As the number of people living on this planet increases. Competition for everything has increased.
It is very common to have 1,000 applications just for 1 or 2 job openings. Which means only the top or best 1% will get the job.
Everyday, across the country of Nigeria, across the African continent, new businesses are registered daily.
I have never been to a Corporate Affairs Commission office in Nigeria and not meet some people there trying to sort out their business registration.
There are millions of businesses out there and it keeps getting crowded.
If your business is not innovative, it doesn’t have a future. You cannot compete or carve out a part of the market for yourself.
A true transformation of the African continent will ONLY HAPPEN when we get more people building BIG BUSINESSES BASED ON INNOVATION. Building their business with a creative mindset.
This is why we are working with a vision to empower people that will build hundreds of Innovative Companies that will operate from Africa but reach the whole world.
I believe that anybody can be creative and do things on a large massive scale. This idea that great ideas and innovation can only come from Silicon Valley, USA, China etc is wrong.
I believe that God has specially enlightened me to announce to you that creativity and great ideas do not come from abroad. They come from above.
You must be creative if you will survive in the long term. You want to make sure that you are relevant and irreplaceable.
How do I become creative?
Julian F. Fleron is quoted to have said: “The creative adult is the child who survived after the world tried killing them, making them grown up. The creative adult is the child who survived the blandness of schooling, the unhelpful words of bad teachers, and the nay-saying ways of the world. The creative adult is in essence simply that, a child.”
Sir Ken Robinson argues that we are all born creative and then we got educated out of creativity.
Let us consider:
IN THE beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1 AMPC
So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:27 AMPC
The very first thing the Bible tells us about God is that God is creative. Then we are also (reliably) informed that God made human beings to be just like him.
This means that you are a creative and innovative spirit by default. If you accept the fact that God created you, then you must also accept the fact that you are creative.
Plants and animals were not created in the image of God. Have you seen any creativity or innovation from animals? I have not found a case.
So, we are born creative. That is why children are creative and then as they “mature”, they seem to lose this creativity.
I contend that we cease to be creative when “corruption” sets in.
Most innovative people I have researched about are also usually honest, caring, visionary and passionate people who seemingly can do no wrong.
Consider this:
By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature.
2 Peter 1:4 AMPC
When we are bogged down by moral decay, rottenness, lust and greed, we lose out on our original inventive nature.
So, I cannot teach you be creative. You are already creative (you were born creative).
I cannot teach a monkey or goat to be creative because they were not created in the image of God. Any investment of time to teach creativity to animals is a waste of time. They don’t have the spirit that will make it possible.
If you accept the fact that God created you and you possess the Life of God, then you can be creative and innovative in your life and business pursuits.
What I can do is share some tips that might be of help as you sharpen your creative skills again.
Becoming Creative.
I have a simple formula for creativity. I believe that creative ideas automatically surface when you add knowledge, information and skills to a “correct” spirit.
Even if you are one of the spirit-filled, tongue blasting Christians, please be informed that “The Holy Spirit within you is LIMITED by the amount of information you have”.
That might sound “some-how”, even a bit awkward. I know. The first time I heard it in 2010, I was also baffled and made peace with the truth of the statement over time.
Becoming Creative, unleashing our creativity upon the world requires that we study, constantly acquire information about our areas of study and work. These are the basics.
Most creative people are also voracious readers. They consume an insane amount of information.
Lowell Wood, probably the most prolific inventor alive with 1,723 patents to his name reads a lot of books, especially scientific journals. He is 77 years old and he broke Thomas Edison’s patent record in 2015.
So, you want to be creative? Are you ready to invest quality time into developing your mind?
A creative spirit tethered to a mediocre mind cannot conceive any creative idea.
The quality of your mind is important. You want to ensure you read wide and be well informed on latest facts and information.
You can get so much information about anything if you care enough to search online for it.
Most innovation occurs when we import ideas from one profession or industry into another. Innovation occurs when ideas overlap.
That is why you need to acquire lots of knowledge, the more knowledge you have, the better.
Skill Acquisition is also important.
Skills help us exhibit our creativity. Without developing certain skills, you might not be able to showcase your creativity (and awesomeness)
Too many people will not fulfil their purpose, not because they did not discover it, but because they failed to acquire the skills they needed for it.
Creativity and a commitment to excellence is only revealed by the degree of finesse we show in our works.
How to apply your creativity
Bringing it together: applying your creativity.
First of all, been creative means that you are willing to take a risk of appearing stupid. Creativity begins from “this might not work…”
You start from little; little things and then move forward to tackle bigger things.
I once tried to invent sweet rice by boiling rice with some honey – it was a disaster. You must be ready to do a lot of “mumu things” before you will start to make sense.
Today, I have received some recognition for my creative ideas but I want to let you know that first, not all my ideas have been perfect or even “sensible”. Secondly, creativity becomes better over time, it gets stronger and more powerful the more you use it.
The same head that thought about “sweet rice”, a not-so-brilliant idea also thought of “g160”, a project that got me a nomination for Innovation in ICT from Nigerian Youth Ministry in 2011.
If you will become creative, you must realise that every problem is an opportunity for greatness. There is no problem that cannot be solved, we just need a little more wisdom and technology.
To develop creative ideas;
- Look for new approaches to problems people know that they have.
- Think about how you can make something better. What is good right now, can you imagine how better it can be?
Some Innovation Case Studies to help highlight some of what I’ve been talking about.
Miracle Mop:
In 1990, Joy Mangano (USA) built a new mop that works 100x better than the common mop. Making it easier to squeeze and clean without touching the mop.
I recommend you Google “Miracle Mop” for full info. There’s a movie about her and her invention: Joy (2015).
My Period Kit (Nigeria)
Girls menstruating sometimes face challenges with schooling. With poor hygienic environment.
Growing up as a young girl in Nigeria, Folasade Bamisaye didn’t have access to sanitary pads or tampons. She would cut off parts of her foam mattress, or use scraps of clothing—sometimes even parts of her school uniform.
Bamisaye’s lack of access to basic menstrual hygiene products didn’t just cut away at her school uniform, it also cut into her school time and prevented her from attending lessons. Yes, around 68% of schools in Nigeria don’t have clean or decent toilet facilities where female students can do the needful.
The Innovation: a complete kit. The MYperiodKIT includes sanitary pads, tissue wipes, pantyliners, and disposable bags.
Did I mention that the sanitary pads are made from wasted banana and plantain stem fibre?
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A true transformation of the African continent will ONLY HAPPEN when we get more people building BIG BUSINESSES BASED ON INNOVATION.
This is why we are working with a vision to empower people that will build hundreds of Innovative Companies that will operate from Africa but reach the whole world.
Personally, since 2007, I have been building out my ideas. Converting my ideas into projects, businesses and fantastic startups.
Falling and rising: making mistakes, learning from them, and rising back 10x stronger.
I leave you with the words of Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light , not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Let us work together and build highly innovative businesses!
Go innovate!
The world is waiting for you!
Go and innovate!
Your generation is waiting for you!
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Ademola Morebise works with Entrepreneurs and Professionals that want to build innovative and formidable businesses that will take Africa to the next level.
P.S.
If you have questions, please ask.
P.P.S.
I invested some decent amount of time into this. I need honest feedback and responses.. maybe it will inspire me to make another long and insightful post like this next week.
