Few people have inspired me more than, Josh Linker – CEO and managing partner of Detroit Venture Partners, Founder of ePrize and author of the creativity blueprint, ‘Disciplined Dreaming‘. It’s no accident that Josh has successfully build 4 companies; he learned quickly that as an entrepreneur, following the rules never gets you far. While most of us talk ourselves out of creativity, “I learned quickly and became obsessed not with the way things are but with the way things could be, and imaging the possibilities and connecting those dots requires creativity.”
Studies have repeatedly shown that each of us have the creativity genes; yet few ever develop the muscles necessary to live in the creative zone. As always, fear seems to be the biggest blocker; yet when it’s identified, it’s easily broken. The greatest leaders aren’t fearless, they just don’t let their fears hold them back. Think for a moment about Josh and his partners’ bold bet on Detroit Venture Partners; not only is it in one of America’s most depressed cities, it’s funding technology projects in an industrial community. Not exactly a winning combination, yet it’s precisely the ‘do opposite’ formula that has guided Josh’s thinking with each of his ventures including the runaway success, ePrize. Read Josh’s book or listen to him speak and you quickly learn that winners prioritize creativity and courage is the muscle that fuels their ambitions.
“Progress doesn’t happen in the absence of fear, it happens in spite of fear.” Next time you have a creativity challenge, try Josh’s 3 magic questions – Why? – What if – and why not?