Creativity Tips: Find Your Creative Bone

During the holidays, I had fun with a few Facebook promotions that required "fans" to write something to win a prize -- free food from Panera, a Pearls Before Swine cartoon, things like that. One woman's entry jumped out at me. She threw herself on the judges' mercy, writing, "I don't have a creative bone in my body."

Okey dokey. We'll start the year on my soap box. Plenty of room, climb on with me. Now, repeat after me:

I am creative.

There, see how simple that was. You just found your creative bone. It's in your head. It's in your heart. It's in your soul. It's in your hands, when you're mixing up a new recipe, repairing a broken fence or applauding someone else.

If you ever feel like you don't have a creative bone in your body, listen to the words you're saying to yourself. Listen to the words that echo from your past. Then, stop them. STOP THEM. It's your mind, my friend, and you control the words that flow through it. And those words control your actions.

When you need new words, listen to this: You are creative. And I know that with every bone in my body.

Welcome to 2010, CI team!