Spontaneity

I learnt how to ride a bike without training wheels when I was about 4 or 5 years old. After that I kept using my bike to go everywhere until I was 18 and got my driving license. So I can say I have good experience.

When Cycle Hire became available in London, I immediately jumped on the chance of getting a key so I can hire a bike. The first time I went to use one, something strange happened. I got on the bike, fixed the seat, checked everything and was ready to start cycling. That's when my mind kicked in and clouded everything. My legs were shaking, my hands were shaking and I could barely start peddling. I did a few yards, the bike was all over the place and I almost fell. I kept at it and when I got confident that I could do it I started cycling.

Was it that I didn't remember how to cycle? Definitely not. I had cycled for almost 15 years, so I had all the knowledge I needed. What happened was that my mind clouded my confidence and judgement. As soon as I got on the bike, I started thinking of what I had to do, what I need to be careful of, how things work, etc., etc. As soon as I got past that barrier, it was like I had never stopped (apart from the pain in my legs).

When you start working on any project, try to quiet that judgemental voice. If you have the skills and some experience, then work spontaneously without judging what you are about to do. You can review your work later. The act of creation needs spontaneity and being able to experiment. If you keep on judging yourself then you won't be able to create something extraordinary.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Taking the Tube

Photo by Jeff Stvan

I don't know if it's just me, but one of my most creative times is while commuting by train/tube.

The only things you need are a seat and a piece of paper (or blank new document on your device), and you can go into your own zone and start creating.

I'm not sure if it's the repetetive sound of the train, the chatter of the passengers or the view outside the window, but while taking the tube I've written some of my best pieces and solved some of the stickiest problems.

Next time you are commuting by train, try it out yourself. Ideally don't use anything that can distract you (music, radio, social media), focus and create new things.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

The Zen of Creativity

Reading this book will inspire you and help you see things differently. It even has exercises that you can do to boost your creativity and inner calmness, it's sort of a creative self-help book. 

John Daido Loori, talks about the zen arts in a way that is easy to read and inspiring. You'll go through chapter by chapter, without even realising how time has gone by.

Get this book now and get inspired in your creative work.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Come Out and Play

We often get so stuck in our routines and doing "serious" work that we forget how important having fun is in our lives.

When we have to solve a problem we work endless hours to try and find a solution. Even if it's not the best solution, we are just looking for A solution. Being creative on demand is a difficult job and we are always looking for ways to create a spark that will help us create that amazing solution.

What I've found and seen work is introducing play in your work schedules. When you are with your team or alone and you are stuck trying to come up with an idea or solution, why not take a break. If you are stuck, it will take hours to come up with a mediocre solution. If you take a break, play a game or exercise you will feel refreshed and you might come up with the solution while playing.

Give it a shot this week, not only will it help you creatively, it will also bring you closer to people you play with.

Posted by minimoko 

Who is Creative?

Traditionally, when people have talked about being in the creative industries, they refer to the following fields:

• Advertising
• Architecture
• Arts and antique markets
• Crafts
• Design
• Fashion design
• Film, video and photography
• Software, computer games and electronic publishing
• Music and the visual and performing arts
• Publishing
• Television
• Radio

These fields are also recognised by the UK Government Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Although these fields are traditionally creative I believe that working in these fields or out of them does not define wether you are a creative person.

According to the Oxford dictionary, being creative means to "relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work". Taking this into account I can think of a list of other industries and job positions that require you to be creative on a daily basis.

Throughout my diverse career I have always found that being creative has helped me when working in any field and job. To me, creativity has to do with being able to use your imagination to come up with new ideas and new ways to solve the problem that you are facing. Some industries are traditionally creative but not being in them does not mean that you are not creative as an individual.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Our Idea Wall at #C4CC

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our-idea-wall-at-c4cc-pnFGnItnFkcjdvmFazge.zip (1.73 MB)

Rustoleum's dry erase paint is a great alternative to Idea Paint (a great product but quite more expensive) and the result is pretty good. All you need is a pack of their paint, a foam roller with a tray and a wall of up to 50 square feet. We decided to go smaller and with more coats to make sure it works and in the end it did. You need to be patient though as it takes two days before it can be used!

Anyone visiting C4CC, come around and leave us a message!

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

What Happened at RewireLondon

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Last Tuesday was an amazing day. For those of you that couldn't make it or where not in London that is when RewireLondon took place. It was a great day to exchange ideas, experiment and be creative. Everything happened at a fluid environment that allowed pop-up workshops, discussions and experiments.

We were running the co-creation area where people could come with their problem and we tried to solve it collectively and creatively. In total we solved three problems, had brilliant discussions and made important connections. So here are the problems and a brief note on their solution. 

 

Problem #1: How can I make money out of online content (e.g. magazine) without looking like it's "sold out"?

This problem came from a person that has an online magazine that combined literature knowledge and technology. Although the content of the magazine is very well researched and helpful, there was no strategy for revenue. To solve the problem we started drawing out what the site is and what the target audience is. Instantly we moved to looking at what's the value of the magazine and understanding that the person running it was the most valuable asset. Having identified that, we looked at how revenue could be generated from different streams (premium content on the site, ads, consultation to publishers, education/seminars to publishers). Having an open discussion and people with different views and backgrounds we then moved to how value can be generated by creating a community around the site.

 

Problem #2: Accommodating diversification and niche. How do we not spread ourselves too thinly, whilst trying new things?

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Deciding to go niche or not is always the problem for people starting up in business. To solve the problem we started looking at how diversity and niches interact. The turning point of the discussion was when we looked at the definition of niche. In ecology, niche is "the position or function of an organism in a community of plants and animals". Taking this definition and translating it to business we understood that being niche helps you be part of a wider community and in order to do that you need to engage in collaborations. The discussion then moved on to analysing collaboration and thinking about how collaboration works and how it can evolve. This is a topic that was brought up consistently throughout the day and I will talk a bit about it at the end of this post.

 

Problem #3: Well-being (Physical). Often exercise is an independent affair. What ways can it be combined for public/social good? (e.g. The Good Gym)

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Last problem of the day was on the subject of well-being. We started looking at well-being and fitness in every imaginable way and focused more on identifying what well-being really is. Most of the times well-being is associated with "fitness" as promoted by certain stereotypes, instead of that we looked at what makes people happy and promotes not only physical but also mental well-being. Our discussion moved to looking at which social causes can be empowered and at the same time increase the well-being of the individual.

 

Bonus topic: Collaboration

Throughout the day the subject of collaboration kept coming up on every discussion. We are avid supporters of collaboration and we work closely with various companies and individuals (see partner list on our website). The barriers of collaboration is definitely a difficult topic that cannot be solved in an hour. We are experimenting with other collaborators on this and more stories will be posted soon.

To sum up, RewireLondon was a big success and received great reviews from people attending (look for#rewirelondon on twitter). We also want to thank Sinead and Alison for organising everything and we look forward to the next one!

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Poplar, United Kingdom