527. Expert Interview: Creativity–A Gift and a Craft

Bob Stromberg

From his home in St. Paul, Minnesota, Bob Stromberg travels continually, performing his unique blend of original story, stand up and “shtick.” His work has left lasting impressions on Fortune 500 companies, raised multiple millions for non-profits, garnered literary and theater awards and broken box-office records in the United States and Europe. The London Times said, “He’s a genuinely funny man.” The Chicago Sun-Times called him, “… a mesmerizing physical comedian.” Most impressively, Bob has joined a very small group of elite artists who have stayed prolific and profitably busy for more than 40 years. He’s done it by “Mastering the Craft of Creativity.” In his online class, Bob shares three profound, transforming disciplines that lead to creating a rich, personal reservoir of original ideas.

Creativity–A Gift and a Craft

“Gift and craft are two good words to help us understand what creativity is and how it works. Creativity is a gift in as much as something of creativity is woven into our genes. It’s hardwired into us. But we are not born creative. What we are born with is a capacity and a desire to experience creativity. We begin using it almost immediately as we move from early infancy into Early Childhood.”

Why Is This Important?

“You may say you are not creative. But here’s the deal: you used to be! As a baby, one day you rolled from your front to your back and couldn’t wait to try it again. You got up on your knees and rocked back and forth for a week. It was just thrilling. All of this was experiencing the joy of creativity. We can experience that as adults when we are doing something we really love.”

What Are the Key Lessons Learned Here?

“Our creativity often gets beaten down and suppressed through the pressures of life. But the gift is still there! it gets harder and harder to experience our gift of creativity as we adapt to life and gradually forget we have it. But creativity does not work the way the world does. Creativity is not about finding the one correct answer, or about mindlessly complying. It’s about playfully trying many possible answers and options.”