Overview:
- Carl Nordgren, an educator, author, and two-time TEDx speaker with 14 years of teaching at Duke University, has spent decades showing that creativity can be developed in any profession.
- The course is built on three principles: being intentional, considering different viewpoints, and having a bias for action by starting small instead of waiting for a perfect plan.
- Practical habits from the workshop include listening attentively, letting ideas incubate for 24 to 48 hours, and building a diverse network to gain fresh perspectives.
- The course suits professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and writers, and no artistic background is required.
In the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, creative thinking is tied for fourth place in the list of the key skills that employees are expected to have. The survey found that 57% of employers consider creativity an essential skill, with its importance expected to grow through 2030. But many people still think that creativity is only for artists, and do not do anything to further hone it.
Author and educator Carl Nordgren has been debunking that notion for more than 40 years. He believes creativity can be cultivated by individuals in all professions and is a competency that can be developed. His interactive workshop on the importance of creativity was attended by members of Girl Power Talk from across countries such as Lebanon, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines in June 2026. Carl’s has now launched a new course that will allow his students to continue developing their creativity. Here, we talk about Carl’s story, and get an insight of the course.
Who Is Carl Nordgren?
Carl is a teacher by profession, but his journey to being one was not linear. He started as a teenage fishing guide, where he learned that treating his clients well earned their trust. Before venturing into entrepreneurship, he spent his early career working in factories and foundries. He also helped establish a cellular telephone company in North Carolina in 1985.
For 14 years, he shared his knowledge of creativity and entrepreneurship with students at Duke University. Today, Carl is a two-time TEDx speaker, award-winning novelist, and host of the weekly radio show, Exploring Your Creative Genius.
Common Ground for US, his newest book, became the top new release in the Psychology of Creativity & Genius ebook category on Amazon. Becoming a Creative Genius is another book Carl has to his name, apart from the River of Lakes series, and Anung’s Journey, an epic holiday fable.
What the Creativity Course Covers
Carl’s experience, and the fact that he continues to author books, shapes his approach to teaching creativity. He encourages people to approach everything like an entrepreneur by combining creative ideas with practical steps to bring them to life. Below are the principles that guide this mindset:
- Being intentional: Creativity is a skill you can develop with practice. It starts with how you see yourself, how you listen to others, and the words you use.
- Considering different viewpoints: A problem may seem like a dead-end. Stepping away to think, exchanging ideas with others, then returning to the issue with a fresh mind can reveal solutions you might have missed.
- Having a bias for action: Experienced entrepreneurs often start by taking action, and plan as they learn. The approach therefore favors setting out, even if it is a humble beginning, over waitng for a perfect plan.
What the Workshop Entailed
Carl builds practical tools around the principles of being intentional, welcoming differing perspectives, and acting upon our ideas. He showcased these in the workshop. One of the highlights of the workshop was the introduction of the six creative types: explorer, warrior, saint, artist, orchestrator, and cultivator. Each participant had the opportunity to assess what creative personalities they exhibit. This exercise resulted in an internal deep dive, where we realized our creative type. He further asked members to name what motivates them to create.
The workshop covered actionables, such as how we can do with what we have, where we are. The storytelling session was another great learning experience wherein we learnt how to turn information into knowledge by giving it context.
Practical Takeaways You Can Use Right Away
The principles discussed in the workshop translate into small habits that support creative problem-solving at work. Three habits stood out prominently:
Listening Attentively
Carl emphasizes the value of giving others our undivided attention when we listen to and interact with them. He recommends looking for the positive aspects of a new idea when a colleague presents one. Constructive criticism is deemed to go down better when it comes from an appreciative understanding. Similarly, giving suggestions about what to do instead of what not to do helps keep things flowing.
Give Ideas Time to Incubate
Traditional brainstorming requires participants to come up with ideas spontaneously. According to Carl, groups tend to think of better ideas when they take 24 to 48 hours away from the problem they have been set, after hearing it. This allows their subconscious to do the work in the meantime. He recommends a walk in nature as the best means to induce creativity.
Build a Diverse Network
The notion of social capital, described by Carl as the network of your friends and colleagues whom you learn from and collaborate with, is important too. He mentions studies which show that people with extensive and diverse social networks tend to come up with more creative suggestions at work as they get perspectives other than their own.
What Learners Can Expect
Carl teaches by engaging people. During our workshop, the participants were given a task with a twist. We were asked to add one letter to the already existing 26 letters of the English alphabet and even give it a shape and form! Two participants used sounds from their native languages. In another creative exercise, we were asked to write six-word autobiographies as creatively entrepreneurial individuals. It was quite interesting to see how each exercise put our creative minds to work.
The workshop throws into relief the teaching style of Carl: evidence-based suggestions, his real-life stories, and assignments to help our creative juices flow, instead of merely learning about them theoretically.
Becoming a Creative Genius (again): A Course That Keeps Growing
Carl Nordgren has spent 25 years helping folks grow their creative capacities and develop their entrepreneurial instincts and behaviors. The online course he offers is first of its kind. He relays the principles and practices proven to:
- help you become more successful in your business and professional career
- bring greater joy to your personal life
- help you prepare for the unknowable future
Each lesson in the eight chapters uses video, text, and selected radio shows for your best learning; a free PDF of Nordgren’s book ‘Becoming a Creative Genius (again)’ is also included.
Carl will continue adding chapters and updating the course over time. You can always come back and study the new material instead of going through it just that one time and then forgetting it. Such a format is beneficial for practicing the acquired skills at your own pace.
Conclusion: Turn Creative Thinking Into a Habit
Carl Nordgren’s Becoming a Creative Genius (again) rests on a simple idea: creative thinking grows through intention, varied perspectives, and action. For professionals, founders, students, and writers, that idea can reshape how they approach problems, from the first conversation about a new idea to the first small experiment that tests it. As employers keep valuing creative thinking, building creative confidence now may prepare you for work that keeps changing.
At Girl Power Talk, we nurture a culture of learning and mentorship alongside an entrepreneurial culture that encourages people to solve problems from every angle. Carl’s course offers a practical way to keep building those habits. Ready to start? Visit carlnordgren.com/course to explore the chapters, and return as new ones arrive.
FAQs:
Who Is Carl Nordgren’s Creativity Course for?
Carl’s course, titled Becoming a Creative Genius (again) is suitable for professionals, entrepreneurs, learners, and writers who wish to develop their creative thinking.
Do I Need to Be Artistic to Take a Creativity Course?
No, you do not need to know art to take the course. Carl says he has heard these statements linking creativity to art a lot many times in his career as a teacher. He mentions that creative thinking and acting is an inherent quality and needs to be mimicked throughout various fields.
What Topics Does the Course Cover?
Carl’s course spans across eight chapters. He uses video, text, and selected radio shows, to aid learning. Visit the course page for the current chapters.
