The Non-Artistic, Highly Creative Person

Image of painted lines on the ground, including the word "zone"

I think there’s a whole subset of people wandering around out there who don’t think of themselves as creative. The fact is they’re very creative- they’re just not very artistic. They think that because they don’t draw or sing or perform in some way, or create visual art in some way, that means they’re not creative. And that’s not true. Creativity doesn’t have to do with artistic talent. It has to do with innovative problem solving.

You may know one- they’re the people who are always the most interesting people in the room. They’ve always got 10 different projects going. They love finding out things for themselves, so they’re always doing things like figuring out how to roast their own coffee beans, even though they never drink coffee.

Their brains are perpetual motion machines. They’re kind of armchair experts, they like to figure things out. They have very high standards generally, so you can usually trust their recommendation- if they say that something is good, it probably is, mostly because they’ve tested it themselves.

As you guys know as highly creative people… if I tell you it’s raining, you’re going to stick your head out the window to check. Same with the non-artistic, highly creative person. They take no one’s word for anything- they have to prove everything to themselves, which can make them feel like they’re being a little stubborn, but really, it’s just their inquisitiveness and their curiosity.

So, if there’s a non-artistic, highly creative person in your life, give them freedom. They’re going to do things their way, just like everybody, but honor that. Give them a lot of freedom to design their own path a little bit and try tying their requests to their values, because they tend to be a little anti-authoritarian. I’d love it if you did this because it matters to me or this way, or it’ll have this impact in this world. And that’s not a bad tip just for dealing with anybody, honestly.

The thing I noticed about non-artistic, highly creative people is don’t bullshit them. Don’t flatter them. Don’t try to butter them up. Their bullshit detector is a hundred percent. Now we artistic, highly creative people… we can be buttered up. But I find that the non-artistic, highly creative people, not so much.

So, if you’re going to give them a compliment, give it to them straight. Don’t sugar coat it. And if you’re gonna give them a criticism, give it to them straight- don’t sugar coat it, they don’t need your approval. And certainly, reward them in their love language. And again, this is a good tip for anybody, but the non-artistic, highly creative people tend to often like to be behind the scenes. They don’t always like a lot of recognition or a lot of attention, but they need to be recognized and paid attention to.

So, if you’ve got one in your office or in your family, figure out how they like to be recognized.

They may not want to make a big fuss in front of everybody, but they might appreciate a note. They might appreciate a gift. They might appreciate some time together or just your acknowledgement. So that’s my little two minutes on non-artistic, highly creative people. Just because they dress boring and don’t have a flamboyant personality does not mean they are not highly creative people.

This post is transcribed from one of Sam's weekly "Secrets of Highly Productive People" Facebook Live events. Get reminders when Sam goes live by entering your information here:

10 Signs You Might Be Overthinking Things Just a Bit

You have a system for everything. For example, laundry gets sorted by color but also by weight because heavy things take longer to dry. You can parallel park anywhere, thanks to your system of always using the Pythagorean Theorem. Your system for eating breakfast means that you always end up with the exact right size bit of toast left for swiping up the last of the eggs. And you get a little freaked out when you realize that some people just do those things all willy-nilly and off the cuff.
You love to make lists. And you feel no shame about putting things on the list that you have already done, just for the supreme satisfaction of being able to cross it off immediately.
You get anxious if you’re not sure of the dress code. So you might make a few calls ahead of time, and you might even put an extra shirt plus a different pair of shoes in the car, just so you have options.
You enjoy creating a “go” bag. You enjoy the challenge of thinking through exactly what you might need in the unlikely event of, say, an earthquake, and putting together the perfect emergency kit, which includes canned goods and a first aid kit, of course, but also some cash in small bills, copies of your insurance forms and a book of crossword puzzles to fight boredom while you’re waiting to be rescued.
Buying airline tickets is an all-afternoon event. Weighing the various pros and cons of which airline, which airport, which flight and which seat is a delicate and time-consuming process that you would never, ever entrust to someone else.
You’ve seen the study that shows that some people do not have a voice inside their heads, and that totally freaks you out. I mean – really? Really?!?!? I can’t even.
You secretly believe that numbers have personalities. Twos are friendly, sevens are mean and eight is like that older guy who always wants to give you a hug. Ammiright?
You still feel bad about that thing you said eight years ago. And you also feel bad about the thing you didn’t say last week. And then there’s the thing you said at Christmas, and it was fine, but now you’ve thought of an even better way to express yourself and you wish you had a time machine so you could go back and have the conversation all over again.
You would never in a million years steal anything…but you do catch yourself figuring out HOW a person might steal from almost every store you walk into. What can you say? Your mind lingers on larceny. You might also have worked out how to plan the perfect murder, but we’re not talking about that, are we?
When someone says, “Can’t you just relax and enjoy this?” you have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.

NOTE: All this overthinking (or as some of us call it, just good common sense) can be a sign that you are a Highly Creative Person. Take the quiz HERE to find your creativity quotient right now.

Finding Your Zone of Creative Genius

First, let’s un-collapse the words “artistic” and “creative,” because they are not the same thing. And the conflation has led to a massive misunderstanding of the true nature of creativity.

Here’s the thing: everyone has some area of creative genius. Because we are tribal animals, designed to live in groups, there is a natural distribution of interests, skills and talents. Which is sort of magic, if you think about it. I mean, just imagine that you are back in cave-dwelling days – someone would be the healer, and someone would tend the children. Someone would be good at working with their hands, and someone else would be the one who always wants to go exploring off into the far lands. Every group forms a complete society based on the fact that everyone is good at something.

Whatever area you would be naturally inclined toward is an indication of your zone of creative genius.

Because your area of creative genius is so much a part of you, it can sometimes be hard to discern, so here are a few other clues:

You have a natural interest in your zone of creative genius. You find yourself watching shows, reading books and spending endless hours online digging into this area. It might seem weird to you that other people aren’t so interested in it. If there’s a convention for it, you might wish you could go.
You have a natural talent in your zone of creative genius. You don’t know how instinctively understand this area – you just know. Your natural aptitude may surprise others, and you’re probably surprised that other people don’t share your inborn talent.
You have an inexhaustible enthusiasm for your zone of creative genius. If someone shook you awake at 3am, whispering, “Hey – we’re going to go do XYZ – wanna come with?” you would immediately get up and start looking for your shoes.
Others defer to your authority in your zone of creative genius. If you’re the one everyone turns to when it’s time to plan the party, or design the garden, or build the addition, or map the route or clear up the miscommunication, then you have become the designated authority in your area. Congratulations. You may not think of yourself as an expert, but everyone else does.
And most significantly, You have a natural ability to problem-solve in your zone of creative genius. In fact, problem-solving doesn’t even feel like problem-solving when you are in your zone. It just feels like fun – and time flies when you are having creative fun. Figuring out how to feed a houseful of people with limited supplies, or figuring out not-dumb team-building activities, or building a better mousetrap offers you a welcome challenge and a chance to experiment, and the hours zip by while you tinker.

You may have discounted your zone of creative genius as just a hobby or pastime, but because of the way you get into a “flow state,” there’s quite a bit more going on. You are engaging the most powerful aspect of your brain’s power, and the ideas/things you create are probably quite a bit more valuable than you might realize.

You may have been taught to discount the things that come easily to you. I remember the disapproval of my parents when I didn’t do well in Calculus and French while getting excellent grades in English and Drama. There was this, “Well, of COURSE you got good grades in those things,” attitude. It seemed that only success in the subjects that were hard for me had merit. While I do believe we should work hard at the subjects in which we are out of our comfort zone, we should reward people for their natural aptitude, and encourage them to go even deeper.

NOTE: If you find that you possess MULTIPLE areas of creative genius and that you are naturally good at a lot of things, you may be one of the 10-15% of the population that qualifies as a Highly Creative Person.
Find your creativity quotient HERE with this easy, fun quiz.

Start noticing the “un-earned and un-learned” talents and abilities you – and others – possess, and see how you can maximize them today.

P.S. Highly Creative People, or "HCP's" as I like to call us, are the most underutilized resource on the planet. Together we can change that because the world needs our unique talents and genius, and there's no time to waste.

Think you might be a Highly Creative Person?

Take the HCP Creative Archetype Quiz

A Call to Action: #CalmKindCreative

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A Manifesto for the Highly Creative Person

We, the people of a grillion ideas, do solemnly declare that as of today, we are officially in service to the world.

No longer will we let our fear, insecurity, procrastination and self-doubt keep us from sharing our work.

Our imagination is at your disposal.

Our innovation is yours to use.

Our stories and jokes and songs and teachings and puzzles and solutions are, as of now, available upon request.

We aren’t going to worry about what you think any more.

You need us too much.

We are going to take our secret passions and multiple areas of expertise and share them without worrying about what our fucking niche is.

We are going to give voice to the truth in our hearts, without feeling concerned that the world won’t get it, because we know the ones who need to hear, will hear.

We are going to haul our inventions, our stories, our screenplays, our paintings, our musings, our poetry, our architectural drawings, our compositions and our “oh, this old thing – that’s just a little hobby” doo-dads and whatnots out of the closet.

And into the world.

Where our work can heal the world in the same way that it has always healed us.

(Look – we were the weird kids. We get that. And maybe we’ve held a bit of a grudge. Now we can see that in this life, everyone gets the same amount of pain. We didn’t have it worse. You didn’t have it easier. We have all struggled to make it to here.)

Now there is no more time for divisiveness. We are here to celebrate that which is best, brightest and most humble about the human spirit.

I pledge my heart and soul to greater good of all concerned.

I offer my brain, my ideas and the work of my hands to the world.

I am willing to charge for my work, or not, and willing to be criticized or celebrated or both.

And whatever happens, I will stay #calmkindandcreative

Fear doesn’t get to run things anymore.

Only love.

We are here to love and be loved.

For love is all there is.

How do you do #CalmKindCreative during times of stress, uncertainty and upheaval?

Share in the comments below.

And don’t forget to download your own copy of the Manifesto. Print it out and post where you can read it everyday.

Download

P.S. Highly Creative People, or "HCP's" as I like to call us, are the most underutilized resource on the planet. Together we can change that because the world needs our unique talents and genius, and there's no time to waste.

Think you might be a Highly Creative Person?

Find Out!

Are You a Non-Artistic Highly Creative Person?

So many Highly Creative People don’t think of themselves as creative because they are not artsy, craft-y, or quirky. They are hiding in plain sight.

Like Clark Kent in his glasses, the Non-Artistic Highly Creative Person (HCP) isn’t flashy or even obvious to themselves. But behind those spectacles is a mind that just won’t quit. The brain of the HCP is a perpetual motion machine, always seeking out new projects to try, new problems to solve and new wheels to spin.

For example, Ray from Kentucky is an engineer who creates communication networks. But he has also built a boat out of piece parts, figured out how to climb trees so he could design and build a zip-line in the backyard, knows everything there is to know about Jet Skis, and he plays the ukulele. But if you asked him he might say he’s a “Jack of all trades,” but I doubt he’d ever describe himself as a Highly Creative Person.

And Zena works in accounting for a digital marketing company. She’s famous around the office for bringing in the coffee beans she roasts at home (she doesn’t drink coffee herself) and the elaborate vegan desserts she invents on the weekends. She is studying Swedish, does the Sunday crossword in ink and has been known to write bawdy birthday limericks for family and friends. She has also spent hours learning about dog training, even though she only has two cats. She jokes that it’s so she can better train her boyfriend, but really it’s because she can’t turn away from anything she finds fascinating.

There are Non-Artistic HCPs everywhere – roaming the halls of corporate America, working on oil rigs and driving Ubers. Here are a few of the qualities of the HCP – you can take the full quiz HERE.

Has a grillion ideas all the time
Is good at a lot of things
Not particularly motivated by money or prestige
Suspicious of anything that’s too popular; zigs when others zag
Tends to overcomplicate

Having a Non-Artistic HCP in your life is a wonderful blessing, because they are always up to something interesting. They love to immerse themselves in their latest area of interest, becoming an armchair expert on anything and everything, which makes for lively dinner conversations. They also tend to have very high standards, so if they recommend something, you can be pretty sure it’s good. It is also my experience that they have a need to prove things for themselves. If you tell them it’s raining, they’ll stick their head out the window to check. Try to find this quality of the autodidact charming rather than annoying, OK?

If you are lucky enough to have an Non-Artistic HCP around your home or office (about 10-15% of the population qualifies as an HCP, so it’s likely there’s at least a few in your life) here are a few guidelines:

Give them freedom All HCPs tend to be anti-authoritarian, but if they believe in a project, they will work longer, harder, faster and better than anyone. Don’t make them follow dumb rules or do pointless busy work. Let them invent their own projects if possible, and allow them time to work on their passions.

Engage with them around their values. In my experience, Non-Artistic HCPs tend to be highly ethical people, without a lot of the virtue-signaling flamboyance demonstrated by some artsy types. Get clear about what they care about, and whenever possible, tie your requests to their values. There’s a big difference between, “I need this done by Friday,” and “If this is done by Friday, the whole team will be able to breathe easier. If it’s any later than Friday, there will be a lot of stress and rushing around. Do you think a Friday deadline is possible?”

Don’t try to flatter or bullshit a Non-Artistic HCP. They won’t fall for cheap tricks. Vanity isn’t really their thing. Approach them quietly and with respect. Ask their advice, and listen carefully to their answers, because they tend to over-deliver, and you’ll get more than you expected. They like being the unsung hero, the power behind the throne, the (real) wizard behind the curtain, so they may shy away from public recognition, but be sure to let them know that their contributions have not gone unnoticed. Find out their love language and reward them generously – the loyalty of a Non-Artistic HCP is priceless.

Just because a person doesn’t paint or sing or wear funny clothes does not mean that they are not a Highly Creative Person. After all, the heart of creativity is problem-solving, which makes an HCP a very helpful person to have around.

P.S. Highly Creative People, or "HCP's" as I like to call us, are the most underutilized resource on the planet. Together we can change that because the world needs our unique talents and genius, and there's no time to waste.

Think you might be a Highly Creative Person?

Find Out!