers, university professors, government officials, business leaders and parents.

For me, the primary connection was with myprofessional work as a business person. He devotes an entire chapter to leadership and thinking in the business world. It was very interesting to read that in his many years of experience in the field, de Bono believes the business sector is more interested in thinking than any other sector of society. I certainly would agree that the business sector relies on and needs more creative thinking. As a parent, I find this concerning as it relates to education for our children. Children today have access to so much information and answers are so readily available to virtually everything on the internet, where is “thinking” going in our traditional school education? Where is the focus on developing creative thinking skills?

The primary issue raised in this book was the limited nature of traditional thinking methods and the opportunity for creative thinking methods to be taught. I absolutely agree with the limited nature of traditional thinking methods. I find this to be self validating in my personal life and professional experience. I’m profoundly intrigued by the notion of creative thinking being a skill that can be developed. In my role as a husband, father, businessperson and contributing member to society, I know I have untapped creative thinking talent that is latent within me, that if unleashed, could help me be better at working through life’s challenges and helping others. I’m motivated to take further action. I will be reading more about the de Bono thinking systems and investigating formal training in lateral thinking going forward.

This book challenges the status quo approach to the traditional thinking methods of argument, truth and logic. It supports the notion that creative thinking is a skill that resides in all people and is not reserved for intellects, geeks and those living on the edge. The author provides an introduction to the tools of lateral thinking which has a demonstrated track record for developing the skills of creative thinking.

My advice for those considering reading this book, do it. It will provoke you to think more about your own approach to thinking and challenge you to become a more creative thinker.

Patrick Wirth has 25 years professional experience in product development, finance, operations strategic planning and lean. He is currently Director of Product Development Support and Lean Champion at Mattel for Fisher-Price Brands. Patrick holds a BS in Finance from Canisius College, a BS in Industrial Technology from Buffalo State, an MBA from Canisius College and professional certifications in Production and Inventory Control, Certified Lean Professional and Foursight. Patrick has 9 credit hours remaining to complete Masters in Creativity and Change Leadership at the ICSC.