Creativity

You are NOT a machine: There's a reason that presentations are often called 'death by PowerPoint,' and many of the most masterful presentations don't even need slides… More than anything, you need to realise that first and foremost, you're a storyteller – and in any pitch, you have to engage the emotions and interest of your audience.

there are no good musicians who do not have a good ear, no artists without a great imagination, no writers without an excellent command of the language. The same goes for our trade. It is not enough to know how to use a calculator or build sound financial models. You need to have vision. You should look at a business process as if it were a living thing; you need to sense its music.

Russian Oligarch & Owner of Norilsk Nickel Mining Company

We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans- because we can… We have some impulse within us that makes us want to explain ourselves to other human beings… That's why we paint, that's why we dare to love someone- because we have the impulse to explain who we are.

Renowned poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist; author of "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

My mind just never stopped thinking about what we could be doing next.

Grammy-winning rapper, producer, and member of The Black Eyed Peas

A designer is a designer, whether you're designing a dress or a toothbrush. The integrity, skill and creativity are all the same.

Renowned Fashion Designer & Founder of DKNY Brand

I'm always searching for that black-swan, what is that project, or who is that artist that feels specials, and feels counter-culture. Who is that artist that feels interesting and has a bold, unapologetic point of view? That's what pulls me in- and you know what, if you find that and put the right strategy around it? You can disrupt culture.

Music executive and manager, founder of Meadows and Q&A platform

Diamonds are a miracle of nature, they are millions of years old, they survived a hazardous journey to the earth's surface and the discovery of them is an exciting moment. To see the rough diamond and then watch it come to life on the polisher's wheel with incredible fire and scintillation is incredibly inspiring.

Founder and Chairman of Graff Diamonds, luxury jeweler and gemstone merchant

We are all born creative, but most of us learn to become uncreative. Education systems often suppress the natural creativity we're born with rather than nurturing it.

Educational reformer & TED speaker on creativity in schools

I believe many of our new generation of entrepreneurs put too much significance on money, and not enough on ideas. If you have a great idea, and the skills to execute that idea, the money will come.

We are born creative and often seek to transform our surroundings to suit our existence. Everything around us constantly changes and so creative options for adapting to this change become the only guarantee we have for a meaningful existence.

Leading African innovation and development scholar at Harvard Kennedy School

What binds exceptional creators together is their relentless effort. Regardless of the challenges or roadblocks along the way, these people persist and find ways to overcome obstacles.

Co-founder of WeWork, co-working space company

At WeWork, we believe creators are anyone that's pursuing their passions and contributing to a mission. Regardless of your company size, title or function, you are working towards creating meaning, intention and purpose within your life.

Co-founder of WeWork, co-working space company

Diversity brings interesting ideas, interesting challenges and creativity. If there are too many females in a field, then get more men! If there are too many men in a field, get more women!

Neuroscientist; Nobel Prize for discovering brain's positioning system cells

It absolutely never failed to amaze and lure me in. In fact, if I was at the window during the work day, I had to set a timer on my watch, because I would just get immersed in the view. It's like a transcendence; I just started doing meditation, and it's a little like that where you can just completely separate yourself and just be sucked into it.

NASA Astronaut & ISS Expedition Crew Member

The workplace of the future is hard to predict specifically, but one thing we can predict is that we will increasingly rely on human intelligence and creativity as opposed to human capacity to perform repetitive tasks.

Co-Founder of Slack, Former CEO & Creator of Flickr

A lot of people assume that I would choose not to have bipolar disorder; but I'm grateful for it. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, because I feel like all the ups and downs have formed who I am, and made be braver, tougher… more creative and more capable.

Professional wrestler and WWE performer, known as AJ Lee