Recently, our next door neighbor's son, Bryce, celebrated his First Communion. What meaningful gift could we give that was creative, honored God and stood out?

We got him a Bible and took seven antique keys that I had received from my father after his passing. Inside Bryce's Bible, we secured the keys on seven pivotal Bible verses that have guided our own lives. 

Bryce's response was that it was "the best gift anyone gave me." It was personal, profound, simple and it came from the heart ... and he loved the accompanying card that had a personal message of encouragement from his neighbors.

How can you start to unleash the creative tiger in you? Let's start by understanding what probably happened to most of us somewhere along the way from childhood.

In teaching a first grade class on creativity, recently, I introduced myself as an artist who really appreciated all the beautiful designs that the class had posted on their classroom walls. With curiosity, I asked how many artists were present that day? En masse, all the students raised their hands with glee.

Now, if you ask this same question of second-graders, about half of the class will raise their hands, while in the third grade it's about one in three. By the time they are in the sixth grade, only one or two students tentatively admit to being an artist.

What happens? Do all the artists leave for The Art Institute of Chicago? Why is the creative genius suppressed?

Our God-given creative genius is the fountainhead of originality. It fires our compulsion to evolve. It inspires us to challenge norms. Creative genius is about flying to new heights on untested wings. Sometimes it may mean the risk of crashing. It can also have a feeling of being amorphous, unmeasurable and unpredictable.

But as old as civilization is, the tendency is to suppress originality. It tyrannized Galileo, handed Socrates a cup of hemlock, lit the flame that burned Joan of Arc and fomented the crucifixion of Christ.

Look out for the suppressors in your life-they could be accountants, big company bureaucrats, co-workers, friends, family members or total strangers.

They are anyone who, having surrendered to the status quo, has become averse to change. From cradle to grave, the pressure is on to be "normal."

My challenge to you and to our industry is to sidestep this pressure, and let your God-given creative genius show. We need your individual talents to help bail this country out of the recession by overriding the suppressors. Set aside your herd longing for security through sameness. It's time to start a revolution.

Start your engines by asking God for a renewed sense of creativity. My guess is that there was a time-perhaps when you were very young-when you had a fleeting notion of your own God-given creative genius.

Maybe you are just waiting for some authority figure to come along and validate it for you. That authority figure is you, so start your own renaissance period today! Reviving the creative genius in you is the beginning of our recovery and sustained success as an industry.

Next time, we'll look at some specific renaissance people who are making a change for the better.

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