Several people have asked me to provide an update on how my son’s team fared at the Future Problem Solvers competition. I’m pleased to report that his team won first place in the “Presentation of Action Plan” category.

Here’s his ribbon:

I took off work to attend the awards ceremony, & was very glad to be there to photograph the looks of delight on their faces when they realized they had won first place. I was also glad to get to hear the keynote speech from a man that has spent the last 20 years studying human creativity. Here’s a summary of his salient points:

• Everyone is creative, not just a chosen few.
• You can grow your creativity by learning and trying new things. Creativity is not provided in a finite quantity at birth.
• There are a number of different ways to express creativity. Celebrate your personal creative strengths and talents.
• Don’t let the negativity of others get the best of you. Pay attention to your inner voice that tells you a creative solution is valuable, and remain committed to it even if the idea is unpopular.

I thought it was a wonderful message.

Photos of the Day (I've been going back through my files & discovered a couple from the Atlanta JBT that I had not yet posted):

“Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything. “ - George Lois

"To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted." - George Kneller

"Our boxes are in our minds most of the time." -Robert Alan Black

"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." - Pablo Picasso

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong." - Joseph Chilton Pierce

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." - Scott Adams