Is Your Creativity Worth Millions?

Ever wondered what a painting worth $106 million looks like? I've seen one. It's pretty good. In fact, it's the most expensive painting ever sold at auction. Someone really took a shine to it to pay all that money. (It was a Picasso portrait of one of his mistresses.)

What it tells you is that creativity can be worth millions. And in terms not just of dollars but of fans and followers. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a new movement on the rise, and it's purely devoted to the freshest sometimes fantastical things we can produce. I'm talking about creativity.

Creativity takes countless forms—music, art, sculpture, photography, illustration, and so on—whatever your mind can produce with the help of a few materials. Just Google and you'll find loads of websites, forums, top tens and favorites devoted to all things creative.

Some of the things out there are downright wacky. But then that's often the point. They you noticed. Creativity can spark such passion that people will even gather in large groups and go buck naked in public just to be part of a living artwork, crouching or lying nude for hours with complete strangers just to say they were there and they were part of something unique and great.

The truth is that we all have that creative spark inside of us. Why else would so many of us doodle while at work? But technology has really unleashed it. There are countless drawing and illustration apps for the iPad and games consoles, and people proudly show off their work online, inspiring others to follow suit and see what they can achieve with a few finger strokes.

Every day I tell this to the young talented creatives who ribbit in StrawberryFrog: In today's world, when you have so little time of your own after your battles with work and the day's stresses and strains, it's easy to give up on enjoying your creative side. After all, you've got far more important things to do that sit sketching with a pencil.

But just think. Where would we be if the world's most famous artists had felt that way? They had a passion, a seed of talent, and with nurturing and careful attention they became the masters of their craft.

As for the world's most expensive painting, you can see it here. The fact that it's a Picasso . . . well, that may just have added a few bucks to the price tag. Now, where did I put my pencil and sketch pad?

Thanks to Scott Goodson / Blogs Forbes