When I get a new car, the first thing I do is get the darn thing undercoated.

The engines in cars today? They tend to last.

Ditto the transmission.

The cars that I’ve been attracted to?

It’s the body that goes. The frame rusts away.

That’s the part of the car that gets the least attention until of course it’s too late.

Breaks, suspension, ball joints and tires?

The get checked and replaced readily.

Oil and fluids get changed.

The structure of the car?

It’s never really taken into consideration until it is no longer sound.

So every year, I get my rust protection taken care of.

This is necessary where I live.

We get a lot of snow and icy roads.

They dump a lot of salt on the roads to melt the ice.

This salty water eats away at the steel of a car.

(not to mention the salty spray that’s in the air at all of the surf breaks)

When it comes to living and learning, creativity is the framework, it’s the body of how you’ve launched and grown your career.

It’s what your entire business is based on.

Creativity isn’t a magical power for artist and the talented.

It’s something we all have.

It’s how we’ve learned language.

Creativity is how we make sense of the world.

When we get stuck?

Our ability to come up with creative solutions to the problems we face in our life is essentially rusted. It’s less sound.

Luckily however, there’s rustproofing.

The more you engage in creative thinking - whether it’s making up lists of random band names or coming up with really terrible product ideas - the easier it is to think laterally and come up with solutions to problems in your every day life.

So,

Here’s a challenge to jump start your creativity.

Write down five really terrible ideas in the comments.

They can be as bad as:

Shave my nose off my face with a belt sander

Wax my dog

Use butter as anti perspirant

Bottle a fart and give it to my boss

Juggle puppies

Just make something.

Have fun with it.

And maybe?

You’ll make each other laugh.

Which is its own kind of gift.