A Blank Start

This week has seen an army of enlightened men and women participate at the Festival of Thinkers joined equally by scores of young Emirati men and women who were encouraged and inspired to think proactively and to design their own futures and the future of this nation.

For those who did not have the time or the privilege to join this august gathering of successful Nobel laureates, scientists, writers, actors and corporate leaders and listen to them, you too can be creative and successful.

You can follow a course in learning how to think and there are a few.

But, if like most people in Dubai you are a working stiff and find yourself in a time crunch, then the internet is your best friend.

The simplest I found was "10 steps to boosting creativity" on www.jpb.com. However, if you don't have the time to get online then get my kitchen philosophy.

Every intellect is a blank canvas. (Please don't confuse it with the mind because researchers have scientifically proven that newborns are fully cognitive humans with imprints that have been around since their conception).

The input to our intellect comes from our parents, teachers, siblings and the society we live in and if you are fortunate and the input is right then you will grow into a thinking, innovative human being.

The intellect however is a tricky thing. If you input rubbish your output will be rubbish.

But there's always hope. The intellect can be retrained to function differently so if you've been unlucky, wipe the canvas clean. After finding the right environment to begin, find that inspiration to stay completely open to new ideas, listen to your intuition, search for all the facts, look at the pros and cons of everything, have a back-up plan and if you think it won't work, start again until you are happy and actually believe it is achievable.

Every artist begins with a blank canvas, a writer with a blank page, the Nobel laureate with an aim but nothing to back it, a movie director with blank film. The right input makes them successful. You can do it too.