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The Creativity Myth with Melissa Dinwiddie: Reclaiming Your Innate Creative Power
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What if everything you believed about your own creativity was wrong? Melissa Dinwiddie spent 15 years convinced she wasn't creative at all - a remarkable confession from someone who's now a Juilliard-trained dancer, professional artist, jazz singer, and creative consultant to companies like Google, Meta, and Salesforce.
The turning point in Melissa's journey came at age 13 when, after comparing her artwork to classmates', she decided she simply "wasn't creative" - a limiting belief she calls a "self-installed glass ceiling." This powerful conversation uncovers how these mental barriers form and, more importantly, how we can shatter them using Melissa's deceptively simple three-step framework: Play Hard, Make Crap, Learn Fast.
Perhaps the most liberating insight from our discussion is that creativity has little to do with artistic ability. "Creativity and drawing are not the same things," Melissa explains. "Creativity is problem-solving, essentially." This reframing opens up creative potential for everyone, regardless of whether you can draw a realistic portrait or carry a tune. The innovation that drives businesses forward, the connections that strengthen relationships, and the solutions to everyday challenges all stem from the same creative wellspring.
Melissa also reveals how creativity intersects with leadership development through her "three Cs" - Connection, Communication, and Creativity. When these elements work together effectively, teams not only generate better ideas but also communicate them with greater influence and impact throughout their organizations.
Ready to reclaim your creative confidence? Start by "practicing imperfectionism" - giving yourself permission to make messy first attempts and learn from them. Connect with Melissa at melissadinwiddy.com, where you can also download her free Impact Innovation Checklist to spark fresh ideas, especially if you think you're "not creative."
Connect with Melissa Dinwiddie and get the link to her IMPACT Innovation Checklist: https://bit.ly/rscpthankyou
Website: https://melissadinwiddie.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/melissadinwiddie
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MelissaDinwiddie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_creative_life
Stay tuned for the next episode of Ready Set Collaborate with Wanda Pearson. Subscribe - Follow and Like Ready Set Collaborate with Wanda Pearson
Chapters
1. The Creativity Myth with Melissa Dinwiddie: Reclaiming Your Innate Creative Power (00:00:00)
2. Welcome to Ready Set Collaborate (00:00:31)
3. Overcoming the "Non-Creative" Belief (00:03:17)
4. Understanding Creative Courage (00:06:38)
5. The Three Cs of Innovation (00:10:40)
6. Create the Impossible Framework (00:15:28)
7. Embracing Imperfectionism (00:19:39)
8. Connect with Melissa (00:21:31)
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