The Red Lion or creativity is difficult

I often tell my oldest daughter bedtime stories. Long ago, I started telling stories based on the adventures of the “Red Lion” - a lion that walk and talks like a human. I created a whole world populated with friends, acquaintances and locations that I always included. To give my daughter an active part of the story-telling process, she could select the title of that evening’s adventure. Based on her suggestion, I would then create an adventure.
Often a I noticed that it was often a challenge to create interesting stories based on her selection. On occasion, I just didn’t want to tell a story about the Red Lion. I preferred to read a book aloud. I started thinking about why was the tendency occurred.

I realized that the creative process takes energy. It isn’t always easy to do. It doesn’t matter whether the creative act involves a new product idea, a story for your kids, or a new fashion design. You have to be in the mood to be creative. You can’t always be “on” and pump out creativity. You can’t force ideas to come - you have to create a conducive environment - which is different for everyone.

If you are able to discover the characteristics of this personal environment, you have won a true gift. This gift can be used for your company to develop ideas with corporate value or for personal gains. For me, the end product of the idea is of secondary importance. The fact that the idea is not wasted is the critical aspect. How you define “wasted” is another interesting question. Is the fact that the you forget an idea mean that it is wasted? Or is the fact that you write it down and down tell others about it. Is this a waste?