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The Canvas That Changed Everything

Hey there, innovation champions!

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Imagine this scene for a moment: I'm standing in my studio, holding a pristine canvas I'd owned for years. Still wrapped in plastic. Still untouched.
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Why? Because every time I looked at it, my inner gremlin whispered, "Who are you to paint on canvas? You're not good enough for canvas."
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Sound familiar?
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Back when I was a professional artist, I had grand intentions. I'd subscribe to art journals, bookmark calls for entry, dream about exhibitions. But here's the embarrassing truth: I rarely actually submitted anything. The perfectionism and comparison trap had me so paralyzed that I'd rather dream about opportunities than risk the vulnerability of actually pursuing them.
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Those gremlin voices — "You're not good enough," "Who do you think you are?" "That piece sucks!" — they were running the show.
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The Day Everything Shifted

Fast forward to years later. I'd returned to art purely for joy, and I was experimenting with what would become my Creative Sandbox Way™ principles. On this particular day, I finally peeled that canvas out of its plastic prison.
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I pulled out ink, paint, brushes, fabric for collage. For maybe an hour, I went completely wild.
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In the Hollywood version of this story, I'd create a masterpiece. In reality? It was absolutely, spectacularly ugly.
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But here's what changed everything: I didn't let that bother me.
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Because the experience of creating was pure magic. I felt like I was buzzing, like my feet were floating two inches off the ground. I wasn't just in flow — I was in a state of complete, uninhibited joy.
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From Ugly Canvas to Innovation Gold

Here's the plot twist: although that canvas really was hideous after that first session, I kept working on it. Layer after layer, session after session. Today, it's one of my favorite pieces.
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This experience taught me something profound about innovation barriers. I was unconsciously practicing what I now call the Create the Impossible™ framework — even before I had the language for it.
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Breaking Down the Innovation Barriers

The barriers to innovation aren't technical. They're psychological. They're the same forces that kept me from submitting to art shows, that kept that canvas wrapped in plastic for years.
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In the tech world, I see these barriers everywhere:

• Teams paralyzed by the need to have the "perfect" solution before starting
• Brilliant minds convinced they're "not creative enough"
• Organizations where failure feels dangerous instead of educational
• The relentless pursuit of polish over progress

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But what if we could systematically remove these barriers? What if we could create environments where breakthrough innovation becomes as natural as breathing?
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The Create the Impossible™ Framework

This is exactly what the Create the Impossible™ framework does. It's built on three core principles that directly address the psychological barriers to innovation:
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Step 1: Play Hard

Remember being four years old? You could build impossible structures with blocks, paint purple elephants, and create entire worlds from cardboard boxes. Somewhere along the way, we learned that "professional" means serious. That innovation requires suits and whiteboards and perfectly formatted presentations.
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Play Hard challenges this. It's about approaching problems with curiosity instead of anxiety, with experimentation instead of expectation.
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When teams embrace play, they lower the stakes. They reduce fear of failure. They access divergent thinking — the kind that leads to breakthrough innovations.
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Step 2: Make Crap

This might be the most revolutionary principle in innovation. We live in a culture obsessed with polish, with getting it right the first time. But innovation doesn't work that way.
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Every groundbreaking innovation started as someone's "ugly canvas" — rough, imperfect, maybe even laughable.
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Make Crap gives teams permission to create terrible first drafts, ugly prototypes, half-baked ideas. It's the antidote to analysis paralysis. When you're allowed to make crap, you actually start making things.
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And here's the secret: most "crap" isn't actually crap. It's just unfinished. It's the raw material that becomes brilliance through iteration.
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Step 3: Learn Fast

The third pillar transforms how we think about failure. Instead of something to avoid, failure becomes data. Every misstep becomes a stepping stone.
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In traditional innovation cultures, failure often means project death. In a Learn Fast culture, failure means course correction. Teams become antifragile — they don't just survive setbacks, they use them as fuel for breakthrough thinking.
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The Compound Effect

When these three principles work together, something magical happens. Teams stop being afraid of imperfection. They start generating more ideas because the pressure is off. They iterate faster because they're not attached to any single solution.
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They develop what I call "innovation confidence" — the deep knowing that they can create solutions to problems they haven't even imagined yet.
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Your Innovation Barriers Assessment

Think about your current team or organization. Where do you see these barriers showing up?

• Are people waiting for perfect information before starting?
• Do team members hesitate to share "half-baked" ideas?
• Is there an unspoken pressure to have polished solutions in early-stage discussions?
• Do people avoid taking creative risks because failure feels too costly?
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These are the invisible forces keeping breakthrough innovations locked away.
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The Freedom to Create

When we systematically remove these barriers — when we give ourselves and our teams permission to Play Hard, Make Crap, and Learn Fast — we unlock something profound: the freedom to create.
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Not just the freedom to execute someone else's vision, but the freedom to imagine entirely new possibilities. The freedom to tackle problems that seem impossible. The freedom to innovate not just incrementally, but exponentially.
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This is what I experienced that day with my ugly canvas. This is what thousands of teams are discovering through the Create the Impossible™ framework.
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Your Challenge This Week

Choose one innovation barrier you've identified in your team or organization. This week, experiment with removing it:
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If perfectionism is the barrier, try a "Make Crap Monday" session where the goal is to generate the worst possible solutions to a real problem.
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If fear of failure is the issue, implement "learning sprints" where teams intentionally try approaches that might not work — and celebrate the learning regardless of outcome.
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If play feels too frivolous, introduce 15-minute "play breaks" during problem-solving sessions. Build with LEGO®, try improv exercises, or doodle while brainstorming.
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The goal isn't perfection. It's permission. Permission to think differently, create freely, and innovate without limits.
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Because on the other side of those barriers? That's where the impossible becomes inevitable.
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Stay curious, stay playful, and keep creating the impossible—for everyone.

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I'd love to hear from you: What's one innovation barrier you've noticed in your team or organization? Or maybe you've experienced the freedom that comes from removing these barriers? Hit reply to let me know!
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Senior Leaders: Ready to systematically remove innovation barriers and create the freedom to innovate? Book a complimentary Innovation Strategy Session and let's explore how the Create the Impossible™ framework can transform your culture from perfectionism to breakthrough innovation.

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🎧 Turning the “Not Creative” Myth on Its Head

I had a blast joining Wanda Pearson on her podcast Ready, Set, Collaborate! for an episode all about creativity—and the myth that some people just aren’t the “creative type.”
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We dig into how creativity shows up in unexpected places, how collaboration is actually a creative act, and how even analytical folks can access breakthrough ideas.
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🎧 Listen here​

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When systems talk to each other, magic happens
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Those wavy lines? They’re not just doodles. They’re data flows, communication pathways, and the invisible connections that make breakthrough ideas possible.
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The best innovations don’t happen in isolation. They emerge when different components, teams, and technologies start speaking the same language. When the rigid boxes learn to dance with the flowing curves.
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What systems in your business could be talking better?
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Ready to map out your innovation ecosystem?

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👉 Book an Innovation Strategy Session and let’s explore how how to make magic happen.

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That's it for this week!
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Creatively yours,
Melissa

​P.S. When you’re ready to build a culture of thriving innovation, so your team can Create the Impossible™, here are three ways I can help:

1) Download my FREE Innovation Culture Assessment to evaluate where your team stands

2) Download the first 50 pages of my book, The Creative Sandbox Way™, to reconnect with your creativity

3) Click here to schedule a complimentary Innovation Strategy Session

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