What is creativity anyway?

Nobody goes around snarling about creative people. As a class, these people are admired. Most people who aren't especially creative wish they were and will take classes, read books, and do everything they can to spark the creative genius they believe must be within them. "I envy you," they often say to a person who has just demonstrated some measure of creativity.

Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychiatry, was fond of creative people. He said, "In their knowledge of the mind they are far in advance of us everyday people, for they draw upon sources which we have not yet opened up for science."

What sources? Creativity is a function of the brain. That's all a creative person has: the ability to think, imagine, plan with a brain that runs free.

The reality is that creative people don't think of themselves as creative. If you know someone who claims to be creative, it's a sure thing he or she isn't. Creative people don't talk much about the condition.

Creative people do not work for the praise of others, but to satisfy what is within them.

Tip #1 when dealing with creative people...

Don't rub it in. Be friendly, accepting, tolerant, fun-loving around creative people. Don't let them know you've labeled them.

What is your best advice for dealing with creative people?

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