‘Curiosity is the opposite of Creativity’
Gary Hoover once told me that ‘Curiosity is the opposite of Creativity’. He recently gave me a tour of his house where he showed me his personal library with over 45,000 books! Everyone of his businesses (i.e. Bookstop Books, Hoovers.com, and Storystores) was based on the principle of curiosity.
In my opinion, creativity and curiousity fuel each other. Have them both and you’re golden. As an individual looking to build your brand, come to the table with the mindset of mastery and innovation. Sam Decker, over at Decker Marketing, says that if you combine the two with the addition of competence and the entrepreneurial spirit, you will have a workplace mindset that will set you apart from your co-workers and spark your career. You no longer fill a role at your company, but you solve a problem.
How do you balance curiosity and creativity? Do you think that too much of one without the other is harmful?
October 10, 2007 at 4:11 pm
So maybe the old saw should be adjusted to say, “Curiosity killed the cat, but creativity brought him back.” I believe that curiosity and creativity are hard, if not impossible to separate. Before you can apply the creativity needed to solve a problem or overcome an obstacle, you have to have the curiosity to say “I wonder if I can solve this? I wonder what will happen when I do?”
October 10, 2007 at 7:25 pm
David,
Great comment. I think they both spark each other. Your creativity can lead you to be more curious and your curiousity can lead you to think of new ways of being creative.