Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people. Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.

There were a million thoughts racing through my head but one stuck out more than the others: “Would I be happy if I died tomorrow?” My answer was no and this realisation stopped me in my tracks. I began to think how I would change this. I picked up a pen and wrote all the things I’d ever wanted to do that I hadn’t yet achieved. By the time I’d finished writing I had a list of 100 things in front of me and I made a promise to myself that I’d drop everything to complete my list. This is now what I do with my life…

Along my travels I’ve noticed that everyone has at least one thing that they’ve always wanted to achieve. Everyone has their own list and everyone’s list is different. But not everyone is in a place where they can do that thing (or those things) they really want to do. As people, we create, self-imposed boundaries that limit what we do in life. Whether it’s money, commitments, time or fear, we all convince ourselves that we’re hampered by these reasons… but they are just excuses.

All I have is a positive attitude; I have no money, no sponsors and no favours owed. Instead, I just believe that I can do anything I put my mind to. This is how I can achieve items from my list. I just have to believe. Some people suggest that I’m lucky, brave or just crazy, but the only thing that seperates me from many at the moment is a mindset.

We can achieve whatever it is we want in life. We just need to identify what that is.

I’m not going to claim that this article alone will do that for you, but it’s important to ask yourself if you were going to die tomorrow, would you be happy? And, what’s on your list?