Creativity and Broken Eggs

In 1420, the dignitaries of Florence held a competition.

They offered the enormous prize of 200 gold florins to the architect whose genius could span the unfinished dome of the Florence Cathedral.

This was a great challenge. Even the original builders of the cathedral in 1296 left writings hoping that God would offer a solution because they did not have one.

Filippo Brunelleschi was the answer to their prayers.

He proposed the radical idea of a dome supported by a brick vaulting system that balanced the opposing forces, but without the customary central supports.

The experts called him mad.

Brunelleschi sought to demonstrate his design with a challenge.

He could stand an egg upright on a flat surface. Could they?

All were unsuccessful.

Finally, Brunelleschi cracked the bottom of the egg and set it down.

It must have been a mess, but it stood upright and demonstrated his idea.

The experts protested, but Brunelleschi remarked that they could have done the same if they had understood his design.

Of course, they did not. They didn't understand creativity either.

They were too mentally confined by their concept of the possible. Figuratively and literally, the thought of solving the problem by breaking the egg never occurred to them.

One imagines their frustration trying to balance the round egg on the marble tabletop and their groans when Brunelleschi demonstrated the sloppy, but clever solution.

We all have eggs we never think of breaking.

These are the fixed states of mind that we accept without question as "the way things are." These states represent the boundaries of our thinking and, therefore, our life experience.

Refuse to be confined by the eggs others never think of breaking.

Geniuses break eggs.

Break your share.

That's why they make paper towels.

About The Author

Copyright 2004 by Tony Papajohn.

Tony writes and speaks on success. Subscribe to his free SuccessMotivator e-zine at http://www.successmotivator.com.

tony@successmotivator.com

In The News:

BBC Motion Gallery Clip Creativity Challenge winners shows real flair
PublicTechnology.net, UK - 1 hour ago
The judges, whose feedback on the wining entry is outlined below, evaluated the entries according to perceived creativity, how well the brief was fulfilled ...

UNESCO Moscow Office (press release)
NEW PUBLICATION ON CULTURE, ARTS AND CREATIVITY IN RESPONSE TO HIV ...
UNESCO Moscow Office (press release), Russia - 11 minutes ago
Practical recommendations are also given and methodological principles of HIV expansion prevention through mobilization of cultural, art and creative ...

Creativity without destruction?
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA - 6 hours ago
BY SONYA SORICH - ssorich@ledger-enquirer.com -- Creativity is frequently perceived to go hand in hand with some degree of psychological instability. ...

Saudi novelist wins Arab creativity award
Saudi Gazette, Saudi Arabia - 6 hours ago
Paris – The Lebanese Cultural Forum in France announced the Arab Creativity award to Saudi novelist Rajaa Alem, Wednesday. The forum’s head Nabil Shagra ...

Wisconsin Task Force on Arts and Creativity in Education Seeks ...
Wisbusiness.com, WI - 15 hours ago
The Wisconsin Task Force on Arts and Creativity in Education will hold a public forum at 11:00 am on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at Electronic Theater ...

Gulf Coast Newspapers
Storytime teaches social skills, creativity
Gulf Coast Newspapers, AL - 8 hours ago
... a source of inspiration and entertainment, a chance to connect with other children in a social setting, and a time for creativity and expression. ...

New London exhibition shows the creativity of Berlin
photographypress.co.uk, UK - 19 hours ago
A new exhibition to be held at the Dray Walk Gallery at Truman Brewery will celebrate the "explosion of creativity and openness" that came about in Germany ...

New Company Focuses on Increasing Fun, Creativity in Workplaces
PR-CANADA.net (press release), Montenegro - 12 hours ago
HAMFLAP, a subsidiary of Evergreen Team Concepts, stands for “Have As Much Fun & Laughter As Possible.” HAMFLAP offers onsite education and online community ...

RTE.ie
Portsmouth Lose Niko Kranjcar... and Creativity?
Bleacher Report, CA - 21 hours ago
The concern is that, much more than simply a young and talented player, Niko Kranjcar is the very heart of Portsmouth's creativity. ...
Pompey handed Kranjcar blow InTheNews.co.uk
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Creativity lost in computer crash
Lindsay Daily Post, Canada - 20 hours ago
So who pays for my lost creativity, my downtime, my loss of revenues? My current project is forecast to gross somewhere in the vicinity of 135 million for ...
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