Theory of Creativity Two creative geniuses reveal how to think out of the box.

We all start at the same spot: a blank space--and with a commongoal: to fill that space. But the path we choose from there iscompletely individual, as individual, in fact, as the mind itself.What occupies that distance between nothing and something is themysterious science we call creativity.

Funny how the mind works. The visions that come in like a flood,the blocks that temporarily immobilize, the defeats that send usback to the proverbial drawing board, the triumphs of fitting thepieces of the puzzle together, the satisfaction that comes withknowing something is right. The mind lurches, stalls, sprints,strolls, stifles, flows. We so often ask "What do youthink?" while neglecting to ask the more interesting question,"How do you think?"

In business environments, creativity has traditionally beenconsidered an anomaly. At worst, it's a sign ofunprofessionalism; at best, it's a burst of energy confined tospecific blocks of time. Even Webster's is remarkably stale inits definition of creativity: "artistic or intellectualinventiveness," it tersely summarizes. These perceptions failto satisfy. The beauty of creativity is that it overflows theboundaries we set for it. To anyone who has been called upon tocreate, the means are infinitely more interesting than thedefinition and at times even more interesting than the end.