With novel technologies being continually released and hundreds of years of modern history under our belts, coming across an original idea can be difficult. When creativity strikes and we finally grasp it, it becomes our baby. We nurture it as it flourishes and hold it close to our hearts. It is our pride and joy. Unfortunately, to the outside world, you aren't so much viewed as a parent cradling their baby as you are Smeagol, hoarding his oh-so-precious ring. In protecting our idea so we can further develop it, we tend to shield it so much from the eyes of others that it ultimately stifles our creative growth rather than augmenting it. Learning to give more than you take is the key to unlocking your full creative potential.
Why do we do this? We crave the acknowledgment and sense of accomplishment that comes with getting credit. I'm sure at some point we've all been that kid who said something really funny only to have it repeated by some other kid who then got all of the credit just because no one heard us the first time. It stings. We've been conditioned to compete against one another and, in turn, lock our best ideas away in our personal vaults when it shouldn't be like this.
Some quick advice: Get off of your high horse and stop telling yourself that you're so original and that your ideas are any more important than anyone else's. Most, if not all, things we come up with are remixes of things we've encountered and seen across our lives and that's OK. Being able to collaborate with total strangers and continue to come up with great ideas is one of the best things about being a creative figure. Be someone who has a true desire to give back and leave this earth a little better than it was when we came without getting hung up on something as unimportant as receiving credit for it.
I read somewhere that sharing all of your ideas and creative energy is the best way to learn and grow. If you continually hoard your ideas, your focus is on those ideas rather than dreaming up new ones. Pretty soon you'll be stuck in the same cycle, drawing from the same old resource pool, with nothing new to show for yourself. If you disseminate your ideas to be drawn from by the rest of the world, you'll be left with nothing. As scary as this may sound, isn't being left with nothing the very time where we can take in the most? Giving everything you have allows you to spend your time and energy on absorbing new ideas, new concepts and new ways to approach challenges. Not to mention the potential for innovation that comes from allowing others to build upon your ideas.
Every content creator will tell you that the best way to create content is to consume vast amounts of it. With this in mind, we're all drawing ideas from the same pool. If everyone were to stop adding to that pool, where would that leave us?
