The famous artist Pablo Picasso said, “Good artist copy, great artist steal.”

The most creative people are collectors of great ideas. They are inspired by everything around them. The secret to creativity is collecting everything you come across. In face, the reason some people have a highly creative output is because they have an overload of valuable input. They are constantly collecting content, ideas, inspiration, stories, skills, and basically anything and everything they could possibly use one day. They are pack-rats of inspiration.

Did you know most successful musicians don’t just write a song straight through? Rather they have collections of ideas, verses, chorus’, bridges, and melodies they have collected over the years that piece together like a puzzle when the song actually gets finished. They don’t wait for an entire song to “come to them,” (that would be crazy), rather they write every idea down and record it so one day they might use it. Artistry is actually a tapestry of fragmented ideas all put together into one final piece.

So, if you want to be more creative…then be a collector of creativity. Write down every idea, thought, image, invention, phrase, whatever it is you want to be more creative in. Never waste a fragmented idea that seems random an unimportant. Because one day it may just be the very piece you need for something that is groundbreaking.

Here are some tips to collect creativity…

1) Have a storage unit for your ideas

Get notebooks, audio notes, folders, post-it-notes, anything that you can capture ideas down on. If you don’t have a storage unit for your ideas you’ll lose them. Wasted ideas result in lost possibilities.

2) Collect what inspires you

Always be on the outlook for things that spark you. Everyday you are bombarded with all kinds of possibilities and inspiration, don’t overlook it. Keep your head up and look for things that you might use down the road. Experiences, images, quotes, stories, examples, illustrations, design, etc… there are so many things that you life gives you to use.

3) Always review your ideas

It does not good to collect something you never look at. Make sure you periodically go back through the things you have collected so that it may spark a new idea. Don’t make the mistake to write things down but then never do anything with them. Take time to categorize your ideas so you can quickly recall them if need be.