Creativity and Broken Eggs

In 1420, the dignitaries of Florence held a competition.

They offered the enormous prize of 200 gold florins to the architect whose genius could span the unfinished dome of the Florence Cathedral.

This was a great challenge. Even the original builders of the cathedral in 1296 left writings hoping that God would offer a solution because they did not have one.

Filippo Brunelleschi was the answer to their prayers.

He proposed the radical idea of a dome supported by a brick vaulting system that balanced the opposing forces, but without the customary central supports.

The experts called him mad.

Brunelleschi sought to demonstrate his design with a challenge.

He could stand an egg upright on a flat surface. Could they?

All were unsuccessful.

Finally, Brunelleschi cracked the bottom of the egg and set it down.

It must have been a mess, but it stood upright and demonstrated his idea.

The experts protested, but Brunelleschi remarked that they could have done the same if they had understood his design.

Of course, they did not. They didn't understand creativity either.

They were too mentally confined by their concept of the possible. Figuratively and literally, the thought of solving the problem by breaking the egg never occurred to them.

One imagines their frustration trying to balance the round egg on the marble tabletop and their groans when Brunelleschi demonstrated the sloppy, but clever solution.

We all have eggs we never think of breaking.

These are the fixed states of mind that we accept without question as "the way things are." These states represent the boundaries of our thinking and, therefore, our life experience.

Refuse to be confined by the eggs others never think of breaking.

Geniuses break eggs.

Break your share.

That's why they make paper towels.

About The Author

Copyright 2004 by Tony Papajohn.

Tony writes and speaks on success. Subscribe to his free SuccessMotivator e-zine at http://www.successmotivator.com.

tony@successmotivator.com

---

SoulCollage - Combining Collage Fun with Spiritual Practice

SoulCollage? is a unique blend of spiritual practice and the fun of collage. Using our intuition and imagination, we create a deck of collaged cards where each... Read More

Courage and Creating

Doing anything creative often brings up fears, anxieties, insecurities. Courage may be defined as going ahead in spite of fear. But many creators not only live with... Read More

Gift of a Letter

"What cannot letters inspire? They have souls; they can speak; they have in them all that force which expresses the transports of the heart; they have all... Read More

How to be More Creative and Enhance Your Creativity

efore thinking about how to be more creative, let me begin point out some real barriers that some people seem to have when wanting to enhance creativity,... Read More

Art, Artists and Vocation

"If you really want to upset your parents?go into the arts!"-Kurt VonnegutHow many times have people been told that "You can't make it as an artist."How many... Read More

How Logic Puzzles Can Help You Become a Better Problem Solver

I have to admit that I am a confirmed puzzle-head. I love crosswords, acrostics, and cryptograms. But I am becoming ever more intrigued by logic problems. For... Read More

Self-Care for Creative Artists: 5 Ways to Start Today

Self-care is the path to creative expression. By paying closer attention to your self-care, you can have easier access to your creativity, to your muse and to... Read More

Creativity and Communication Lessons from Crossing the Street

Spring is in full bloom, which means it's 'get back in shape time!' For me, that means strapping on the sneakers and going for a run (well,... Read More

Creativity: Getting Out of the Box

Leadership, especially in times of change, depends increasingly on the ability of managers, professionals and even front line workers to think and do things differently. In other... Read More

Unleash Your Creativity and Think Your Way Out of the Box

The brain is a strange organ. It works in ways we don't yet understand and manages to create everything we see. Working at odds with the rest... Read More

The 7 Simple Steps To Harnessing Your Creative Power And Achieving Incredible Success

Let me repeat what I believe is the most powerful and fundamental knowledge available to man:"YOU CAN CREATE ANY ACTUAL PHYSICAL REALITY YOU WANT THROUGH THE INTENSE... Read More

My Work Is My Play - The Journey From Survival to Creativity

"For the love a' creation!", my father was fond of expounding, when "Pete" and "God" had run their course. It was years later until I realized that... Read More

Attraction: What We Attract With Our Creative Choices

I used to be a jazz singer. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, they were wonderful and I strived to sing like they did. But no one impressed me... Read More

Top Ten Brainstorming Techniques for Business Success

We experience creativity every time a fresh idea pops into our minds. We recognize creative imagination in everything from a pastel painting to a business plan. By... Read More

Problem Solving Techniques For Business And Life

Learning a few good problem solving techniques can improve your bottom line and your life.Do you ever run out of good ideas, or go around in circles... Read More

Creativity Management ? Finish What You Start

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this... Read More

Fear & Creativity

My fears are most powerful when they're simmering just under the surface of my awareness. I'm resistant to a new idea, I'm defensive about holding on to... Read More

Shyness - Another View

We are all born shy, aren't we? When we see little children clinging to their parents, hiding behind Mom or Dad, we are reminded about the shyness... Read More

Are You Inventive Enough to be an Inventor? Some Guidelines to Invention Success!

Inventors make a ton of money when the invention is needed and when the process is done properly. There are different types of inventions. Some inventions are... Read More

3 Simple Steps To Solving Problems

You can move beyond your stuck states by contemplating all the possible consequences of your own particular situation.What is it that you want to work in your... Read More

Mindfulness and Music: Things That Go Hmmm

Shhh... can you hear it?One of the most powerful forms of mindfulness is awareness of sound. We tend to tune out the noise of our lives in... Read More

Trying to Create From Distorted Perceptions?

We've all met people who are "negative" ? negative thinkers who consistently see the glass as half empty.In certain situations, particularly stressful ones, even the most positive... Read More

12 Ways To Boost Your Creativity At Work

As workplaces continue to rightsize and downsize, we all find ourselves doing more with less. How do we stay ahead of the workload while staying sane? The... Read More

How to Generate Ideas for Info-products?

Dear friends the current study shows that there are more than 50,000,000 registered domain names on the Internet (approx.)(Reference http://www.whois.sc/internet-statistics/) Even if we eliminate 30% non-commercial sites... Read More

Mindfulness and Poetry: Delicious Word Awareness

Everyone's a poet.Of course, everyone's a critic, too! This means that there are plenty of opportunities to heighten our awareness of words and how we use them.Words... Read More

Learn A Life Skill TODAY!

Did you ever watch your grandma knitting?Wasn't it boring? Didn't it seem to take forever?Most of us live life in the fast lane.Who needs to buy balls... Read More