Creativity is not just for painters and musicians. Everyone hasit, it just has to be nurtured and protected or it’s gone.

Author Ernie Carwile describes it like this:

A creative idea is a light bulb burning bright. But then someonesays, “a word of caution,” and it dims a little. Someone else adds,”that’s radical,” and it dims a little more. Yet another personsays, “Let me play devil’s advocate,” and the light dims again.

Finally, the light no longer burns, and the thinker says, “Well,it was just an idea.” Maybe he never realized it.

“The truth is creativity is inside us all,” Carwile said.”Creativity can be used everywhere, not just the arts. In everyaspect of our life we can incorporate it.”

Carwile, the author and creator of “The Maxwell Winston Stone”series of inspirational books, urged members of the Rotary Club ofBrookhaven-Lincoln County on Thursday to harness their innercreativity in everyday life. Focusing the right-brained power onroutine problems can lead to new heights and successes in thepersonal and professional sphere, he said.

“Creativity does not fall form Heaven like manna, it is insideus, waiting to be released. All it requires is a strong interest inlife,” Carwile said.

Carwile deals in life, but it wasn’t always creative life. Hecame from a childhood so abusive he claims he was unable to keepand hold memories until his 30s, and that major accidents he hadeach year were subconscious attempts at suicide. Still he was anofficer in the U.S. Air Force, heavyweight boxer, real estatebroker and Methodist minister.

Then he got creative. Successful treatments of EMDR (eyemovement desensitization and reprocessing) therapy for his harshpast caused him to think beyond.

“It was very, very difficult, but when I came out of that mycreativity just exploded,” Carwile said. “Like Einstein said,’Imagination is more important than knowledge.’ With imagination,you can change your reality.”

Since then, Carwile has authored seven books in a planned15-part series, each one dealing with the human character and toldthrough the fictional character Maxwell Winston Stone. So far, thebooks deal with adversity, self-worth, death, persistence, silence,interconnectivity and attitude. He got the idea to write the booksas he identified each theme in the quotes of great thinkers ofgenerations dating back to the ancient Greeks.

More information about Carwile and his books may be found onlineat www.erniecarwile.com.