Visualizing Creativity: simple approach to great ideas
I have finally managed to read “How I Use Visualization To Drive Creativity” by Mark Suster on TechCrunch. It’s a very long article and I was really looking for the right time to read it and process it. And I must say that it’s brilliant. I’ve been following Mark Suster on twitter (@msuster) for quite some time and always enjoyed reading his blog, Both Sides of the Table. Apart from being a serious entrepreneur, a real businessman he is also a seasoned geek who has dissected many young entrepreneurs and startups. He really knows the trade and his advice is not only good, it awe inspiring and makes you rethink yourself and your ideas.
In his article on TechCrunch he describes how he uses and how we should use visualization to drive creativity. I was extremely surprised to find out that in fact I follow most of the practices he recommends. I suggest you read the article, and here is how I use visualization to drive my creativity:
1. I get most of my ideas whilst running or flying. Small doses of alcohol also increase my creative potential.
2. I prefer being alone in a quiet environment.
3. I always require a blank sheet of paper and a pen. I express my ideas using shapes, arrows and single words.
4. I start my process by putting the task on my to-do list (on paper!). I then scribble ideas around it, research the internet and open interesting things in new tabs, wait few days, read everything and close the tabs, scribble more ideas and bullet points, think of a title and start writing. To be honest, I am yet to refine my creative process.
5. I try not to force anything.
6. I have fun.
Simplicity really is the ultimate sophistication, and creativity can be made really simple. Think of it in terms of stimulus, environment, process, pleasure.
At the end isn’t creativity the art of making mistakes and art the process of keeping the best mistakes? I think so.
Single greatest article in the history of the modern internet: "Are You a Pirate?" 
Michael Arrington deserves a Pulitzer prize for this article. I don’t think I have ever read anything this good and inspirational yet so true.
Risk is what stops us from achieving great things and incubating ideas. This is why people with nothing to lose or no fear are often so successful. The right entrepreneurial mindset should be all about being fearless and risk management on the no-VC-will-ever-fund-my-idea-because-I-am-not-afraid-of-anything scale. Just stop for a second and think about Jason Fried, Tony Hsieh, Kevin Rose, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and especially Elon Musk. Read about what they did and how they started their businesses. There is a common ground between these people, the “I have nothing to lose” mindset.
As Josh Kopelman states - “Risk Tolerance is a Competitive Weapon”.
