[ Living Horizontally ]*

I read this recently (in regards to a conference I will be attending in April for work) and, well, I just liked the philosophy behind it, so I thought I'd share:

Creativity is not the invention of something new, rather it is the connection of two things that already exist but no one has connected. Our general tendency is to live "vertically," which means we dig deeper into our field of ministry, career or study without paying attention to much else. Creative people live "horizontally," which means they try to have a wide breadth of knowledge, people and experiences that they connect back to their calling. We are always going to drift toward being "vertical," and we have to force ourselves to live "horizontally."  You will have to force yourself to have "horizontal" relationships and experiences that you can connect to your life. The more "horizontal" we become, the more creative we become.