How to be creative

A Manifesto by Hugh MacLeod. The full version can be found at changethis.com.

3. Put the hours in.
1. Ignore everybody.
8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
11. Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
13. Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside
17. Merit can be bought, passion cant.
18. Avoid the watercooler gang.

“The first rule of business,” he said, chuckling at my naiveté, “is never sell something you love. Otherwise, you may as well be selling your children.”

"The more you need the money, the more people will tell you what to do. The less control you will have. The more bullshit you will have to swallow. The less joy it will bring. Know this and plan accordingly."

Awful waste

I recently heard - "Only 50% of the yearly crop is usable." That's an awful waste of brain power and time. And of this, the cream gets into one of the big companies where mostly they are either on bench or maintain code that was written before they were born. So where are the ideas? They die. Prestige and money are the killers of creativity.

A lot of problems in the talent pool can be attributed to the education institutions and lack of quality in the process. Recently the CEO of Infosys said this quite nicely in "India Poised" program of Times Now. He says something to the order of "there is huge demand for resources in almost all sectors and there is a huge youth population available, but the bridge that connects the two islands is education. This is in a pretty bad shape and needs immediate repair." I hope that this situation will improve and we will make it better for ourselves without which, standing in the global market will only be a dream.