People often look at entrepreneurs and tortured artists alike as homebodies. Cramped into uncomfortable positions, hunching over the work they believe will be their magnum opus — that may be true for some entrepreneurs, but it’s certainly not the truth for everyone.
Some creative types are inspired by nothing less than the great outdoors. And what’s not to be inspired by? There’s plenty of fresh air, incredible scenery and there’s just so much of it! The question is then this: how do you turn that passion for being outside into something that will actually fuel creativity?
Nature Snapshot
Start out extremely simple: take a chair with you outdoors and find a nice place to put it. Better yet, find a random place to sit down outdoors. After you situate yourself, take a look at what’s in front of you.
Whether you’re a wordsmith or a charcoal painter, take only what you see and turn it into something artistic. This can be a drawing, a short story, a song…anything you feel captures exactly what you’re looking at and ONLY what you’re looking at. Maybe you want to capture the essence of the scenery in an oil painting. Maybe it’s the location for a small novel you begin to write. The world is yours to explore.
Poetry Slam
Poetry is one of the more complicated written forms to master, and that’s why it’s often used as an inspiration exercise. Simply put, if you can write a poem? You can write anything.
Find something outdoors and limit yourself to a type of poetry — a couplet, a sestina, a haiku. Then build a poem based around that something. It can be as simple as one acorn or as conceptual as one moment outside.
Collect Them All
Not everyone has the luxury of being able to spend lengthy amounts of time outside, but that’s okay. Nature can still inspire you, even when you have to sit behind a desk most of the day.
When you do have the ability to go outside, take a small shoebox or satchel with you. Collect specimens you find outside, place them in your container and bring them back to your home or office. Utilize these items when you want to feel inspired. This also helps you to focus more on details as you get to be up close and personal with the items that you choose, examining each and every vein on a leaf or the intricate details within the blemishes of a stone.
Set Up Camp
Finally, one method for sparking creativity is one that doesn’t really involve any outside prompt. One of the best methods for using the outdoors as creative fuel is simply to spend more time in the wild. Don’t limit yourself to walks every once in awhile when you have the time. Go camping. Set up a mini outdoor studio. If you can’t take nature with you wherever you go, the next best thing is to go wherever nature actually is.
Being cooped up inside all the time can be extremely creatively stifling. Even if you aren’t a fan of fresh air and mosquito bites, go outside every once in awhile. Not only is it good for your body, it’s good for your creative mind.
