“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” – Thomas Alfa Edison

Quoting from the words of Thomas Alfa Edison, intelligence is only one percent are influenced by the inspiration, the other ninety-nine percents is influenced by how we can absorb the knowledge taught to us, what is going on around us and how we react to them; or commonly known as effort.

Prospects and opportunities to be creative and innovative in my opinion is very largely open when we become uni-students. Lessons; both life lessons and what was taught at school, have reached a fairly mature level when we become uni-students.Way of thinking; uni-students usually aged around 17 years or older, at these age the capabilities and ways of thinking, can be said, was already an adult. And from what I know, there are many opportunities to get to know, a wide range of ethnic, cultural and nature of people; when we’re in college.

Back again to the statement of Thomas Alfa Edison, our ability to absorb is the most important one who determines our intelligence. Thus, the broad environment that we get in college and then we unite with the maturity of the lessons  that we’ve got, combined in our way of thinking, will open up our view of the prospects and opportunities that we can achieve. Afterwards, we played with inspiration to generating the ideas that can meet the criteria of the prospects and opportunities.

In the process of creativity and innovation there is a theory called the novology. The theory mentions five levels of creativity, namely:

• Existential: Everything is there that started first, then other things were in attendance to follow.
• Communicational: When something has been created, it would relate to or communicate with other processes.
• Instrumental: instrumental relationships will bring us create the tools or assistive devices.
• Orientational: The tools or assistive devices should be directed towards its use to produce something useful (to the environment, community, social).
• Innovational: Everything that was created for the community is the innovation that provides a new object, new features, new products.

There are also 4 levels of innovation, they are technological innovation, product innovation, process innovation, and business model innovation. All of those levels are the key that you can use to develop your ideas on filling up any kind of prospects and opportunities.

But most students are not able to develop his abilities due to several factors from both themselves and the environment. Both the physical and emotional condition got an ascendency, easily bored and quit half way through is a problem that most frequently occur. Usually due to have found something more interesting or even physical inability due to lack of rest because of too many tasks and lectures.

In addition, the environment was a big influence in inhibiting the ability of students to be creative and innovative. Friendship and family environments that do not support, or even abusive and degrading, can bury the spirit.

From the theories of creativity and innovation that I mentioned earlier, we can see that new ideas do not always have to be created from scratch. Changing an existing object into a new object with value added are also a form of innovation. So, be smart to see and absorb whatever is around you because it’s the starting point for finding new opportunities. As in  a book, The World IsFlat. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century is an international bestselling book by Thomas Friedman that analyzes globalization, primarily in the early 21st century. The title is a metaphor for viewing the world as a level playing field in terms of commerce, where all competitors have an equal opportunity. The more you open your eyes to the situation around, you will quickly be able to follow the change or globalization that happens, because if you have been left behind by globalization, that was the beginning of the slump; that’s the point that Thomas Friedman trying to convey in his book.

To that end, what every student must owned to be creative and innovative is actually pretty simple, just the intention, desire, tenacity and courage. So, do not ever feel inferior and don’t cease on making new creation!

“1 in 10 [survey respondents] said they’d rather lose their mother-in-law than their cell phone.” – Leger Marketing

I do not support the actual survey results above, of course. It was only as aparable that can show how big the mobile phone plays a role in our lives today. Which also for me, the discovery of mobile phones is very influential in my life. This is what made ​​me choose mobile phone as the most important innovation in my life.

Mobile phone has helped me for a lot of things. And now let’s imagine together if there is no mobile phone. For example, if an accident occurs, it will be difficult for us to contact either the police or ambulance if we have to go looking for public telephone.

And with the new innovations that combined together with the mobile phone, It’s very easy to do our day to day activities wasn’t it? So, I say thanks a lot Dr. Martin Cooper!

“A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.” – Frank Capra

As viewed from my perspective, every individual has a creative soul. Creativity has no limits. The things done by humans to survive is a form of creativity. Each individual is created with the form and under different circumstances. Of course the way they survive will also vary. In ways that demonstrate the extent to which creativity is used and explored by the individual.

Creativity is not only seen in the form of art or objects. The real creativity will be seen from the way an individual  resolve their problem. It can be concluded that there is no limit of creative thinking. No one that has no creativity at all. How do they explore and express creativity that is the benchmark to assess the extent to which their creative spirit has evolved.

The most creative company according to my opinion is:

Walt Disney company is a company that really meritorious in developing the imagination and dreams of my childhood and made ​​it real. Starting from the cartoon, pixar, movies, the characters in it Disneylan, DisneyWorld, DisneySea, DisneyCastles, and all the other Disney artificial creativity will live all time.

 

And the most creative person according to my opinion is:

Her name is Guo Pei. She is an acknowledged leader of haute couture. She invented her studio called Rose Studio in 1997, when haute couture was an unfamiliar concept. It has taken her a long time to be accepted. Her first dress is a qipao for Zhang-Ziyi’s outfit to initiate the torch relay before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The outfit Zhang finally received was a shoulder-baring, white, gown, with phoenix and auspicious clouds embroidery forming a top-to-bottom band in the front. The trim fit was like a qipao, but the typical collar and short sleeves were substituted with what looks like du dou, halter-like underwear women used to cover their chest. The dress was a great success. Interestingly, when people complimented the actress on it they called it a qipao, and Zhang told Guo this when she phoned her from Athens. Since then, Gou Pei has received a lot of appreciation for her creation. Many people treat clothing designed by Guo as a kind of museum piece.

Here are some pictures of Guo’s collection:

“Art is not in some far-off place. A work of art is the expression of a man’s whole personality, sensibility and ability.” – Shinichi Suzuki

The first time I heard the theme of this task, The Most Creative and Innovative Country, which appears in my mind is “Everyone would be writing about Japan”. Of course, because my own thoughts also directly led to the Japanese. Japan with an area of ​​the country approximately 377,944 square kilometers and a population of 127,530,000 people. Judging from the number of inhabitants, don’t be surprised with how much creative and innovative ideas can be produced there. Therefore, I also intend to continue to write about Japan. But given of how much writing on Japan that will arise, I try to be creative in demonstrating the creative and innovative that Japanese owned. Technology and transportation such as Shinkansen and Asimo certainly will be much discussed, so I will show the unique, creative and innovative things from Japanese people. A little eccentric but interesting.

What’s so special about Japanese Kit Kat? If in Indonesia there is only one flavor of Kit Kat, in Japan there are more than 20 flavors. Even if traced in history, there are about 80 flavors Kit Kat is ever created in Japan. It draws from a variety of Kit Kat in Japan is a matter of taste locality. You can not get the various flavors of Kit Kat easily at any time. This is because various flavors of Kit Kat is produced only in one specific area and one particular season. In the area of ​​Hokkaido, was created Kit Kat flavors of melon and corn.In Tohoku, there are Kit Kat of peas and cherries flavor. On the island of Kyushu, there are Kit Kat yuzu and red potato flavor. In Tokyo, there are Kit Kat sweet potato, blueberry cheese, soybean, citrus, lemon cola, wasabi, and of course my favorite, that is green tea flavor. Only some kit kat flavors, such as Green Tea flavor, which is produced throughout the year. The rest, you gotta need luck to find it.

What is the secret of Kit Kat’s success in Japan so that it can issue a variety of taste? According to the story I heard, the name Kit Kat when you read it in Japanese “Kitto Katsu”, means a kind of  “Good Luck”, or literally “You certainly can!”. The brand itself is what causes Kit Kat to be a sort of “talisman” for children in Japan when they’re about to have test or exam. Kit Kat is also eaten as a symbol of luck for them.

  

Japan is also famous for its tradition of drinking tea. Green tea is famous for its wide range of properties also come from Japan. Here is a Japanese creativity in utilizing the uniqueness of their country of tea in teabag form.

 

 

Southern Farmers from Zentsuji Japan have found ways to make the box-shaped watermelon. This is not a fad. This watermelon planting technique actually has practical applications. The reason they planted box-shaped watermelons in Japan is due to space limitations.

Round watermelons take up too much space when it’s inserted into the fridge or freezer, but because the Japanese creative ideas, they succeeded in making the idea to minimize the space for storage of the watermelon into their refrigerators.

Creative and innovative ideas shown above not only gives more value in terms of aesthetics but also its usefulness. Now, I will show you some creativity of Japanese people which seem less useful or even useless, the term fad may be more precise. But still creative and interesting.

These are puddings with a price about 380-400 yen. The packaging is very unique and creative which of course will attract people who seen it. Well, mostly guys I guarantee..

Addicted to plastic wrap that has a small air bubble that can be popped? Or addicted to the sensation of opening cans of drink? maybe you like the feeling when you open an envelope?Take it easy, because the Japanese which are very creative people also have created a simulation tool for the above activities that can be restored to its original shape to be used repeatedly by you.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” – William Shakespeare

I’ve never bother to think about what meanings and impacts that my name could brought to me, to my life to be exact. Until one day, when I was ten, I was sitting in the dining room next to my grandpa-from-my-mom. We’re having toast bread with melted chocolate, as usual, for our breakfast. He told me a story about our family’s background. It’s kind of all-day-long story to be told but i’ll make it brief.

My grandfather was a descendant of Arabic with surname Shahab. He and my grandmother were cousins​​, which made ​​my mother as a pure Arabic descent. And my great-grandfather was a direct descendant of the Palembang Sultanate that make me get the title ‘Masayu’ in front of my name. Masayu is the title for a girl descendant of a Palembang Sultanate’s family. By those stories my grandpa told me, I could sum up my name as Masayu Dian Fatimah Imhadi Shahab.

But then again, there were stories behind my family that gave me another name to put behind mine now. My great-grandpa-from-my-dad’s family name is Sastro. And my grandpa’s is Soewikno. By those names, I summed up my name, again, as Masayu Dian Fatimah Imhadi Sastro Soewikno Shahab.

Dian was given by my grandma-from-my-dad. Dian means fire, by what my grandma means is much more to a light. She wants me to be the light that could shine as bright to lead me to the brightest future.

Fatimah was given by my grandpa-from-my-mom. Fatimah is the name of the daughter of the prophet Muhammad. My grandfather gave me this name because he wanted me to grow into a woman who has a certain character as the daughter of the prophet.

Imhadi is the combination of my parents’s name. ‘Im’ as in Imelda, my mom, and ‘Hadi’ as in Soeprihadi, my dad.

Well, Masayu Dian Fatimah Imhadi Sastro Soewikno Shahab is surely a long one to put on the school registration form, bank account opening form, the form-making emails, and various other things. And my parents already decided to put only Dian Fatimah Imhadi on my birth certificate. It became my identity since then.