Everyone was born creative: We were all given crayons in kindergarten. Now what?

Hello everyone, it's Jules. This weekend I did a business case competition, where my team and I put together our recommendations for a business and gave a presentation to a panel of judges. We worked very hard on making our presentation to make sure it was full of bright visuals, colorful pictures, and very little text. I hate boring, powerpoint presentations.

I think the art of public speaking and persuasion has been lost, not only in a business setting but really in any type of situation where one must get in front of an audience to share an idea. Now with technology people tend to rely on that to communicate ideas, instead of saying what you want to say, you point to the slide.

It made me think about all those people throughout history that defied the system of how things were done, and found a new system, a new idea, a new perspective - and I wondered how they did it. In my own situation this past week, I wondered if the judges in my competition didn't appreciate or understand the fact that our presentation was focused on us speaking instead of pointing to the slide. I tried to make eye contact and move them with my words, but they were glued to the screen.

I have been interested in this topic for some time - the art of public speaking and presentations, and I found a great article online -  a manifesto by Hugh MacLeod, an advertising executive and popular blogger and cartoonist, who shares his 26 tried-and-true tips for truly being creative. These are of interest to anyone that wants to expand their creative side, here are some that stuck out to me.

1. Ignore everyone: The more original your idea, the less good advice people will give you. And good ideas change you, and nobody wants to see you change: Good ideas alter the power balance in relationships, that is why good ideas are usually resisted.

2. The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to change the world: The idea doesn't have to be big, it just has to be yours alone. The more the idea is yours alone, the more freedom you will have to do something amazing. The more unique it is, the more people will click with it. The more people click with it, the more it will change the world.

3. Put the hours in: 90% of what separates successful people and failed people is time, effort and stamina

4. You are responsible for your own experience: Nobody can tell you if what you're doing is worthwhile. The more compelling the path is, the lonelier it is.

5. Everyone is born creative, everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
Then when you hit puberty, the crayons are taken away and replaced with algebra books. And then one day you want the crayons back: You don't know if you're any good or not, but you think you could be. And the idea terrifies you.

Read more about how to truly by creative here: http://www.changethis.com/6.HowToBeCreative