“…permission to have crazy ideas”

My partner and I spent many years on the creative side of the advertising and marketing industry and still do a bit of consulting. It was a fun, exciting career, but you were only as good as your last campaign. Expanding the horizons of your imagination was a necessary and ongoing pursuit. This fascination with the importance of thinking beyond obvious boundaries ultimately led to the creation of our store, The Creativity Institute…which brings me to the phrase “…permission to have crazy ideas.”

I borrowed it from an article in “Fast Company” about a company that built a culture of creativity. It talks about inspired employees and customers and the resulting growth. But what does “…permission to have crazy ideas” mean to us as parents, grandparents and educators?

Creativity is freedom. Freedom to think without repercussion. Freedom to push the imaginary envelope without ridicule. Freedom to find the crazy in all of us that frequently leads to brilliance.

Adulthood offers more than enough opportunities to squash creative egos. For those of us fortunate enough to be in positions to inspire kids of all ages, please inspire, motivate, encourage…and most of all, give permission to find the crazy.

Gwynn Torres

Chief Imagination Officer

The Creativity Institute