Insight: Mentes IN — Rediscovering creativity
Rafael Sánchez-Torres assures we all have the essential ingredient to be “una mente IN.”
Creativity is an innate ability that we often forget as we grow older. We associate it with children, with immaturity, and then only imagine it as an “exclusive talent” of the successful, famous and wealthy.
Over time, creativity becomes something unattainable, impossible or privileged. Today, we are not taught to foster the processes that enable creative power and the world of possibilities it opens.
Phrases like “I am not creative,” “He can do it because he is very creative” or “She has been successful because she is a creative person” are common and reflect how we limit ourselves due to a lack of early education about creativity and INnovation.
However, more than 98% of human beings have the capacity to be creative; only those with specific neurological conditions may lack this ability. Therefore, we can conclude that we are all creative.
This is where we begin to break down the barriers that prevent us from imagining a better world, finding solutions to problems, or simply creating a space where we can help others with our ideas. Creativity is not exclusive to painters or dancers, to Disney or Google, to Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg.
Creativity is found in the employee who efficiently packs provisions in a supermarket, in the scientists who discovered that a diabetes medication also helps with weight loss without negative effects, in the math teacher who uses musical instruments to teach, or in the first gardener who used plastic bags to prevent the growth of weeds.
Creativity is the curiosity to see possibilities, to imagine the unimaginable without fear or constraints, to listen attentively before reacting negatively. It is the colors, but also the right words.
When we talk about Mentes IN, we refer to minds that have eliminated the barriers that limit creativity, that have silenced the voices trying to keep it exclusive to a few. Mentes IN challenge social paradigms, look to the future to rethink it in the present, and above all, are willing to fail in the attempt to turn that creativity into INnovation.
We all have the essential ingredient to be “una mente IN”: creativity. We just need a push, the tools and the space to allow ourselves to explore it. Are you ready to take the leap?
We invite you to Mentes IN, an event conceptualized to awaken the most creative side of those who want to transform Puerto Rico into the most innovative island in the world. There, Duncan Wardle, former vice president of Innovation and Creativity at Disney, will join us in the mission of this creative awakening. On Aug. 15, starting at 7:30 a.m. at the Coca-Cola Music Hall, we look forward to seeing you.
Author Rafael Sánchez-Torres is the executive vice president and controller of INprende LLC, where he has demonstrated his leadership and expertise for the past three years. With more than 18 years of professional experience, Sánchez-Torres has served as an executive, consultant, and strategist for local and international companies. In addition to his experience in the business sector, Sánchez-Torres has been a university professor, teaching courses in service marketing and consumer behavior.
