Sometimes making choices in our career paths is difficult. Wouldn't it be helpful to have guidelines to help us make decisions that open up your options rather than shut them down? Discover how choosing creativity, a growth mindset, finding your Flow, and being a Maker puts you on the path of having infinite possibilities in your career, creating a clear path to a future where you can not only be awesome, but also do meaningful work.

1. Possibilities
Infinite
Denise R. Jacobs
Giant Conference | Charleston, SC
15 June 2015

2. @denisejacobs
@GiantUX #giantconf
#infinitepossible

3. Get the slides, y’all!
Creativedo.se/giantconf-ip

4. Photo by Derek Kearney
From front-end à Creativity Evangelist

5. à Founder + Chief Creativity Evangelist
http://TheCreativeDose.com/

6. Our goal at Giant Conference 2015:

7. 1,1,2,3…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bdunnette/143567420

8. It’s the new Black
http://www.flickr.com/photos/designandtechnologydepartment/4771136128/

9. Time Magazine Creativity Poll, 2013
http://business.time.com/2013/04/26/the-time-creativity-poll/

10. IBM CEO Study, 2010
https://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/31670.wss

11. Survey of 684 Developers
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ter-burg/8812567121

12. http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/3135103537/
We have it, then we lose it.

13. This is Water.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/seotaro/2101165162

14. “The new scarcity: the time, energy,
and brainpower of bright, creative
people.”
- Mary Poppendieck, “Think For Yourself”

15. Truth.
Photo: Denise Jacobs

16. Now it’s time to value yourself
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mcgraths/3277839203

17. However

18. The Dark or the Light

19. “Straight lines are un-godly”
https://powerofh.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/friedensreich-hundertwasser1.jpg

20. The pattern of nature

21. We are part of this pattern
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124263610@N08/14201837570/

22. It starts here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gdvan/14910785913

23. Everything comes from this divine unfolding
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rammorrison/2718543921

24. Making one solid choice is the beginning

25. The paradox of choice
http://www.flickr.com/photos/x1brett/2279939232/

26. CHOOSE
https://www.flickr.com/photos/buttersponge/4955768144

27. Non-Creative or Creative?

28. http://www.flickr.com/photos/barretthall/3036598475/ & http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/3135103537/
Who here is creative?

29. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kosmotesto/3794445313/
“Creativity is all about making connections
and seeing patterns.”
Bruce Nussbaum, Creative Intelligence

30. Child, please.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mahalie/276780530/

31. My response:

32. In Tibetan, creative = natural
https://www.flickr.com/photos/norte_it/2340805781

33. Creativity ≠ Trying to be Creative
http://www.theprofessionalcreative.com/take-the-first-step-to-become-creative/

34. Trying ≠ Practicing

35. http://www.wallpaper4me.com/images/wallpapers/do_or_do_not_w1.jpeg
“Try not.
Do, or do not.
There is no try.”
Yoda

36. “If I try to be creative, rather than just
accepting that I am creative, I fail.”
Andrew J. Epstein

37. Not about effort

38. More like breathing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guiniveretoo/1573049301/

39. Like breathing, you can build
http://www.flickr.com/photos/miguel77/2728104156/

40. What’s your creative frequency?
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sine_waves_different_frequencies.svg

41. Tune in
https://www.flickr.com/photos/flavijus/566174947

42. Show up
https://www.flickr.com/photos/joelanman/367425390

43. Practice
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/275200051/

44. Ideas a day
https://www.flickr.com/photos/evaekeblad/15294401442

45. “Deciding for creativity does not
guarantee that creativity will emerge,
but without the decision, it certainly
will not.”
– Robert Sternberg

46. Decide upon Creativity.
Choose it.
Then, amplify your creative
frequency.

47. Fixed or Growth Mindset?

48. Mindset, by Carol Dweck
http://mindsetonline.com

49. Which looks more familiar?

50. Fixed mindset
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bethscupham/7328405210

51. Perfection
Talent
Ability
Accomplishment
Comparison
Fixed Mindset focused on

52. “Maybe I don’t have enough talent.”
“What if I fail?”
“If I don’t try, I can protect my dignity.”
“It’s not my fault. It’s something/someone
else’s.”

53. Perfectionists beware
http://www.flickr.com/photos/diepuppenstubensammlerin/7648792510/

54. (Sounds an awful lot like the Inner Critic, no?)

55. Growth Mindset

56. Learning
Willingness to fail
Curiosity
Expansion
Being self-referential
Growth Mindset focused on

57. Embrace and enjoy learning

58. How do you change from Fixed to Growth?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/f-oxymoron/5005673112/

59. 1) Listen for your Fixed Mindset voice
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theory/3193684632/

60. 2) Recognize that you have a choice
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cjsmithphotography/6804513809

61. 3) Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice

62. “I can learn to do this with time & effort.”
“Most successful people have had failure along the
way.”
“If I don’t try, I automatically fail.”
“If I don’t take responsibility, I can’t fix it.”

63. 4) Take growth mindset action

64. Growth Mindset actions
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onegiantleap/4124211492/

65. http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/959867550/ &http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/959864706/
Adopt a beginner’s mind

66. Release the Tyranny of the Expert
https://www.flickr.com/photos/64540855@N07/5878418781

67. Rediscover the familiar
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77654185@N07/8428225936

68. Re-learn something from a friend
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ribbitvoice/2339351666

69. Learn something entirely new
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13723940@N04/2648317554/

70. In my own life: learning Improv
Photo: Denise Jacobs

71. Learning from experience is key

72. “I don’t divide the world into the weak
and the strong, or the successes and
the failures…Idividetheworldintothe
learnersandnonlearners.”
– Benjamin Barber, Sociologist

73. Approach everything with
openness and eagerness.
Increase your knowledge
and expand yourself.

74. Blocked or in Flow?

75. Creative blocks?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99301367@N00/8497106802/

76. Internal fears
Photo: Denise Jacobs

77. Creative Flow
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7730492@N03/4958540694/

78. Is @ the Sweet Spot

79. Enjoy + Good at + Feeling Empowered
http://www.flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/3310336516/

80. = Empowered Play
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/8216666102/

81. Your brain on Flow
https://www.flickr.com/photos/arselectronica/13994747444

82. Flow banishes the inner critic

83. How do you reach Flow?

84. Uninterrupted, focused time

85. (Instill the Headphones Rule)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/9824922293

86. Helps create space for ideas
https://www.flickr.com/photos/creativedc/2939649520

87. Risk/Challenge
http://www.flickr.com/photos/librarianavengers/2495352933/

88. Immediate feedback
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/8124124586/

89. Find your Flow to dispel
fears and experience
continuous creative growth.

90. Taker or Maker?

91. …Has little regard for
their potential to
shape the future or
ability to take action
on issues that truly
motivate them.
A Taker…

92. …A maker’s work is
characterized by morality,
creativity, craftsmanship,
and purposed problem
solving.
They view their work
through the lens of
service.
A Maker…

93. “….Makers choose their work based on impact
and happiness.”
Jason Cavnar, "Why developers should start choosing
conscience over profit"
http://venturebeat.com/2013/02/18/developers-choosing-conscience-over-profit/

94. Become a passionate problem-solver
http://www.flickr.com/photos/argonne/4435608143/

95. Make “Bug” Lists

96. Cultivate a healthy disregard for the impossible

97. Be clear on your “Why”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zlz212/198759134/

98. Infuse meaning
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/5932362950

99. Whom are you helping?
http://www.codefevermiami.com/

100. Choose bigger, more creative problems to solve

101. Cultivate a culture of creativity around you
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsters,_Inc.

102. Like folks at Pixar

103. Make things that matter –
to both you and others.

104. PROGRESS
http://www.flickr.com/photos/harryharris/381154280/

105. What do you get?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dlaughland/3475448568/

106. Life is complex and so are decisions

107. Two tracks

108. CREATIVITY
GROWTH MIND
FIND FLOW
BE A MAKER

109. Guidelines; stars to navigate by
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/9255191990/

110. “Clarity brings about purpose,
purpose brings about action,
action brings about change.”
Joel Yeo

111. CREATE
LEARN
FLOW
CONTRIBUTE

112. Mobilize a dormant creative confidence
http://www.flickr.com/photos/badastronomy/4179773749/

113. Realize that we are Master Creators

114. While we can’t predict the future
http://fusible.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/crystal-ball.jpg

115. Because of the unknown
http://hub.salford.ac.uk/energymonitoring/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2012/01/known-knowns1.jpg

116. “We are the creators of the future.”
Umair Haque, “How to Have a Year That Matters”

117. And if predicting the future is a comfort

118. A compelling point
Photo: Denise Jacobs

119. Doing something new often involves discomfort

120. Making them should be easier
http://www.cdmdirect.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Choices.jpg

121. These decisions are completely yours

122. The universe is expanding, and so are we

123. Now you have more tools

124. Claim your power. Choose
http://www.flickr.com/photos/designandtechnologydepartment/4771136128/

125. Get the slides, y’all!
Creativedo.se/giantconf-ip

126. My upcoming book!
Banish Your Inner
Critic
DeniseJacobs.com/InnerCritic
26 Effective Techniques for
Unleashing Productive
Creativity

127. Please take the Creative Blocks Survey
Creativedo.se/creative-blocks-survey

128. THE CREATIVE DOSE
A Creativity + Innovation Collective
Work Better. Create More. Create Betterness.
Creative Thinking & Problem-solving
Applying an Innovation Mindset
Creative Collaboration
Team Communication & Cohesion
TheCreativeDose.com
@thecreativedose

129. Rawk the Web? Hell yeah!
Tuesday, 3:30pm
@ American Theater
Cinema

130. DeniseJacobs.com
 Sign up on my mailing list here!
denise@denisejacobs.com
twitter.com/denisejacobs
facebook.com/denisejacobsdotcom
slideshare.net/denisejacobs
Connect, Chat, and Collaborate!
Photo used with permission: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aarronwalter/4629078087/

131. And finally…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27620885@N02/2609974180/