“To produce through imaginative skill.”

Creative people produce. And the ability to produce is invaluable.

So the question is, are you creative? Do you have the ability to identify and solve problems? Can you complete the project, idea, solution? If not, then it might be time to change.

Unfortunately, many people believe being creative is just the ability to draw, write, sing or be involved in a typical arts field. The reality is that the ability to produce is one of the most valuable skills you can ever develop. To actually find the solution that allows something to be created. And then have the ability to do it. That is powerful. That is life changing. That is a key to being happy.

So if creativity is a skill that enables us to produce, then we all need to look at the different ways we can improve this skill in our lives.

You are not going to wake up one day and all of a sudden be creative. And no, being creative is not just something you are born with. You are going to have to put the time in. Understand the roller coaster of emotions that get tied to the struggle, and build up this ability to create.

Below are a few ideas that have worked for me. You will have your own list but I encourage you to find several things and then make the time to start doing them regularly.

• Take a picture. Now take a better picture. Do it frequently and share it with others. Seek the honest feedback on how you can make it better.

• Write. In your journal. On a blog. On cards. Through letters. Through email. Now focus on the structure of your writing. Make it mean something.

• Learn to play an instrument. Get far enough to where you can at least play one song. Try to get to the point where you can write your own song.

• Cook. Cook something new. Make it from scratch. Deviate from the instructions and be willing to make it your own.

• Encourage somebody to take a risk in making something. We all know somebody who is scared of trying. Encourage them and help them realize they can actually make something.

• Teach somebody something. Nobody learns more than the teacher and when somebody else can benefit, all the better.

• Problem solve. Identify problems that you can solve and try to solve them. Too many of us complain about problems we can’t really solve. Identify the ones you can and start solving.

I have become over the last decade a very big fan of the art of storytelling. Everybody loves being around a great storyteller and there is a sense of awe and wonder that transpires when you find yourself raptured in the midst of a great story told by a great storyteller.

Over the last couple of years I have come to appreciate storytelling for a very different reason. For me, it is a tool that can be used to validate and flush out product ideas. And one of the best people I know at doing this is my business partner, Jeff.

When Jeff has a new idea about a project, I simply ask him to explain it to me. Now most people when you ask them this will say something like… “well, it’s like instagram (or some other popular product), only it does this instead…”

When Jeff talks about it, he begins with the context, the reason for the need, how there is a clear problem to overcome, how this potential idea could solve it, and that there is nothing out there quite like this new idea. There is an excitement and convincing anticipation that this problem is solvable with this new and unique solution that has now been discovered.

But it is the intangibles of a good storyteller that makes this work. The honesty, sincerity, grasp and depth of knowledge, and most importantly an ability to make it relatable. The tone is confident, concise, warm, and believable.

I’ve also come realize that through this process, Jeff is also able to work out unknown hurdles in his own mind. And if I ask him to explain it a couple of times to others, more clarity emerges to help validate this idea.

Peter Guber, the author of The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human, states “Results repeatedly show that our attitudes, fears, hopes, and values are strongly influenced by story. In fact, fiction seems to be more effective at changing beliefs than writing that is specifically designed to persuade through argument and evidence.”

He continues by stating “story allows analytic thoughts to become secondary to emotional and instinctive thoughts.”

I honestly believe that great story tellers have the ability to be great problem solvers. And when it comes to creating the best products, you want the best problem solvers you can find. It is one of those intangible abilities that can make something great.

I find it amazing and frustrating at how often I see people that just don’t care about the quality of work that they do. In fact today, I just had some yard work done and a portion of the work they said they would do didn’t get completed. I couldn’t be there to oversee it and apparently they weren’t reliable enough to do their job. And it happens to all of us. The follow up with the contractor because they didn’t do their part, the way someone packed your grocery bag, the simple fact that somebody said they would be there and they are not.

Being able to rely on people to do great work is difficult to find. Probably the thing that makes me most excited to go to work everyday is knowing that we have a small company full of people I can rely on. They find ways to get things done. And not only do they get them done, but they get done in often times ways that impress me and beat my expectations.

Elixr was a project that we set a hard date to ship over a 6 month period of time. We missed our targeted release by 1 week. And the reality is that we could have still shipped as the product technially did get approved on our goal date. This platform is something that could only have been done in this timeframe and in the manner that we did it in with a team where everybody could rely on each other. Knowing that people do their part and do it well.

I love the fact that Mobelux is known for shipping reliable and great products. But I love even more the process behind the scenes that gets those things accomplished. Be good and be reliable.

There is always a bit of nervousness the night before a product launch. Tonight is much of the same. Last minute scrambling, the moments of realization that not everything will get done, and the wanderings of the mind of the unknown lovers and critics that your new baby will soon face. But the important thing is that you are shipping. You’ve accomplished the hardest part, which is getting that baby out the door.

I am especially excited for tomorrow as Elixr is a product that everybody on our team has been involved with in one way or another. It is really a big step for us and I couldn’t be prouder of the quality and level of craftmanship that has gone into making this happen. We managed to roll this platform from scratch in 6 months! And that was over the holiday season as well.

So will the world enjoy our new baby? We’ll know in a few short hours…

When I was growing up there were two things I said I would never do as a career; business or work with computers. Even up through my second year of college I was pretty adamant about not doing either of these things as I was on the pre-med track at a university out west. Actually, the odds were that I was going to be either a National Park Ranger in Yellowstone, following along in the footsteps of my dad and three older brothers, or something along the lines of medicine.

The short story is that I ended up going to a small liberal arts school in Virginia on a basketball scholarship and I ended up getting a multi-media design degree - forever changing my relationship with computers and how these wonderful tools would change how I would forever interact with others and the rest of the world.

Around 2004, I flirted with the idea of getting an MBA as I knew I wanted to get my masters. Two things stopped me. First, being the idea of sitting in a bunch of business classes with a lot of people I knew might drive me crazy scared me. Second, someone gave me some wise advice and let me know that skills and knowledge would be more important and that MBA’s are a dime a dozen. I took the advice and ended up getting a masters in education, focusing on cognitive mental processes and how we can learn more effectively.

I didn’t really commit to the idea of being a business person (let alone running a business) until after about eight years of working for other companies and realizing that being an entrepreneur was really more about finding a way to create a path to get things accomplished. I was tired of feeling like others were limiting what could get accomplished. I was tired of feeling like I couldn’t make a difference. I was tired of seeing the dishonesty and lack of integrity. And above all, I had an overwhelming urge to find a way to open up doors for others to make something amazing.

So, in 2008 I ended up taking that first step. I actually ended up taking two at the same time for some crazy reason as I started Mobelux as well as Garrett Ross Photography. Both were for very different reasons and both felt right. I felt crazy in many ways for attempting to do this but I honestly knew that both decisions were the right ones.

The end of this week I was fortunate enough to be able to get LASIK eye surgery. For those of you who have already done this, you know what a wonderful feeling it is to not have to wear contacts or glasses anymore. And the whole procedure is nothing less than a miracle in technology. One of the best decisions I think I’ll ever make.

But there was one point when I really questioned what I was doing. When your eyes go completely blurry and at one point even go completely black, you realize you could have just made the biggest mistake of your life. Panic sweeps through your brain and you just try to get through it. Now I know this may sound a little dramatic, but it is the truth. Putting yourself into the hands of somebody else and fully trusting them is tough to do - especially with our eyesight.

Inevitably, a lot of wonderful things in life require that we do just that. Put trust into somebody else’s hands and let them make life sweeter and more enjoyable for us.

This blog has been a long time coming with multiple levels of excuses to not make and I’ve decided I can not go any longer. So in the midst of another crazy week, I am staying up late and making an official place where I can write, vent, share, and learn. Now I’ve had a Tumblr photo blog for almost 5 years now and I never really wanted to mess that up. I’ve also struggled with the fear of writing and putting things out there as it makes you feel vulnerable. But progress requires getting over fears and there are just too many exciting things to share and get it out there during this journey.

The plan is to not have a plan. To write often and to look for ways to share things that I have learned and am continuing to learn in the process of developing now multiple businesses. I ultimately love making and creating products. And the journey now after 5 years of doing some of this is really just beginning.