the potential of childrencan greatly improve creativity.Expecting high performance is a necessary stimulus for outstanding achievement andhence for creativity. High expectations should start within the family, continue in thepeer group, in the school, and in the community at large. But excessive or unrealisticResources are crucial for creativity to develop. Yet excess resources also can diminishcreativity. When everything is comfortable, the desire for novelty turns to thrills andentertainment, rather than a sharp focus on problem solving. If we wish to encouragecreativity, we have to make sure that material and intellectual resources are widelyavailable to all talented and interested members of society. Yet we should realize that acertain amount of hardship, might have a positive effect on their motivation.Potentially creative young people have to be recognized by an older member of thefield. Otherwise, motivation will decrease with time. Training, expectations, resources,and recognition will be of no use, if young people have no hope of using their skills in aproductive career.Rewards both intrinsic and extrinsic help creativity to blossom. Though few creativepersons are motivated by money, the importance of money cannot be denied. Moneygives relief from worries, and makes more time available for ones real work. One can buynecessary materials, hire help if needed, and travel to meet people from whom one canlearn.The organization of knowledge is especially important when it comes to passing it downto the next generation. To be creative, a person must first understand the domain. If theknowledge in the domain is not comprehensible, few young people will bother learning it, andthus creativity will be less. How should knowledge be transmitted? Rigid ways of teachingcan discourage innovation. But in some cases, rigidity does seem to matter. Which method ismore likely to boost creativity? The answer probably lies in the unglamorous middle ground.To cope well with numbers it is essential to automate as many mental operations as possible.And this requires some memorizing and practicing. On the other hand, to use numberseffectively in real life, one must also have a good intuitive grasp of how to approximate, howto round, when and how to use different operations. In short, there is no single right way toteach a domain. The way knowledge is transmitted should be appropriate to the skills of thelearner.Whereas experts in a discipline usually love what they do, beginners see only the drudgeryof the discipline. So one obvious way to enhance creativity is to bring as much as possible ofthe flow experience into the various domains. The joy of discovery needs to be communicatedeffectively to young people.Enhancing Personal CreativityEach person has, potentially, all the psychic energy needed to lead a creative life. But thereare many obstacles that prevent many from expressing this potential.Some of us are exhausted by too many demands, and so have trouble activating our psychicenergy in the first place. Or we get easily distracted and find it difficult to protect and channelwhatever energy we have. Other challenges are laziness, inability to control the flow ofenergy and not knowing what to do with the energy one has.In terms of using mental energy creatively, perhaps the most fundamental difference betweenpeople lies in