Today I’m in Orlando for two days speaking at a Youth Pastor Summit (at Universal Studios)—yesterday was a great event and I’m sure today will be equally wonderul! Universal Studios is one of the most creative places I’ve ever experiences—it’s an amazing theme park.

I was thinking of the creative minds that must have been behind the design and graphics and environment planning of the park. I began to wonder what their creative process must have been and then I saw a Twitter link to the video below (thanks Gregg Farah) that got me thinking more about what it takes to be creative. I know everyone is different… I’d love to hear what you do after you watch this:

[if you can’t see video in your RSS feed, click here]

Here’s three actions I take that I’d add to the list that help me get in a creative mode:

1. Whiteboard: I love writing on the whiteboard! Usually for creative opportunities I’ll try to fill the whiteboard with as many ideas as I can. There’s something about standing at the board, having different colors of pens, being able to (kind of) scribble, erase, doodle and spread my ideas out over a large scale that is helpful to trigger my creativity.

2. Magazine tear: at times when I need my creativity stimulated, I’ll dig into a stack of magazines in my office and just start tearing pictures and phrases out of the magazine and placing them around my desk. I know it sounds weird, but often a photo or a phrase (even from a mountain biking magazine) will inspire my creativity.

3. Fast-food journal: I’m not a coffee-guy, but I am a caffeine guy (Diet Coke or Ice Tea—depending on what diet I’m “on”) and sometimes a public place (sounds, environment, drinking, etc…) triggers my creativity. When I’m in a public setting, I’m not racing back to my computer, not being interrupted by others in an office, or distracted by what needs to be done. The big, blank journal serves as a mini-version of the whiteboard (above).

There’s my additional 3!

Question: What are yours? Share what helps inspire your creativity.

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