by Robert Epstein, Steven M. Schmidt, and Regina Warfel. University of California, San Diego –

Our abilities to be creative can be developed. Like a muscle, we can exercise these abilities to help them grow and become stronger. As we do that we will also become more comfortable using these abilities. I have been working on developing my own creative abilities over many years to the point that it has become second nature to me to use them whenever opportunities arise. Specific creative abilities could also be called competencies and Robert Epstein describes four core competencies of creativity that we can focus on developing and strengthening. They are:

1. Capturing and preserving any new ideas that occur to you so you can retrieve them later.
2. Challenging yourself to take on difficult tasks and risks while managing the fears and stresses of failing.
3. Broadening your experiences and knowledge outside your current areas of expertise.
4. Changing your surroundings or physical and social environments regularly, and seeking out new kinds of stimuli.

Epstein claims that all four of these competencies can be practiced and developed with effort and result in your becoming a much more creative and innovative person. Do you agree?

This book is devoted to helping you explore several principles of creativity, and develop your abilities to practice these principles in your daily workplaces to magnify your value as professionals. As you have been working through this book, are you seeing the results?

There are many other ways to develop your creative competencies besides Epstein’s four core