I tweeted this morning that I had the don’t-have-an-idea-for-a-blog-post-blues.  It’s true.  Mr. Creativity himself does occasionally run dry!  (Note to self: see if Peter Lloyd might write a song with that title).

I got some humorous ideas and encouragement tweeted back at me. Gary Murning (author of If I Never, @GaryMurning) suggests an author interview.  I’ll take him up on that, but not today. @ReetaLuthra suggests that the aforementioned blues are a topic in of itself.  Yes, but a bit “movie within a movie” — not today!

Mark Abrahams (@Mark_Abrahams) pushes my own advice back at me and advises me to put on my Creative Coat (see my TEDx talk).

Ding! That’s it, I’ll post about The Creative Coat Concept (© copyright 2010, Gregg Fraley). I’ve spoken about it, but not written about it, so here it is in a nutshell. My idea is a simple visual and kinesthetic metaphor that reminds us of basic creative behaviors. Creative mindset is a start, but it helps when creative thinking becomes creative doing.  Now…

Imagine a coat. Any shape, color, size, style.  It should make you feel like a king or queen, it should be fun to wear. Have lots of pockets. Put it on. This is your Magic Coat of Creative Behavior. It reminds you of your creative power.

Imagine a golden heart, beating in your hand, because the golden rule of creative thinking is… do what your heart desires. And, if you don’t like what you are doing, Do Something Else.  Do something you love.  Put your golden heart in your breast pocket (that’s inside left).

Imagine a purple rubber ball. Bounce it. Remember to put play into everything you do. Play is how you learn, and is a serious part of any job. Put it in your right pocket.

Imagine a pair of rose colored glasses.  Put them on. See the world through the lens of deferred judgement, neutrality, and innocence. The glasses are to remind you to be open all the time.  If you do, Magic things will happen.  Put them in your left pocket.

Imagine a small notebook and pen. See yourself writing down all your ideas. Notebooks are the “one thing” of creative behavior. Ask Beatrix Potter or Jack Kerouac. Put your notebook on your inside right pocket.

Imagine an old fashioned wooden ruler. Break it in half over your knee, and put the pieces in your back pockets. This is to remind you that comparing yourself to others is a lose-lose game that generally has you shutting down your own self-expression. Break the pattern of comparison — put those pieces behind you — and you can do anything you want, dance, sing, play guitar, write, paint…live.

Imagine a magic knife.  Yes, a knife, as Un-PC as knives are. Not to worry — on your knife aren’t blades, but are tools, like brainstorming, forced associations, visualization, and more. Have a few blank blades to remind you to always be adding new tools to your magic knife. Remember tools become more valuable the more you use them, practice using creative tools. Close it carefully and clip it to the ring on your jacket zipper. Or on your jeans!

Finally, imagine a warm cashmere scarf.  Any color you like.  Wrap it around your neck and feel it protect you from the cold winds of fear. Fear is the enemy of creativity, so let your scarf remind you to face the cold winds of fear, and walk through that storm with your magic jacket of creativity zipped up.

Put your Magic Coat of Creativity on every day (take a shower first) and use the tools inside.