Frontline Perspectives

What Leonardo DiCaprio reminded me about my brain.

First, a clarification on the definition of “creativity” as intended in this post. I do not use the term narrowly, to only describe the work of designers and copywriters. I use the term “creativity” broadly here — it’s what every person (or at least every businessperson) must use every day to overcome the most unique challenges.

Strategic challenges. Sales challenges. Teambuilding challenges. Fill-in-the-blank challenges. All of us imagine, construct and synthesize ways to overcome previously unsolved problems.

All of us practice creativity in the way I mean it here. (Well, except for accountants, hopefully. But other than that, you get the point.) So I’d like to share a powerful tactic for practicing it better. It’s one I’ve used a lot in my own creative process, but have neglected recently. The tactic: Trying not to try too hard. That is, when you’re bogged down in the details of a challenge, when time is running short, when you feel like you need to just keep at it…

Stop.

Breathe.

And find a way to not try to come up with the answer. This is usually when the answer will just present itself.

I was reminded of this tactic last Saturday, when I saw the movie Inception. Apparently I was one of last people on the planet to see it, so many of you should already be familiar with the scene I’m about to reference.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s character described how the dreaming mind CREATES and PERCEIVES simultaneously, drawing two curved arrows in the form of a circle. The theory is that this brain process can make very big, complex ideas feel as if they were DISCOVERED rather than worked toward.

Ignore the science fiction of shared dreaming, and I would bet this concept sounds familiar to many of you. Have you ever been hit with an inspiration while not thinking about the problem at all? In the shower? Driving home? Mowing the lawn? This is your subconscious CREATING — more efficiently and uniquely than your conscious mind ever could.

The key is to find ways to turn on your PERCEPTION while not becoming conscious of the process. Distracting or relaxing activities like showers or yard work can help. My favorite method is to take advantage of waking sleep, in the morning before I get up. In the hour before bed, I will often read over background material, or work through some logic of the particular challenge. Then I’ll set my alarm about 30 minutes early the next morning. Thinking about the challenge in the morning, half asleep, has many times resulted in a winning solution for me.

I can hear my staff groaning as they read this. “Now he wants us to work while we sleep, too?” To which I will say, “Only if it’s billable.” But seriously, my point is not to suggest that this exact method is for everyone. My point is to remind us marketers to look for our own ways to prime our minds to be creative. The hard work of research, learning, brainstorming and testing is always necessary. But let’s not forget that, sometimes, creating the perfect solution is about relaxing, closing your eyes and seeing it appear as if it has always been there.