THE JOY OF CREATION

There is no greater joy in the world than seeing your own idea materialized. Whatever that idea is, a technological solution, a design of a beautiful dress or a financial arrangement or. TV program … etc. Completing that journey of your dream from a mere idea to reality is the true joy of life. See the look on a fashion designer at the end of their show when they walk down the runway surrounded by their designs hearing applause and admiration … this is joy … when you see your technological solution solving complex problems of people around you … this is joy. It is the joy of creation.

All people get ideas all the time … many of them get brilliant ideas sometimes but very few of them get serious about their ideas and put them into action. The journey of creation is an enjoyable one even though it might look tiresome from the outside … If you have passion for your idea, the apparent difficulty of the journey will not prevent you from making it. If you have an idea, by reading this article, I will show you the way to materialize it and feel the joy of creation.

The first stage in the creative process is the “Inspiration” … the “AHA” moment where you get the light bulb above your head. You must capture those moments and never let them go uninvested. Once you get an “AHA” moment, write it down or at least memorize it properly. Try to make it as definitive as possible … In order to do that, imagine someone else reading or hearing it and see whether they would understand your idea or not.

As many exciting inspiration moments are, I hate to tell you that not all ideas you get through inspirations are brilliant or even (sorry) worthy. If your idea does not solve a serious customer problem or answer a specific question, then it’s probably unworthy. 

The second stage in the creative process is the “Planning” … the getting into the business stage. After you write it down, put stages to accomplish your idea. Your skills gained either by education or experience plays a serious role in this stage. Think what goes before what and what cannot be done before what … let the ends meet on paper. You can create anything you like even if it’s not useful to others i.e., just for the fun of it but if you are planning to have a business, my advice to you is to think about two things in this stage: (1) what customer problem does your idea solve?; and (2) How is this idea different from other ideas already available in the market. If you got convincing answers to those two questions, go to the next step.

The third stage is the “Doing” … you got the idea; you got a plan, and you know it is useful and unique. Now start doing it. This is the stage where most people lose interest and let go … clearly due to the effort and challenges required to get this stage done. To learn the “doing stage” you need to read a lot of books or get a degree in the major most related to your idea as well as knowledge in marketing, accounting and finance and law. The doing stage is the first stage in your journey where you see your idea starting to materialize. As difficult and draining this stage is, passing it successfully represents a lot of accomplishment to you.

Fourth stage is “Announcing” … tell people about your idea and creation … spread the word about how beautiful or useful it is. Imagine a fashion collection that nobody has seen or a great software that nobody has used. In this stage you will either reap the fruit of your hard work or will learn where you have gone wrong … or a mix of both.

In all the stages above, always visualize your idea in your head … if you are a fashion designer, imagine how your collection would look on the runway? What music would you play? If you are an engineer, imagine how your idea will work and how many lives you will improve with your project. The visualization will help you overcome the difficulty of the journey and make it meaningful.