This article describes an investment theory of creativity. It suggests
that a creative person needs to defy the crowd to buy low and sell hi
gh in the realm of ideas, just as a successful financial investor defi
es the crowd and buys stocks when they are out of favor and sells them
when they become popular. Creative ideas are often unpopular. To over
come the resistance to those ideas, creative people-as well as compani
es desiring to encourage creativity-need to invest in six resources: k
nowledge; intellectual abilities; thinking styles; motivation; persona
lity; and environment. All of these resources need to be present for a
creative enterprise to succeed.