Why Your Creative Idea Isn’t All That Original (And That’s A Good Thing)

“All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.” — Napoleon Hill

You may have an idea that will change the world as we know it, but did you know that even that idea is not original? Originality in creativity is a myth, and the sooner you understand it, the quicker you will open doors to innovation and creativity.

The Myth of Originality in Creativity

We tend to think that outstanding creative works or amazing disruptive innovations sprang forth into the world wholly original and unique to that industry. They came from nowhere, and their mere arrival changed everything.

It’s quite simply not true.

As I’ve written about in The Myths of Creativity, the truth is that all ideas are combinations of preexisting ideas. Most often, “disruption” happens when an existing idea (or a new combination of existing ideas) migrates from one field to another.

“Unoriginal” Creativity

If you think about the creative world, what’s the most innovative, amazing, successful movie franchise in history?

Star Wars.

The original Star Wars isn’t actually all that original. (And obviously, many have argued that the newest ones aren’t that original either). Star Wars is a combination of spaghetti westerns, some Flash Gordon serials, Akira Kurosawa samurai films mixed in with a little World War II fighter jet scenes, and some Muppets. 

That’s about it. George Lucas mostly just threw movies and genres he loved watching into a cinematic blender, and out came the Skywalker saga.

We see the same thing in business. The most disruptive innovation most people are talking about right now (and have been for years) is still Netflix. But what did Netflix really do? All it did was borrow the subscription model from newspapers and magazines and apply it to DVDs. 

That’s it. 

After “disrupting” DVD rentals and putting places like Blockbuster out of business, it realized that the internet was ready and could provide an on demand model similar to what cable companies had already been using. Both of its “disruptive” moves were about taking an existing idea and serving it via a new channel.

Think: Combinatorial 

This idea—that ideas are combinations of pre-existing ideas—is so important because many of us believe that huge, amazing, disruptive ideas belong on a pedestal to be observed, written about, and almost worshiped as something that only a few blessed people would be able to spring forth. 

But if all ideas are combinations of preexisting ideas, then anybody can do that. If creativity is really about being playful and combining new things, then it’s a skill anyone can develop.

What matters is what you pay attention to. What matters is what you’re inputting. What matters is what you’re consuming and combing. George Lucas made an incredible combination of ideas because he was consuming so many different, diverse ideas.

If all ideas are a combination of preexisting ideas, then your first job is to realize that anybody can do this. Your second is to realize that you are a student of creative ideas far more often. That way, you can come up with more creative combinations.

All ideas are combinations of preexisting ideas. So go start combining.

Build Your Creative Library

If we believe for a moment that combinatory thinking brings creativity, then you should look for a rich library of influences on how you can build a creative base for your idea:

Diverse Content

Look beyond primary sources for ideas and explore new industries, art, or perspectives.

Mix Different Mediums! Take content from books, movies, music, and the arts; mix them up. The more media you use, the more innovative and well-researched your idea will be.

Use Combinations

Brainstorm ideas by mixing contents, even if they are unrelated. Keep an open mind and use a mix of influences to develop your idea.

Cross Learning

Take a workshop or attend a TED talk, even if they are not related to your field. This will give you a fresh perspective on ideas and valuable content to build on.

Conclusion

Ideas are not magic; rather, they are innovative remixes of already available material. The earlier we accept this, the more we can control the process and find and experiment with content to build on rather than inventing something from scratch, which again will not be ‘original.’

So the next time you think of something and feel it is inspired by something else, don’t worry. Work on remixing, and that will get you started on creating something truly amazing and inspiring.