Most creativity comes from connecting two old ideas to make something new.

Leonardo da Vinci drew helicopters hundreds of years before they were actually invented. Nikola Tesla invented the first wireless remote control. You might look at these great inventors and get inspired, or you might wonder if you’re creative at all.

But creativity isn’t just about making things that have never existed before. Most creativity comes from connecting two old ideas to make something new. And this can apply no matter what work you do or what interests you have.

If you’re a good cook, it can be putting two ingredients together to make something tasty. If you’re a writer it can making a character who feels real. If you’re interested in business, you might combine two marketing ideas together into a hybrid that gets attention. And it’s all valid. It’s all creativity. And it should be respected.

There’s a tendency for people to undervalue their own creativity. They look at their lives and their jobs and tell themselves that they’re just not creative. But everyone is creative in their own way.

Maybe you tell great stories, create crafty things that your friends and family love, arrange flowers so they attract everyone’s attention. Whatever you do that’s creative, you need to acknowledge it. Respect it. And share it with the world in any way you can.