Who is the author of Creative Confidence?

The authors of Creative Confidence are Tom and David Kelley.

Creativity

Creative Confidence Book Summary - Creative Confidence Book explained in key points

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Creative Confidence summary

Name: Creative Confidence
Rating: 4.2 (205 reviews)
Author: Tom and David Kelley

Tom David Kelley

Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All

4.2 (205 ratings)

21 mins

Brief summary

Creative Confidence by Tom and David Kelley is a book that encourages readers to unlock their creativity and unlock their potential. The book provides practical examples, stories, and exercises to help readers boost their confidence and transform their personal and professional lives.

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Design Thinking Creative Flow

Table of Contents

Creative Confidence
Summary of 9 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 9

What’s in it for me? Learn how to flex your creative muscle.

Do you remember when teachers would chastise you for drawing pictures or singing songs in class, telling you to buckle down and do some “proper” work instead? Of course, math and history is important, but while these teachers might mean well, this insistence that learning facts is more important than flexing our creative muscle has a dampening effect on our ingenuity.

This lack of appreciation for creativity is outdated: today’s companies actively seek out creative minds, and what’s more, creativity is a key factor in designing your life to match your values and aspirations.

Luckily you can never lose your creativity entirely. It’s always there; you just need to nurture it.

Creative Confidence helps you rediscover your creativity, showing you how to exercise your innovative muscle by drawing on the authors’ experiences working at the design and innovation firm IDEO, as well as the lessons they learned and imparted to others at the d.school at Stanford University.

You’ll learn how everyone – not just those in “creative” professions – can benefit from exercising their imagination.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

which member of The Beatles almost lost his chance at fame and fortune by going into the manufacturing business;
why it’s far better to fail than succeed on the first try; and
how the “do something” mind-set helped keep an elderly woman from standing in freezing rain.

Creativity is about all kinds of imaginative innovation, not just genius masterpieces.

What is creativity? Is it daubing breathtaking paintings, sculpting Greek icons out of marble slabs or writing sonorous music?

Great creativity sometimes finds its expression in the fine arts, but it actually has a much broader application. Creativity means simply using your imagination to create something new.

This broader definition embraces many different aspects of creative work that otherwise go unseen. Not only does it include the work of artists, but also the work of more analytical types, like CEOs or computer programmers.

Indeed, these analytical types express their creativity whenever they make something new: for example, when the computer programer creates a novel web interface, or the CEO develops a new business strategy.

When we employ this broader definition of creativity, we discover that we are all born to be creative.

As young children, we finger-painted and danced around the room. We built tree houses with our own hands and found interesting solutions to the problems we faced.

Unfortunately, as we grow older, many of us stop acting out our creativity. However, we never actually lose the ability altogether.

In fact, you can think of your creativity as a muscle that you can train and use to find innovative solutions to problems.

Even if you haven’t flexed this muscle for a while, it only takes a bit of training and hard work before you can make it strong again.

Just look at the magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) technician Doug Mietz – very much the analytic type. He struggled to find ways to make children feel safe when they were being scanned in one of these intimidating machines, but with the help of the authors, he was able to train his creative muscle in order to find a solution.

His imaginative solution involved completely changing the look and designs of these clinical machines to something adventurous, like a pirate ship or a UFO. The kids then saw the experience of getting scanned as an exciting adventure rather than something dreadful.

After years of being considered irrelevant, creativity is becoming a highly desirable quality.

“Creativity is only for the artsy types.”

How many times have you heard this or even said it yourself? In our modern society, there is a myth surrounding creativity – that only those who do things like paint landscapes or sing in jazz clubs are paid for their creativity, not lawyers and CEOs.

Develop the courage to explore your creativity – it’s a great first step toward discovering your new self.

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to face your fears, perhaps by touching a boa constrictor in spite of a phobia? When you confront your fear of being creative, it’s just the same.

Luckily, there are strategies you can use to help make the process easier.

Allow yourself to fail in order to succeed.

Sometimes, when we’re on our way to achieving our goals, our steps falter, causing us to lose confidence and give up. But this is exactly where the difference between success and failure lies.

Don’t give up! Get up and try again!

New experiences will help you explore the creativity within you.

How many times have you waited around for your muse to come to you? Often people sit around waiting for the proverbial apple to fall on their head, but it never works. If you want to gain inspiration, you’ll need to have new experiences.

New experiences allow us to see the world in a different light, thus helping novel ideas come to us more easily.

Work with other people who support and share your passions.

The typical image of creative geniuses, such as composers or great thinkers, is that of the intense loner, developing their strongest ideas in complete isolation.

However, this solitary approach is not the best way to exercise your creativity. In fact, quite the opposite is true: innovation is a product of teamwork. Indeed, the most creative environments are those where many people work closely together. Why?

The “do something” mind-set helps you see that you can and should change things for the better.

How many times have you wanted to do something, like apply for a new job or approach an attractive person at a bar, but didn’t because you were too scared?

Even when we know what we should do – like buy that person a drink – we simply don’t. Instead, we just sit down and discreetly appreciate them from afar.

Balance money and passion to find a job that fulfills all your desires.

What kind of job would you rather have: one that pays as much as possible, or one that allows you to pursue your passions?

Usually people want both, and this can cause a lot of stress. However, it’s rare that both our passions and big money are equally represented in our job opportunities, so we often have to choose between the two.

Channeling your creativity will improve your work and make you happier in your private life.

Allowing yourself the freedom to think creatively and to innovate is one of the best ways to ensure your own happiness, both professionally and personally.

For starters, when there’s innovation, engagement and creativity in your work, your employers will start paying attention. Nowadays, companies recognize the great value of people who can pitch new ideas and help their projects achieve new heights.

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What is Creative Confidence about?

Creative Confidence shows us the amazing value and impact that creativity has in our everyday lives. In fact, being able to think creatively can increase your happiness and success in both your professional and personal spheres. Luckily, artists and musicians don’t have a monopoly on creativity. With the right techniques and mind-set, anyone can think creatively.

Creative Confidence Review

Creative Confidence (2013) by Tom and David Kelley is a book that explores how to unleash our creative potential and overcome the fear of failure. Here's what makes this book worth reading:

Through inspiring stories and real-life examples, the book shows us that creativity is not limited to artists and designers but is a crucial skill for everyone.
It provides practical exercises and techniques to help us develop our creative mindset and problem-solving abilities, empowering us to think more innovatively.
With its engaging and accessible style, the book keeps us hooked from beginning to end, ensuring that the journey to creative confidence is never boring.

Best quote from Creative Confidence

Theres no word in the Tibetan language for creativity. The closest translation is natural.

—Tom and David Kelley

Who should read Creative Confidence?

Anybody interested in the process of innovation
Anybody who wants to rekindle their own creative energy
Anybody who wants to change the world for the better

About the Author

David Kelley is the founder of IDEO, one of the world’s leading innovation and design firms, as well as the founder of Stanford University’s Institute of Design, d.school.

His brother, Tom Kelley, is also a partner in IDEO, and the author of the bestselling books The Art of Innovation and The Ten Faces of Innovation. In addition, he is an executive fellow at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

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