 Being a digital nomad is starting to be popular since people can now work wherever they want due to the internet. Most digital nomads choose to live life on the roads, having adventures, and some now choose to be vanlifers. However, it can be lonely and difficult as you are living in a van.
Living in a van has its thrills, but you are most likely always looking for a place to be productive sometimes to make a living and to pay for gas. Wifi hotspots could only go so fast, and sometimes sitting at a cafe really sucks. The people surrounding you will not understand that you need a quiet space to do your work since they might not be there to get work done. They will always try to tempt you. In this situation, where you need some alone time with your laptop, you would want to find a place other than your van, the gym, and the cafe. Here’s how a coworking space can be very useful for a vanlifer: Strong Internet Connection Being a vanlifer, you need a stable internet connection to do your work since it requires staying connected. They also provide other amenities like printers, coffee, and network opportunities. It will offer you a home-like environment so you can work properly while being professional too. Comfortable Seating If you are a vanlifer, you should choose coworking space that is comfortable where you could chill. Sometimes, being in a van for too long could be bad for mental health as it is such a small space. Most coworking spaces feel very open, so you could stretch out a bit. Our couch is very comfortable, and we have lots of open space. Digital Security Coworking spaces have secure internet connections so the users can safely do their tasks. A digital nomad knows the importance of secure connections because of the confidentiality of their work. This security cannot be provided at home or coffee shops. Also, the internet is way faster than the internet in a cafe. Besides, there is a bonus perk of being able to leave your things at your desk while you go to the restroom. Down to Earth Connections Since a vanlifer does not work in a permanent office or live in a permanent place, they do not have long-lasting relationships one on one. Coworking spaces with casual hangout spots and down to earth people provide a greater opportunity for collaboration. You could develop links with other people related to your business. This can be of help in the present as well as the future. Even though a digital nomad is independent, they benefit greatly from interactions and collaborations. Besides sharing ideas and learning from others, it can also improve your mood. Opportunities for Remote Work More and more companies are hiring digital nomads and remote workers. Many companies have developed their name in coworking spaces. With the increase in remote work for companies, there would be more hiring of vanlifers. Coworking spaces don't need to feel corporate. It could be just a step above the comfort zone of parking lots, gyms, and cafes. Also, it is nice to step on something that is not moving for a little while before hitting the road again. If you are in town and you are vanlifing, definitely check out our space! References: https://www.yardikube.com/blog/coworking-spaces-embrace-the-digital-nomad/ https://www.coworkingresources.org/blog/coworking-for-digital-nomads
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 Introduction:
Brand differentiation is a way for a business to be recognized in their field. A company could easily stand out at the top because of its unique and differentiated products, as well as its value proposition. However, another company could be playing on cost rather than implementing product differentiation. Managing your cost is important, but it doesn't promise you consistent growth if you are in a perfect competition market. This is because sooner or later, there will be a competitor that would offer a price lower to yours. Cost and product differentiation are both important in any industry. You must try to experiment with your products to ensure you provide the most unique and cheapest products in the industry. Why Is There A Need For This? The world is changing at a fast pace, and consumers are continually looking for unique products for their lifestyle. The first thing a company should look out for is its consumer. You have to satisfy your consumer or else your products won't be around the market for a while. You should work on how to better serve your customers rather than squeezing every nickel and dime for yourself. However, companies are reluctant to bring in change, especially the older ones and they are too used to the way they do things. Customers would rate those older companies as an innovation-less company. They would not buy your products for the future and this would defame your company. You Lose Customer Following: In the worst scenarios, the company might lose its followers. This is a dark phase for the company. As this time era is all about your reach, losing following pushes you in the back of the line. If you are planning to bring in changes in product for the future, you would have a negligible audience to promote that change. As the customers would still consider you with zero innovation, this can damage your current and future growth. Less Differentiated Products Are Prone To Be Replicated: Do you really want to be basic? Of course, we all believe in the comfort of being basic, but you and your company must get out of the comfort zone to grow. That might mean stop being basic! Being a basic company with basic products means competitors that easily can replicate your products. Because you are not habitual of bringing in frequent changes to your products, they are easily copied. Competitors can replicate the parts of your product and can find them at lower prices. As they would be paying lesser than you, this would cause them to have a lower cost price. Since you aren't backing your higher rates than them with innovative products, people won't buy from you. You lose your market share and profit just by practicing the routine items for several years. Experiments Lead To Innovations: This phrase is very true when you are experimenting with your products. A planned experiment would help you to identify what changes you can bring to your product as well as how to potentially lower your price to stay competitive. This would add distinguishing features for your product. No matter how small these features might seem, they are for sure noticed by customers and considered whenever they make a purchase. Even if you don't end up getting an innovated product, there would be learning for your next try. You can put these learnings in your next experiment and end up getting an even better product than this. So, you must never stop experimenting even if you fail, as this would at least help your learning. References: https://www.movestheneedle.com/all-blog/2019/2/26/how-to-experiment-your-way-to-success https://www.inc.com/thomas-oppong/why-the-freedom-to-experiment-and-fail-is-important-for-innovators.html https://hbr.org/2011/03/a-step-by-step-guide-to-smart-business-experiments https://www.optimizely.com/resources/hbr-using-experiments-launch-new-products/ https://www.unhcr.org/innovation/why-theres-no-innovation-without-experimentation/  We always have heard and read that demand is created and it is not an inborn instinct. Humans are rational beings but it is extremely easy to drive them with their instincts and please them to attain or achieve something. When it comes to desires and wants, it is really easy to convert their desires and wants into needs and necessities. Therefore, we have an entire system in our society or in today's world that is pushing us indirectly to consume and get what we desire. Do we often think of how these desires are created and how influencing these ideas can become in our life? Let's see what the entire story about desires and its creation is about.
Who Are Consumers? Consumers are those people who consume certain products and services. They are the ones who personally use the product or services. They can be the customers and users of the creators. Let's take a simple example to better understand consumers. A mother is searching for a reliable brand of diapers for the baby. The baby is the user because the baby uses and wears a diaper, not the mother. The mother is the customer or a shopper who pays for the diaper. Similarly, consumers can be customers as well. If you want to have a can of coke, you will simply go to a store, pay for your drink and then drink it there and then. This is how you are a customer that is you are paying for your drink and a consumer because you are drinking coke yourself. Consumers always think about their priority and they are always struggling to achieve and attain satisfaction. But in reality, consumers are never satisfied. They are always in search of things that give them happiness and satisfaction. Even a slight change of mindset or a change in lifestyle might give this happiness. That is why we have creators in this world. These creators help consumers to fulfill their desires as soon as possible. Consumers are all somehow dependent on the creators because they are the ones who drive the instincts or creators and develop an urge to increase demand. How Creators are Impacting The Consumers: Creators are the major driving force that creates an urge among the consumers. The creators develop or create those things, products or services that fulfill the need of the consumers. They portray happiness in different forms that push consumers to attain happiness as soon as possible. Eventually, consumers start considering this happiness their necessity and make these creativities a part of their life. Creators do face real challenges as well. Since every consumer has a different insight, a different mindset, and perception, therefore it is extremely difficult and challenging to caret for every individual with their preferences. It is really important that creators know the insight of the consumers and then satisfy them accordingly. Conclusion: Creators need to create great products and advertise them in a way that ensures the consumers how this certain thing will give then happiness and fulfill their needs. Demand grows when creators communicate to their consumers to get the product or service by spreading more awareness and coming on top of the mind. References https://www.wired.com/insights/2014/12/future-made-by-creators-not-consumers/ https://medium.com/@jhreha/be-a-creator-not-a-consumer-ceb7cddd97ca https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/report/2018/from-consumers-to-creators/  Introduction
Stress is one of the most significant things that can damper your creative sense. Stress can be caused by many different reasons and it can block or disturb your creativity in equally different ways. Creativity is intensely based on our mental capacity. When we feel stressed out then that affects our mental capacity as well. This eventually affects our creativity. To stay creative, we need to keep ourselves calm and relaxed. It is very important to understand the relationship between stress and creativity. Sometimes a person feels like he/she has a lot of ideas but it feels very difficult to implement those ideas. You feel like some hurdles or obstacles are stopping you from implanting those ideas. This is due to the stress in your mind. You have an idea, that’s your creativity but you not being able to implement it is the blockage occurring because of stress. People sometimes go blank right after they thought of a good idea. This sudden loss of creativity is also the result of stress. The time when you get trapped behind the barrier of stress, it occupies your mind and doesn’t let you think wisely. Stress tends to block your mind on a certain thing. You feel like you are stuck. Moreover, it blocks your expression and prevents you from thinking out of the box. We all might have heard that stress is the enemy of creativity and it’s true. Stress Barriers for Creativity Stress barriers for creativity are all factors that can cause the blockage of creativity due to stress. These factors can be emotional, mental or even physical problems. If we face any emotional trauma or personal problem we are bound to get stressed out which in turn makes us less creative. It does not mean that the person isn’t creative or that they don’t have any good ideas. It is just that at that moment, they are unable to implement those ideas. Creativity Needs Freedom Creativity is all about being unique. You cannot be creative if you are easily pressurized by others. Creativity demands to be free. You need passion and determination to be creative. If your mind becomes a slave of stress and anxiety then you take that freedom away from creativity. This eventually makes you lose all hope in yourself. It Can Make You Lose All Hope Carrying on from the last point mentioned above, stress should always be controlled and mitigated. When people feel stress, they start to lose hope in themselves. Stress leads to anxiety and depression. Sometimes the depression can be so intense that the person starts to lose all hope in him. Which means that he becomes unable to make any good decisions? Fight or flight response Another very important factor that accelerates the stress factor is the fight and flight response. During such a response we become narrower minded. During stress as our brains are accustomed to focus on one thing at a time that we make us unable to see various ideas. Creativity might come from within but it can take influence from a lot of different areas. If you don’t accept to observe and check out different ideas then you will never be able to control your stress levels and be creative in life. Stress Hijacks Your Brain No one likes to be controlled whether it is by other people or by any other thing. Stress is one thing that can easily hijack and control your brain. It can make you do things that you might regret in the future. People need to overstress otherwise it can overtake your entire brain and kill your sense of creativity. Overcoming Stress Accelerates Creativity We are sometimes unaware of how deeply our sense of creativity is being affected by stress. Stress blocks our immediate thoughts and can affect the flow of creativity. Another thing that blocks our creative sense is overthinking. Overthinking an idea can be problematic. Higher the stress less will be the rate of productivity. So to produce a good piece of work one should overcome all fears that lead towards stress. How Can You Stop Stress from Killing Your Creativity Stress should in no case be taken lightly. It can be the root cause of many other issues, especially mental issues. Hence people need to take stress seriously. Stress can not only kill your creativity, but it can also cause you a lot of other mental and physical problems as well. If you occasionally feel stressed out then it’s time for you to improve your diet and hit the gym. Consuming a healthy and balanced diet helps a lot in relieving stress. The same way morning exercise is also very good for people suffering from high levels of stress. Conclusion Stress-free people are more likely to come up with unique and innovative ideas. In addition to that, they are more likely to implement those ideas effectively as well. You can be a very creative person but as long as stress has your brain is hijacked, your creativity is useless. People need to help improve their mental capacity so that they can come up with better and more effective ideas. Stress affects both the mental and physical capacity of a person. A person can never be creative if his thoughts are blocked by stress and other mental pressure. Daily workout routines and a balanced diet can all result in better health which can eventually lead to more creativity. As you start to reduce your stress levels, your creativity starts to increase and overflow so try to reduce your stress if you want to experience your creativity to its full potential. Citations https://medium.com/attack-the-front/stress-is-the-enemy-of-creativity-bc642639749b http://writingandwellness.com/2016/11/28/how-to-keep-stress-from-destroying-your-creativity/ https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/relationship-between-stress-and-creativity Paula Lee  The need for new ideas and products has consistently grown over time with the progression of technology. Simultaneously, the lifespan of these new products being launched has also significantly decreased. For the survival of corporate markets, it has become vital that relevant new products be released more rapidly now than ever. This persistent increase in demand and supply, calls for a greater need for innovation and creativity in the process of product development.
Unfortunately, the lack of creativity is a major problem that plagues the business world these days. There are many driving factors behind this deficiency, one of the most common being the practice of risk avoidance by not only young startups but also big companies. The strict and rigid rules of corporations lead to a redundant pattern of production and do not give teams the space for experimentation and incorporating innovation. The senior decision-makers of firms are usually isolated from the feelings and motivations of their customers and their lives, which further kills all attempts at breaching this gap in creativity for product development. The constantly changing trends, lifestyle practices, technological advances, fashion choices, etc. are a great opportunity to bring about new ideas and products. These frequent transitions are also a great source to get the creative juices flowing and implement imagination in the procedures of product development these days. THE IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Most companies usually have a product development team in place, since new product development is essential for any company to stay strong in the market nowadays. Staying strong in a competition, however, is just not enough, it is equally important to stay relevant. Times are changing and so are priorities. These fluctuations and transformations constantly demand new concepts and new ideas to birth new products. Products that not only help keep businesses upright but also meet the public requirements and necessities. The process of new product development also helps companies build better relations with their customer base by satisfying their needs. Some crucial peculiarities need to be considered when it comes to product development and its launch. Ensuring that your company is the first to identify the need for a product and is among the first ones to satisfy that need by bringing its product to the market is one main principle around which revolves around the entire process of new product development. THE PROCESS OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Product development is a process that begins with observation. Analyzing the changes in your environment and then identifying the new needs that arise with that change is almost always the first step. Analysis and identification of a need lead to ideation and ideas are what eventually end up as products. Don Koberg and Jim Bagnall in their book, The Universal Traveller, break down the process of product development in essentially seven basic steps.
These 7 steps can broadly be divided into two categories; from the birth of a new idea until the birth of a new product. Product development is a creative process and there is a need to implement creativity in almost each of these steps. A creative culture encourages companies to spend time on new ideas, new concepts, and new strategies. Creative ideas, concepts, and strategies eventually result in new, more widely accepted and appraised products and services. UNLOCKING CREATIVITY IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Ideas are available everywhere, how effectively your team recognizes and filters them to suit your cause, is what defines expertise. Picking up on a concept is just the beginning, how you incorporate creativity in your strategies to not only develop but also market your product is the real challenge. This creativity can be unlocked with motivation and expertise, says Dr. Tina Seelig of Stanford University. Part of your expertise is reflected in the kind of team you put together to encourage more creativity in your product building process. However, a greater part of it is reflected in how you motivate these individuals and the incentives you provide to extract their maximum potential. Innovations are usually described as continuous or discontinuous. While continuous innovations are those that are working on the already existing product, a discontinuous or radical innovation is usually what brings about a revolution within a company. This happens when innovation teams combine knowledge with creativity under the supervision of leadership that is focused on fostering creativity. A leader’s behavior has massive influence over the productivity of its employees and for a product to be inventive; an individual’s capability only goes so far. The techniques that you adopt to stimulate creativity within your organization have a colossal role to play. Rewarding creativity is as equally important as facilitating it. Many companies might be hampering their creativity by not sufficiently appreciating the efforts their employees go to, to come up with a unique solution. Your creative team should be provided with adequate means to get important insight into your customer’s life and necessities. This knowledge allows them to come up with ideas that better satisfy your market along with confidence in making a distinct suggestion. LIMITATIONS TO CREATIVITY There are many practices among companies that limit their creativity and these need to be identified. Companies where the different groups within a product development team are not well synced and coordinated among themselves and with their leaderships frequently face creativity blocks. Communication gaps within the hierarchy of an organization also lead to missing on ideas and worthy suggestions. Almost every idea has some potential and just needs to be molded with experience and expertise to obtain maximum results. Big corporates are usually doing well with some long-standing products in their market that help them generate most of the revenue for their companies. When companies start relying on these products they stop branching out and taking risks. This habit of shying away from trying out new products to avoid risks is another factor that keeps creativity at short because it discourages the teams from working on new concepts. REFERENCES
Paula Lee  We all must have heard about the latest generation of humans that are being termed “Generation Z”. They call themselves the second-best generation as they are fond of sharing all of their issues and experiences with the world. Afterall, they are the most diverse generation in the history of the United States.
However, some of us are lost on what exactly the Gen Z culture entails. So many people believe that they know what Gen Z consists of but we will have to set the stereotypes aside that they are the streaming generation. There have been times where Gen Z freelancers come in and it is hard for us to have a real conversation because the daypasser was too busy streaming during lunch time and it is almost impossible to get them to get off the screen. Research carried out suggests that most of the Gen Z-ers define themselves as:
Cultural Traits Of Gen Z Some of the defining cultural traits of generation Z include:
Most times, they address their feelings through music and have a playlist of what we can term “sad songs”. Little wonder “in my feelings” by Drake was a huge hit.
With the research carried out, it was brought to light that so many Gen Z-ers are friends with a person or two online from so many other countries.
They believe that everyone has the strength to break through social media barriers and become great influencers. With the Gen Z-ers, the more relatable an individual is, the more influence and trust he or she can engender.
Searching through the charts, it is noticeable that the sort of podcasts that mix politics and lifestyle is what is ranked on top. Greta is the perfect example of this, she is a Gen Z who was angrier than ever about climate change. To Wrap It Up Gen Z-ers are not just all about the technology. They are trying to bring changes in the world that no previous generation has never seen or brought before. They are cutting through music, politics, and even venturing into workplaces to bring about change. Even if they tend to be obsessed with their streaming services and phone screens, they also value audio as they see it as an escape from a visual simulation. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/generation-z.html?module=inline https://www.industryweek.com/talent/gen-z-answer-skills-gap-they-just-don-t-know-it-yet https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/02/insider/generation-z.html https://www.eventmarketer.com/article/new-study-what-gen-z-really-wants-and-why-marketers-should-care/ https://www.industryweek.com/talent/gen-z-answer-skills-gap-they-just-don-t-know-it-yet  Introduction
Creativity and innovation are the two terms that are often used interchangeably in business meetings, sessions that involve brainstorming, university lectures, Ted Talks and, in various firms’ corporate mission and vision statements. These two, however, are not the same and it is very crucial to learn the difference between the two to be able to put the two concepts in practice in a better way. Creativity and innovation are significantly distinguished from each other but both are highly valued, prized, and needed in an organization for efficiency and effectiveness of the organization to meet its corporate goals and objectives. So what is the difference between creativity and innovation? What is Creativity? Creativity can simply be understood as the cognitive ability of an individual to see, perceive, think and analyze things differently and uniquely often by coming up with new imaginative ideas that do not exist in the current systems and processes. Companies prefer and want to hire creative individuals who could bring new ideas and values which would help change the already existing, accepted, and believed patterns of behavior by bringing novelty. What is the difference between creativity and innovation? As mentioned above, creativity is the art of being unique and different but innovation is the art of implementing the change by putting the ideas that go inside the mind in practice. While creativity is mostly abstract, innovation is more action and results-oriented. The main difference between the two is just the focus. In the business world, performance is the most important because it helps to measure success. Hence, anything that helps to improve performance is valuable to organizational success. Creativity is mostly subjective and abstract as it involves ideas and thoughts that go in a person's mind making it hard to measure and evaluate. Innovation, on the other hand, can be measured and evaluated as it is action-oriented. Innovation does not need to be drastic or dramatic. Any slight change in the previously practiced norms and traditions, or slight tweaking in processes, and systems could be an innovation. The difference between the two concepts can further be understood by what Hunter said in the Business News Daily. He stated, if the employees of an organization sit together in a brainstorming session and come up with numerous new ideas, they exercise and display creativity but not innovation as innovation is only displayed when those ideas are put in to practice and something new comes in to a physical existence that can be touched, felt or smelled. He further elaborated that many business organizations and leaders focus greatly on generating novel ideas but do not pay attention to creating new products, processes, and designs that help the organization in achieving its corporate goals and objectives. How can innovation be fostered in an organization? Creativity can easily be put in the organizational culture but innovation cannot be forced, but better to be fostered. This can be done by adopting the design thinking approach which is a system that has overlapping spaces and is not a continuous step by step procedure to get through. Design thinking involves identifying the current or inherent problem and then finding solutions to it. These solutions are found by brainstorming and generating new ideas and approaches. Once a series of alternatives are generated the best one is chosen to be implemented. The last step is the implementation of the chosen idea which requires the series of activities and practices to put the thought in action. The design thinking approach is very useful as it helps the organizations to identify problems even before they are visible and this helps them to track the issues that they might be missing on for a long time. Furthermore, it greatly helps in linking the creativity and innovation as it connects the amazing ideas generated through creativity to the actual customers or market that demands it. The creativity that is used and applied to form new products and processes in an organization is what the leaders want and values the most in the corporate world. It is the responsibility of the leaders in an organization to promote the creative culture and use a design approach to bring innovation in the organization by motivating people to think outside the box and become active and results-oriented. Risks Associated With the Innovation Innovation itself is a huge risk and comes up with a big possibility of two things: risk and failure. To be innovative means to take risks and risk always comes up with a possibility of failure. However, failure is something that the organization must not be scared of as it helps you to learn and improve in the future. If the business leaders do not let go of their fear of failure they will never be truly able to foster innovation in the culture, practices, and products of the organization. Many popular organizations used the design thinking approach and succeeded in bringing innovation in the organization. Proctor & Gamble under the influence of CEO Alan Laftley was able to increase its value drastically to a hundred billion by bringing innovation in the organization. The Kaiser Permanente applied design thinking approach and were successfully able to improve the performance of the organization in the form of satisfied patients and improved health and control. Conclusion Creativity and innovation are some of the most highly demanded traits in the business world as they help the organization achieve efficiency and effectiveness which ultimately gives immense success in achieving the overall organizational strategic goals and objectives. Creativity and innovation can both be enforced by the business leaders in the organization by using brainstorming and design thinking approach. Although both concepts are different they are still needed equally in the organization as one helps to achieve the other. References https://www.businessinsider.com/difference-between-creativity-and-innovation-2013-4 https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6848-creativity-vs-innovation.html https://www.destination-innovation.com/what-is-the-difference-between-creativity-and-innovation/ https://fleximize.com/articles/000536/differences-between-creativity-and-innovation https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-creativity-and-innovation.html https://www.huffpost.com/entry/creativity-and-innovation_b_4149993?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABOUUD5QdPJ1N_auB6P4YsrpNCaAMYzOLDshmIBXbmlqwGkqOMp4Fn8C8HhwxL6dbgZ_i1LMmxbm9RUNaWAF0dAEddgCOLIaxczuItp7L8EnzcFq9qmYHQYmYhg-y8vjfhGdkHoeRJ4FraoqRSr_j_xGvvZyAOEro8ouYhC9jf5g&guccounter=2  Content marketing goes further than being just a buzzword. It is a very important part of a highly successful marketing strategy.
The buyers we have today usually demand not just creative but also compelling content from companies and brands that they like. This is where content marketing comes up as it is capable of filling this need through the creation of highly effective content. It goes further to optimize its distribution all across a vast range of customer reach and channels. At a point in time, content marketing was only used as a way to set your brand apart from the usual competitors but now, it is necessary for any brand. Note that, content marketing is being placed at the heart of some of the most successful virtual marketing campaigns. While you may be wondering if your company needs this, we are here to let you know exactly why you do. Your company or business need content marketing because:
When you build trust, it can aid your business in establishing a brand reputation that screams positivity.
The fact is that content marketing aids in creating and optimizing the ideal kinds of content, it amplified your business’ presence online among the audience segments.
Also, content marketing is a great vehicle when you need to grow the thought leadership agenda of your business and to position your brand like nothing else but an industry leader.
Nevertheless, lots of brands have a hard time struggling to gain a powerful foothold in these social media channels. However, content marketing can assist your business in creating very relevant and highly compelling content that is not only good enough for social sharing, it is also good for the advocacy of your brand. To Wrap It Up Some of the best content marketing firms have a deep understanding of the diverse roles that different types of content play at certain stages of their sales cycle. For example, Jotform has one of the best content strategies out there. Their content feels down to earth and relatable to their customers. If the needs of buyers are being aligned with content at every stage of the journey, content marketing makes it much easier for them to easily navigate the road from potential to happily satisfied consumer. Reference https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/why-is-content-marketing-important/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2018/01/24/new-to-content-marketing-heres-what-you-need-to-know/#6c6f762152d4  Creative leaders are like prized possessions for their organizations. They are commonly known as innovative leaders or innovators who are the masterminds or creative thinkers of leading industries. Who are these leaders? What kind of attributes, attitudes, skills, and qualities do these personalities possess? What drives them to be innovative within an organization? Creative leaders not only think out of the box but envision a path that leads their followers to take big, bold steps to turn an innovative idea into stark reality. It is a famous quote that the creative genius comparatively holds less significance in an innovative leader’s success than the ability to form an insight around an idea or set of ideas. So before we go on a hunt to find out the topmost creative leaders of recent times, let’s first discuss what distinctive behaviors set this group apart: They
Citations https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/07/10/eight-influential-tech-leaders-making-a-difference/ https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/products-services/technology/top-100.html https://www.businessinsider.com/stack-overflow-most-influential-people-in-tech-2019-4?r=US&IR=T https://www.creativereview.co.uk/creative-leaders-50-innovation-in-tech/ https://www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-of-elon-musk-2016-7  Meditation is a mental exercise that involves being mindful, observing, analyzing, and concentrating. It is used to train awareness and attention. It is as beneficial to the human brain as exercise is for the human body. It has numerous advantages on a person as it greatly helps a person to relax, to get more aware, get more conscious and to get more directed and focused in life.
It is excellent for improving your health, increasing your ability to heal from the past emotional pain or damage, improving your ability to have better self-control and it helps in your personal growth and development by enhancing your self-awareness, self-management and, discipline. Meditation is also widely known and recognized to increase your spirituality as it allows you to connect with the higher power and find internal peace which ultimately helps in harmonizing your soul. Since meditation is known to have a positive impact on the brain it helps in improving the various tasks associated with a cognitive activity of the brain such as problem- solving, analyzing, and creative thinking. Types of Meditation to Boost Creativity Meditation can be practiced in three ways; Concentration This involves concentrating fully on a single object which could be internal or external. This form of meditation involves mindfulness as the person here totally neglects and ignores any other stimuli and diverts all the attention and focus to a single object forcefully. Observation Another form of meditation that involves mindfulness is the open monitoring which involves observing a particular object or a thing that is dominant in the present situation and not allowing anything else to bother you or distract you from it. Awareness Being fully aware of the present situation and not allowing any sort of observation and concentration to interfere with it. According to the research, a meditation that involves mindfulness plays a big role in increasing your creative thinking skills by reaching the Neocortex part of the brain. This part of the brain is extremely important for stimulating your creative thinking, analyzing, problem- solving and other types of cognitive skills. How Meditation Boosts Creative Thinking Skills Meditation that involves mindfulness is recognized to stimulate the three parts of the brain by making its way from the lowest part which is the oldest part of the brain to the highest and the most difficult part to reach which is the Neocortex. Reptilian Brain The lowest part of the brain that is also known as the reptilian brain is mainly responsible to deal with the most basic issues of human life that are mainly linked to survival and other elementary needs of a human such as hunger, thirst and, sex. It only processes things that are very important for our survival and ignores and disregards other things. This way, it does not let anything reach the Neocortex of the brain which does not seem crucial for survival. Meditation helps you to get through this part and let the ideas and thoughts reach the upper levels of the brain. Limbic Brain Above this is a limbic system that is entirely responsible for dealing with emotions and feelings. This is the second part of the brain above the reptilian brain and this part of the brain activates when one feels sad, stressed, depressed or nostalgic and then engages the brain in dealing with the emotional stress hindering the creative ideas to flow to the Neocortex. Neocortex The uppermost part of the brain is the Neocortex that is responsible for all the important cognitive activities such as analyzing, problem- solving, creative thinking, planning, and organizing. However, Neocortex is known to be extremely selective and only that thing which is agreed on or passed by the other two parts of the brain will reach Neocortex for processing. As meditation can help reach the neocortex of an individual which stimulates the creative thinking skills, it is an extremely useful exercise that every individual who wants to excel and do better in his work must do as creativity and innovation are highly demanded and greatly appreciated in every job and every aspect of a human's life. Moreover, meditation also helps us to become more empathetic and emotionally intelligent which is a very useful and important personality trait that helps the flow of creative ideas to the brain. Many successful and popular people in the world have been known to practice meditation religiously and this has greatly contributed to their personal development and universal success. An example is Walt Disney Company which was one of the earliest to adopt this practice at the workplace. The results of this practice were increased creativity and efficiency in problem -solving by the employers. General Mills Company also puts meditation in practice and encourages the employees to sit still and concentrate on the special rooms that are designed specifically for this purpose. Salesforce Tower has a mindfulness room on every floor. There has been a lot of research going on the effects meditation has on the cognitive activity and one such research has shown that people who did not meditate were most likely to find old and complex solutions of the simple issues based on their experiences in the past whereas people who meditated regularly could easily solve those problems and issues faster and better than them. The research has also shown that open-monitoring meditation helps to improve one's memory and mitigates the cognitive rigidity by allowing the creative ideas to flow freely to the most important and cognitive part of the brain i.e. your neocortex. Conclusion In the light of the above mentioned information it can be safely concluded that meditation is an excellent exercise for brain that is extremely beneficial for health, mind, and soul as it plays a great role in relaxing you and helping you break the cognitive rigidity by letting the creative ideas flow easily from the reptilian part of the brain to the neocortex of the brain. It is proven to stimulate creative thinking skills and has been known to be practiced by various successful people and companies in the world. Citations and References https://chopra.com/articles/5-ways-to-improve-creativity-through-meditation https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-science-of-how-medita_b_5579901 https://www.mindful.org/does-meditation-boost-creativity/ https://hbr.org/2017/08/can-10-minutes-of-meditation-make-you-more-creative |
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