wholemindesign

http://blogs.hbr.org/pallotta/2013/09/does-your-innovation-come-from.html

This article really grabs me and articulates something about innovation and creativity that I believe deeply.  It reminds me of a quote I wrote down when I was in college and discovering the world of creativity.  It is from an art critic called Theodore Wolf: 

"On its deepest level, creativity is a form of love that expresses itself in the urge to clarify share with others what it holds most dear.  It is the expression of an expansive, curious, and generous spirit, eager to do what it must to activate, provoke, reveal, or release the fullest aspects of life and love in itself and in others."  

And from the HBR article: "The unspoken assumption is that our goal is to gain competitive advantage, to crush the competition, to win. But I believe that the best creativity comes from a much deeper place than the desire to win. It comes from a desire to contribute to the lives of others, either by introducing something new that improves the quality of their lives or by showing people that something thought to be impossible is in fact possible. When you change people's perceptions about what can be accomplished or achieved, you contribute to their humanity in the richest possible way. You give them hope for the future — a sense that life is not the demoralizing, unchanging drudgery day after day that the world so often teaches us that it is. When you change the way people think about possibility, it is an existential experience. It makes them feel understood."

"I write a lot about philanthropy. Philanthropy means, literally, love of humanity. You don't have to give a million dollars to charity to be a philanthropist. You simply have to actively demonstrate your love of humanity. Your empathy. If the purpose of our creativity is philanthropy — if it is love for our fellow man, an appreciation that people struggle in their lives, and a desire to somehow lessen that struggle and increase their joy, with a little more leg room or with an iPad — it will change the world. And that is the greatest competitive advantage of all."