Diverse experiences and diverse collaboration stimulate creativity. When I did my MBA in London, I thought I was with a diverse group of colleagues. Everyone came from a different country, from a wide range of industries. However, it wasn’t until Prof. Lynda Gratton pointed out that actually, MBA’s are all a pretty homogenous group on an academic and intellectual level, and hence don’t produce very creative output.

Lynda Gratton research is about Hot Spots: Why Some Teams, Workplaces, and Organizations Buzz with Energy – And Others Don’t. She refers to the phenomenon of diversity stimulating creativity as boundary spanning: New ideas are often the product of two previously unassociated thoughts, so crossing boundaries within and beyond organizations can be very fruitful.

I hung out with a local german speaking group this evening, whose only common thread was speaking German (and perhaps being internet-savvy enough to find the group). Many were 10 years younger than me, and from all walks of life – and most of who had never met before.

The results? Totally different ways of seeing life, work and objectives in life. No inhibitions to possibility. And lots of good beer over a barbecue.

Either you can see possibility in the world, or you can see the threats, problems and dangers. If you’re really talented, you will see possibility where others see a threat. This is called turning a problem into a challenge.

The magic secret is to understand that what you see is your choice. Do you notice yourself feeling defensive or mulling over issues? Then ask yourself:

• What is the opportunity in this situation?
• What is the challenge that lies in this problem?
• How could I transform this into something good?

Life is a funny set of challenges, pushing us to grow and discover.

It seems a mysterious playground at times, but at others it seems anything but in a work environment that is filled with pessimism and irritation, and surrounded with negative world news. I find myself living in a world which seems driven by a strange obsession with money as measure success, which does not appear to be as fulfilling as society likes to portray.

Stuck in a mess of conflicting belief systems, it is not always easy to stand up to this confusion, face your fears and forge your own, true path.

But at the end of the road, on your deathbed, don’t you want to at least be able to look back and say you had the guts to give it your best shot?

We never have all the information about the reality that surrounds us. Our reality can shift in an instant with the smallest piece information.

Take the following story:

You are riding on a bus. In front of you are two kids being very loud & obnoxious, jumping around and acting out of control (not in a cute kid way either, but in an irritating brat way). Their father is sitting right next to them paying no attention, doing nothing to intervene, and being the most disconnected father you have ever seen.

What kind of father do you think he is?

You decide to to something about it – what do you say to the father? “Excuse me sir, you could use some parenting skills – get a grip on your kids… and, oh, I’d better child protection services to report your serious neglect.”

Suppose you do approach the man, and he responds, “Oh, I do apologize, we just came from the hospital, where their mother just died suddenly. My children are a bit confused and not sure what is going on, and I’m still in shock.” Now what kind of father do you think he is? Did your reality change?

We can never have all the information, yet we often create negative tension in our reality based on how we believe the world to be. If the reality that we know to be true is most likely wrong, why not create one that generates less tension?

• Pick an area of your life that is not working.
• Create a new reality that improves upon this “reality”. (Make it up. Be creative.)
• This new reality must be plausible at some level.
• Start living with this reality, and gathering evidence that supports that it is true.
• Disregard all evidence that disproves this reality.

And then see what happens over the course of a week. I find it almost scary how easy it is to find the evidence I need to prove something radically different.