Creativity Central Blog

This rag tag bunch changed the way the world computes. I'm told that this picture shows the original Micro Soft team. You can see some of thousands upon thousands of folks enjoying the fruits of their vision on the Microsoft site.

Would you have hired that 70's team? What kind of judgment or assumption (notorious blocks to creativity and innovation along with habit and fear) might you have reached if you were invited to join them in their adventure. People often ask, what's the matter with young people ... not much given an idea, permission and the opportunity reminds Marian Wright Edelman.

Being a bit of a long hair myself in the 70's, I don't think that the look would have stopped me, BUT I sure would have struggled with the idea of desktop computers, user friendly (?) operating systems and paperless letters.

The success of this band of dreamers reminds me of the Margaret Mead quote, "Never underestimate the ability of a small, dedicated group of people to change the world. Indeed, nothing else ever has." We often think of this quote in terms of social justice and inclusion, as we should.

But that original team believed in a future that included useful personal computing and the whole world is now in debt, some might suggest in bondage, to their efforts AND now their charity.

No, not that kind.

Rather, I'm thinking about Joseph next door. He's a very precocious first grader who proudly displayed his new, wonderful, colored stone collection. After our appropriate oohs and aahs, he ordered us to close our eyes and put out our hands. Into each, he placed a beautiful dazzling red stone. To keep!

A year ago, another little girl, Megan, was showing us, with equal pride, her crystal collection which included some beautiful violet "gems." Just as with Joseph, her immediate response to our admiring comments was to—right then and there---give us one.

How can kids be so connected to what they love, and yet share with such spontaneity, never regretting their benevolence, never looking back to re-think their generosity, only eager to perform their random acts of Buddha-like non-clinginess? Maybe it's the innate creativity of children that allows—no, encourages---them to share, to let go, and to trust that there will always be more or different or extra.

In Chapter 2 of our book, Fanning the Creative Spirit, we offer several definitions of creativity. One says that creativity is "remembered, not learned." Later in Chapter 9, the last of the "Seven Practices of Inventivity," is "to let go and trust."

Thank God (most of the time) for kids to watch and learn from. Anyone who has a child in his or her life has an instant mentor, if only we take the time to remember. Cheers to Joseph's and Megan's uncorked creative spirits!