CREATIVE MINDS | the dynamics of life ||
same concert in Manhattan. I was truly excited to meet this
legend, who had emigrated from his birthplace of St. Pe-
tersburg, Russia, for the United States in 1976. I could tell
the audience shared my excitement and wanted to find out
about the real person behind his original two-sided smiling
mask.
Grigur and I have been friends ever since, and it is an
honor to talk with my humble, always-smiling friend about
how he comes up with his ingenious ideas.
Grigory, what does being creative mean to you?
Creativity has to solve problems in shocking and un-
usual ways that are very different from trivial situations.
How important is creativity in the contemporary
world?
I have plenty of examples of using a creative approach
to succeed in an almost impossible situation.
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When did you first realize that creativity
absolutely had to be part of your life?
Creativity was always part of my life. It came geneti-
cally from my father. But realization does require self-eval-
uation. I think it is possible to evoke creativity in others by
sharing examples of creative approach. The life of a cre-
ative individual is richer, more colorful, bursting with posi-
tive energy.
Do you have any routines or rituals in your life?
I have an accustomed routine just like everyone else.
I sleep very little. When I was about sixteen years old, I no-
ticed I had developed a bad habit of using one word; it was
coming out of my mouth too often. Then I decided to fight
any bad habit—not just using bad language, but also con-
suming alcohol, smoking cigarettes, or engaging in any
form of negativity. I succeeded.
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