Rachel Chan, my dear friend who is famous for her creativity and also for being at the very frontiers of innovation and design, threw a small party for her creative "oddball" friends. Ali, a University Professor teaching creativity and innovation from Canada, to Iran to China and HK, Jane a coach and social architect, Fiona a business development guru, Dirk a fancy hotelier, Edmund a microbiologist turned designer, Cecilia a little bird with big wings of change, Patricia a newly minted government official bent on making HK creative and me, a dreamer, planner, realist - all rolled in one.
For one hour, as we sipped champagne, drank beer, heady tody and orang juice, we explored the tenets of creativity. What kills it? What makes it burst forward?
The first thing is fear. Fear is one of the killers of creativity. One prefers to "keep the harmony" (sounds so Chinese!), not stand out, not to ask questions and not to question authority or the way that things are being done. Out of fear of upsetting others, of disrupting the system, the way of "life" as everyone else knows it. Fear.
Only when we overcome fear, we can step forth into the realm of creativity.
How very true!!!
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