A Thought Experiment

Let’s try a thought experiment. Close your eyes.  No, not now because this is text that you’ll have to read to know what I want you to do once your eyes are closed.  So wait until I tell you.  When you close your eyes, I want you to clear your mind.  Then I want you to think of the word “dog.”  OK, now close your eyes.  I’ll wait.

Whatever image comes to your mind, it’s probably very different than the one that came to my mind.  You may be thinking of your beloved childhood Great Dane, while I’m thinking of my neighbor’s tiny sweater-wearing chihuahua.  And that’s great, because no two people have the same life experiences.

What is Inspiration? Where Does it Come From?

We all draw on our life experiences for many things, including creative inspiration.  During a meeting last fall Brian mentioned he’d like to do a blog post about some of the weird things we have in our office.  The idea was to highlight how our creativity spills over into the office’s decor and re-inspires us on a regular basis.

I had a different idea.  With Halloween approaching, I wanted to highlight some of the weird things in our office in a macabre way, starting my post with a photo of a beady-eyed Jack in the Box staring down from a dark recess in the ceiling.

Being Inspired Differently Adds to the Team

That’s the value of having people with different backgrounds in a creative environment.  Everyone brings something different to the table that you may not have considered before.  Just like we all think of different dogs, we also all have a different frame of reference for inspiration.  Just something to think about.