How Guy Armitage's book can help you unleash your own creativity

As we delve deeper into 2025, the need to be more creative is evolving from a luxury to a necessity. In a world increasingly shaped by automation and AI, our uniquely human capacity for creative thinking has become our most valuable currency.

Yet despite this growing premium on creativity, many of us remain trapped in the misconception that we simply aren't "creative types"; that creativity is an exclusive gift bestowed upon a fortunate few, leaving the rest of us to marvel from the sidelines.

This belief couldn't be further from the truth. Because, in truth, creativity isn't an innate talent that you either have or lack—it's a muscle that can be developed, a skill that can be honed, and a practice that can be cultivated.

Yet, even if we understand this, many of us struggle to access our creative potential. We face blocks ranging from fear of judgment to uncertainty about where to begin. We find ourselves stuck in rigid patterns of thinking, unable to see beyond the conventional approaches we've been taught. Or perhaps most commonly, we simply don't believe we have what it takes.

It's precisely this gap between recognising the value of creativity and actually embodying it that Guy Armitage addresses in his groundbreaking book Everyone Is Creative: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Creativity.

Core Philosophy

Published by LOM Art, his hardback challenges the conventional wisdom that creativity is a talent bestowed upon a lucky few. Instead, Guy presents creativity as an inherent human quality that simply needs nurturing and practical application.

"Creativity isn't something we need to learn – it's something we need to remember and practice," Guy explains. In a world that increasingly demands original thinking yet offers little guidance on how to develop it, this practical approach is both timely and essential.

For anyone who harbours creative ambitions yet is plagued by self-doubt, Guy's perspective offers reassurance: whether you're a seasoned creator or someone convinced they "can't draw a sausage," creativity isn't about talent – it's about understanding and developing practices that unlock what's already within you.

Beyond standard formats

What distinguishes Everyone Is Creative from other titles in this crowded space is its remarkably practical approach. And that's no accident. Through his research, Guy originally identified three common formats for creativity books.

"The first is a famous individual sharing their journey into discovering their own creative process," he begins. "That's inspirational, but may not help those reading it directly. Then there are books that focus on a specific type of creative medium, usually artists, and which hone in on very specific lessons for that niche. Thirdly, there are books written by psychologists or business leaders which dissect how creativity comes about in a more scientific, organisational way. These are fascinating, but not always easy to digest."

Recognising the limitations of all three book types, Guy crafted something different – a structured seven-step approach that includes practical exercises, tools for overcoming creative blocks, guidance on monetising creative work, and techniques for generating and developing ideas.

Why Guy?

What makes Guy's guidance particularly valuable is his own background spanning technology, entrepreneurship, and the arts. This isn't a book written by someone who's only experienced creative success in one narrow domain.

Guy has kept the London Stock Exchange running during the 7/7 attacks, founded two companies, and won the Tate Modern Hackathon with renowned artist Ai Weiwei. Currently serving as a trustee of Firstsite Museum and chair of digital art gallery Arebyte, he also leads Zealous in supporting over 200,000 creative submissions to open calls and awards.

"I never set out to write a book," Guy reveals, "but my curiosity put me in a position where I was approached to." He describes experiencing the world through two parallel tracks. One was the "logical Guy, who trained to do a real job" and ended up at the London Stock Exchange. But the other was the "creative Guy, who tried his hand at anything creative he could get his hands on. These include travel photography, being a gory extra in horror films, directing an okay short film, and winning the Tate Modern digital art hackathon."

As you might guess, the creative Guy eventually won out. "I founded a company called Zealous to serve the creative sector by organisations in running calls to submissions and more opportunities for the sector," he explains. "That was a long journey that allowed me to apply my tech skills and satisfy my need to create.

"Through it, we hosted talks, and I met many organisations, artists and policymakers discussing the sector," he continues. "I started publishing articles about insights I had gathered. Eventually, one of my clients, a publisher, fell into my work and asked me if I would consider writing a book. That set the wheels in motion, and I started researching what was already out there."

Real-world creativity under pressure

Perhaps most inspiringly, Guy's own journey of writing the book exemplifies the creative process under real-world constraints. "It wasn't easy and took three years to publish, two of writing," he shares, describing how he balanced the project with caring for two young children, sitting on two arts organisation boards, and running his own business during COVID.

"Time was sparse," he adds. "With the help of my partner, Yukie, whom I can't thank enough, we carved out two hours every weekend I could lock myself away for and write. As we got closer to publishing, I extended that into two-hour sessions from 4.30am, before anyone woke up."

This experience provided unexpected benefits. "This slow pace was a blessing," explains Guy, "since I could send all my notes to my editor at the start of the week and integrate the feedback in my next writing session."

Notably, Guy applied his own creative principles while writing. "A delightful irony is that many of the processes I capture in the book, I used myself writing it," he smiles. "I used Tricks to get back in the flow faster, what to do when I was blocked. These were being tested in real time as I wrote. I think the term in startups is 'Eat your own dogfood'. Well, I certainly tucked in!"

Creative thinking as a life skill

As we navigate the challenges of 2025, Guy's emphasis on creative thinking as a fundamental life skill feels particularly relevant. "The United Nations identifies creative thinking as one of the top five most important life skills," he notes. "Yet education doesn't seem to have caught up."

For professionals facing job postings that demand "creative thinking" without clarifying what that means, Guy's book offers concrete guidance. Through its focus on action rather than theory, a blend of playful exercises and serious insights, and practical advice on creative business aspects, Everyone Is Creative equips readers with tools for applying creativity across any sector or life situation.

As Guy puts it, this book helps people "discover their own creativity through playful content and actionable steps, no matter where they were in their journey" – a philosophy perfectly aligned with the creative aspirations of a new year.