Come on out. I’d love to meet you.

JULY 2008

• July 19th Walden Books in Buford, GA 2-4pm RESCHEDULED FOR LATER DATE. Waldenbooks sold out of all the books in stock.
• July 26th Walden Books in Kennesaw, GA 2-4pm RESCHEDULED FOR AUG. 30th. Waldenbooks sold out stock won’t be in on time.

AUGUST 2008

• August 2nd Barnes and Noble at the Mall of Georgia in Buford, GA 2-4pm
• August 9th Borders in Snellville, GA 2-4pm
• August 16th Borders in Austell, GA 2-4pm
• August 23rd Borders in Johns Creek, GA 2-4pm

SEPTEMBER 2008

• September 13th at Walden Books in Duluth (pleasant hill), GA 2-4pm

*all dates, times and locations subject to change and cancellation.

Most of you reading this blog probably have run into one of those older “Peter Pan” type people who seem to think that even though they are over 40, have nice little belly or sagging hips, gray hair, frumpy clothes and talk like their 14 are cool. Being creative doesn’t mean you never have to grow up or always act younger. Play time is not meant to be a lifestyle, it is meant to add to your creativity, not the primary source.

Well, that’s my five minutes for the day. Now go be a Creative Genius!

www.garyunger.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/garyunger

Get the critically acclaimed book on creativity: here

Another self myth we creatives believe is that we need not bother with changing our hairstyle. “pick something and go with it” –that way you won’t have to worry about ‘change’. Think about that for a minute. Being creative is about change! Now I’m not suggesting we change our hairstyles every day or month, but at least take a look at why you are neglecting that 80’s hairstyle you still have, or haven’t shaved that comb over. I myself am losing my hair so there isn’t much I can do with the limited canvas I have, but that’s another story. Guys, if you’ve got the opportunity, use it. If not, shave it and move on to something you can be creative with.

Well, that’s my five minutes for the day. Now go be a Creative Genius!

www.garyunger.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/garyunger

Get the critically acclaimed book on creativity: here

One of the myths we creatives believe is that the less time we spend on our appearance the more brain time we have to be creative. This is not true. Think about it, it takes maybe 60 seconds or less to pick an outfit and put it on nicely. How much brain time did you save. Better yet, did you really take 60 more seconds in the day to think about something? NO. And since this blog is about tongue in cheek sarcasm… why bother eating breakfast? That’s a good 10 minutes to half an hour. Or why even go home, sleep at work, you’ll save the drive time… the list goes on.

Well, that’s my five minutes for the day. Now go be a Creative Genius!

www.garyunger.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/garyunger

Get the critically acclaimed book on creativity: here

Have you ever noticed it seems that the “cool” creative is the one who is hooked on drugs or alcohol? Have you ever asked why? Does the alcohol or drug use increase his/her creativity at all? No. Chances are the substance abuse or addiction is from the stress of performing. Anyone in AA or NA could tell you about why people abuse so much. But from a creative stand point, outside substances don’t help much. Many of you may say to me “but I am so much more creative when I am high”. Total crap. There is a reason why you can’t drive while intoxicated and a reason why drug addicts end up on the street. It’s not because they were so brilliant when they were high and sold lots of that brilliant drug induced work to an audience. There is more I could say about that, but I only have five minutes. There is not a shred of evidence that substance abuse has ever generated brilliant creative work

Well, that’s my five minutes for the day. Now go be a Creative Genius!

www.garyunger.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/garyunger

Get the critically acclaimed book on creativity: here

Coffee seems to be the drug of choice overall in this creative world of ours. I saw an ad for a book that says the reason for the advancement of the European world (which extended to America and now into the rest of the upcoming countries) was the mass introduction of coffee. I haven’t bought the book but the correlation does peek my interest. Its premise is that before coffee in the European world, they drank beer and wine, which caused more fighting than thinking. Then after coffee, they got more productive and began to think more, and artists began spending more time on their art. You can see the same thing happening in countries that have switched to coffee as the liquid drug of choice like China, India, South Korea and more. What does all that have to do with a coffee to go from Starbucks and the like? Not much, except that you’re throwing your money away if you do that every morning. It takes me less time to brew a whole pot of coffee in the morning than it does to “save time” going into or the drive thru of a coffee shop. So while you (if your one of those people) are only just waking up half an hour into work, I’ve got a good hour and a half on you for the day. –now we’re talking creative brain time use.

Well, that’s my five minutes for the day. Now go be a Creative Genius!

www.garyunger.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/garyunger

Get the critically acclaimed book on creativity: here

I used to work for an ad agency that had me working on a large farming chemical maker campaign, the word escapes me now but there was a word for what happens to a farm that does not rotate its crops enough. Anyway, the idea from the crop rotation can be applied to creativity. If you aren’t rotating your medium of expression periodically your creative production will become stale, or polluted too much to be effective. That is not too say that you give up your mainstay medium of creativity, but to energize through temporary distraction of production.

Crop rotation is an old system of keeping any crop eating enemies from “knowing” when to come to dinner. If a bug knows that it can hang around for two more weeks it’ll get a large buffet of corn to chomp on and then settle down and have a family, it will. Other animals will do the same. Farmers picked up on this. It is also mentioned in the Bible that Farmers should give their land a full year’s rest on the seventh year. That means no planting, no tilling, no bug spray …well if they had bug spray God would have told them to refrain for a year. This practice of a year of rest is still encouraged in the U.S. and Canada. And in some cases farmers are paid to not plant. –which reminds me, I think we need “creative subsidies.”

Take some time off from being creative. Rotate in some different types of creativity. And most of all slow down. Crops grow at their own pace, sometimes too slow, but they grow and the bulk of it will have value both to you and the community that your creativity farmland is helping.

Well, that’s my five minutes for the day. Now go be a Creative Genius!

www.garyunger.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/garyunger

Get the critically acclaimed book on creativity: here