Five Key Steps Along the Path of Destiny

Orí lo da mi. Ori is one’s creator. Even the òrìsà are created by orí. In reality, orí is what makes you a creator. Because of orí, you cannot NOT create. To be human is to create. In that regard, creativity is not reserved for the artists alone. The key is to become confident in your creative capabilities. Some of that confidence will result from you trying new things, doing new things, accepting failures as learning opportunities and creating opportunities for successes. This is true of every aspect of your life. Sexually, intellectually, artistically, professionally and spiritually, creativity is part of your development.

Service & Creativity 
Lots of people get caught up on the THING (e.g., the song, the poem, the dance, etc.). But the thing you’re creating is a distraction. Like your own body, it is a vehicle through which to express a creative idea. So, one way to get closer to the idea is to focus on the people you serve. What problems are they experiencing? What aspirations are they pursuing? As you get deeper into the reasons WHY you are creating, it will take your mind off of the self conscious, ego driven need to look and sound “good”, whatever that means.
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Evolution & Development of Creativity 
You know this, but I need to say it anyway: A creative solution to does not manifest as a finished product. It’s crude at first. It might not even seem to match the concept you had in your head in the beginning stages. Gradually, however, it evolves over time through trial and error. In my classes (I teach art and Spanish at Ile Omode, Oakland’s premier African-Centered Academy), I use a four-step process, I learned in the consulting industry. It’s called Creative Inquiry and consistes of these four main steps: Dream, Design, Deploy, Debrief.

• The Dream phase involves inspiration and envisioning. We seek experiences, imagine and pretend.
• The Design phase requires that we make sense of things, find meaning in what we have thought up and experiment.
• The Deployment phase is where the rubber hits the road. We implement our ideas with what we have in the allotted time. Time is important. We cannot ruch it but we cannot leave it too open either.
• The Debrief phase is where we look back and examine what actually happened. What was the real process? What worked? Why did it work? What can we learn from that?

​Cultivate Creativity 
Another tactic I learned as a consultant was the creation of opportunities to act. You have to deliberately create contexts that will stimulate ideas and give you opportunities to try new things. Think like a traveler! Explore! Literally get out there and seek new environments. Ask “why” more than you think normal, perhaps.

Assemble a Team 
Eniyan laso mi. People are my clothes. That’s what the elders say and for good reason. But you have to get the right people, the right leadership and the right context to elevate your creative efforts. It sometimes starts with a single person who will challenge you and guide you towards unseen aspects of your ideas or environment. When you have tried your hands at many things or at the same thing many different ways but not been successful, it is time to be more creative about the approach.

Live the Medicine! 
Take action. Know that you’re building a prototype, not a finished product. If you’re thinking too big, scale it down until you can be successful most of the time and LEARN from the experience. You need a model for excellence, no matter how small. But mostly, be passionate about it. If you don’t get excited by the prospect, then it’s a dud! No creativity will follow a dead idea."

Obafemi Origunwa, MA | ObafemiO.com
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