Creativity is a funny thing. Far too many people think they aren't creative at all, but that's simply not true. The problem is that for most of our lives, we are conditioned to color within the lines. We spend our childhood learning to present ourselves professionally in the hopes that we'll get a job where someone tells us what to do and we're measured on whether we can follow instructions.

Now, following instructions is a pretty important part of life, for sure. In some cases, following instructions is critical to the success of whatever you're doing. If you're a pilot, all of us on board your flight are counting on you to follow your checklist, listen to the tower, and stick with the flight plan. There's not a lot of room for deviation.

But somewhere along the way, people lose the sense of wonder that comes with creating something. We spend a lot of time following instructions, and not much time being creative.

It turns out, Lego is a great parallel to this in our own lives. First, though, let's be sure we all agree on a definition for creativity. I agree with this definition, that creativity is "the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work."