What if you’re not a creative person, but still want to open a business and make your own way in the world?

Think again: you want to start a business and become self sufficient. That spells creativity to me! Maybe you are a creative person after all!

One of my friends said to me once, “I am not a creative person. But I am a strong writer!” Creative people don’t have to be a painter or a poet; however, you do have to be willing to color outside the lines and think of new ideas.

My writer friend, in my opinion, is wrong: she is creative. Whether they create concepts or things, creative people are imaginative and full of plans. They create.

That is what creativity is.

In fact, I drive Michael crazy by telling him all the things I would like to do with our house. It makes him insane. He says, “It would be much more cost effective to build a new house to all of your specifications!”

Oh, no. Cost effective, schmost effective. We just can’t have that. Starting from scratch won’t bring the satisfaction of transforming something old and plain into something uber cool.

But I understand his point. And we might just start our new house from the ground up, as much as I would love to re-do the existing one and witness the transformation. (And it will be fun to pick out everything to my exact specifications. I might settle for that.)

Back to the original point: you want to be an entrepreneur. And entrepreneurs have to be creative. Your business doesn’t necessarily need a painter or a poet (unless you are selling original paintings and books of YOUR poetry), but your business does need someone who is willing to think of new things. Even if the new ideas sound crazy to other people.

If you are willing to think of new things, new solutions, and new ideas, you are on the right track.

You are creative.

Here’s my creativity exercise for you today. As a new entrepreneur, find a notebook that appeals to you. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it inspires you. It can be a moleskin, a colorful journal, an expensive leather bound note pad, or a yellow legal pad.

I don’t care what it looks like.

This is your entrepreneur’s dream journal.

Whenever you have an idea, write it down.

It can be a goal for your personal life, an idea for a revolutionary new product, or a logo idea.

You can write it down in words.

Or pictures.

However it makes the most sense to you.

You can use a ball point pen. A pencil. A colorful set of markers. Or crayons.

You can glue torn out clippings from the New York Times.

Or Cosmo. Whatever inspires you.

Keep your creativity journal in your book bag. In your car. In your sock drawer.

Wherever you are most inspired, that is where it should be.

This isn’t a business plan. Or something that you should pitch to an investor.

But it is the place where your concepts and thoughts can be stamped on paper. It keeps your goals at the front of your mind.

Your dreams.

And above all, your true priorities in starting this business in the first place.

And what better place to start than that?