“I’m not creative!”

“I’m not creative!”, she said.

Maybe she wasn’t. But maybe she was and just didn’t stick with the problem long enough …

Here’s what Monty Python’s John Cleese said about his talent for creativity:

“My solution was more creative than his simply because I was prepared to stick with the problem longer.” – John Cleese

Most creative geniuses are not born with creative ideas. For one, they set themselves up to find creative solutions, for example by exposing themselves to other people’s creative ideas. Analysing them. Learning from them. Applying them. Testing ideas …

But more importantly, they don’t go with the first idea. They go beyond the first idea.

The first idea is often not the most creative idea. Sometimes, you’ll even need to go beyond the 100th idea to find a creative angle.

Are you prepared to stick with the problem long enough?