LIFE
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Toronto Caribbean News | www.TorontoCaribbean.com | Wednesday, February 12, 2025
The role of creativity and curiosity in driving personal and societal change DANIEL COLE
daniel@carib101.com
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Every existing invention has an intellectual gap. Birthing newness will demand: a sense of questioning, open-mindedness, and curiosity. The apple fruit had fallen a billion times before Newton questioned this phenomenon. Why does the fruit fall straight to the ground rather than sideways or upward? His curiosity led to the theory of the universal gravitational pull. Interestingly, for 228 years, the world believed this theory to be completely true until Albert Einstein improved on it in 1915. Einstein finds the intellectual gap in Newton’s theory through curiosity and questioning. Every invention, no matter how noble or sophisticated, has a wisdom gap, which is necessary to perpetu-
ate the circle of innovation. Inventiveness comes with experimentation and the ability to take a second look at existing outcomes and create better solutions. However, the downside of questioning existing norms and ideas is running the risk of being ostracized, especially in a society of normalized average. Independent thinking is subdued in a society that only sees collective reasoning, or group thinking as the benchmark of true intellectualism. Those who blaze the trail are creative rebellions and mostly independent thinkers. In problem-solving, there is a model called the Five Why Principle; I spoke about this in my TEDx Talk, which is available on the TEDx platform. This problem-solving approach, or model, is used for root-cause analysis when trying to solve a problem but requires deep thinking and a creative way of questioning. Don’t just ask why; ask it in layers. The Picassos of this world, the Thomas Edison’s, the Wright brothers, the Isaac Newtons, and the likes, what do they all have in common? Curiosity. I assert that dogmatism is a: crude, primitive, and sub-
optimal way to live. Be it change at a personal or societal level, being open-minded is fundamental. One of the fallacies of creative thinking and innovation is the idea of originality. What do I mean? The thinking that an idea has to be originally yours, many people get caught up in this thinking rut, and consequently, they don’t move forward. Here’s the thing, most inventions we celebrate today are improvements of what existed before them. Did Steve Jobs invent the iPod? In some sense, yes, he did, but in actuality, the iPod was an improvement on the cassette and CD player of the time. Before the Wright brothers took their first flight in 1903, other inventors had made numerous attempts. Among these earlier efforts were contraptions such as: kites, hot air balloons, airships, gliders and other types of aircraft. It is therefore right, to say, that Wilbur and Orville Wright improved on what already existed before they successfully flew theirs. Did Charles Darwin postulate the evolution theory? No, he popularized it. The roots of the theory came from Greek philos-
ophy. The idea dates back to centuries before Darwin. Three natural philosophers of the ancient world worked on the idea. They are Anaximander (c. 610 BC – c. 546 BC), Empedocles (495 BC – 435 BC) and Lucretius (99 BC – 55 BC). To postulate and to popularize are two different concepts. If you want to harness your creative power, start by first improving on what already exists. Any society that aims to grow and be progressive must continually question the sustainability of its current state. How can we make this better? Given the technological tools at our disposal, how can they be leveraged to improve on what already exists? Society must place a high premium on creativity, innovation, research and development. An individual must also continually creatively question his current state of being for optimal function and to create newness. Ask yourself, given all I know and have; and all the intellectual arsenal at my disposal, is this the best life I could curate for myself? If you don’t stop questioning, if you continually stay curious, you will find answers and create a better life as a consequence.
It only takes one bad choice to lose everything; 19-year-old healthcare worker charged with exploitation SYDNEE WALCOTT sydnee@carib101.com
VARIETY CORNER
A former Alaska Airlines flight attendant is not the only person who recently made headlines for posting inappropriate content on their social media. A Georgia healthcare worker also made headlines for inappropriate behaviour, which led to legal action being taken. Lucrecia Kormassa Koiyan, a 19-year-old healthcare worker, posted two separate disturbing viral videos of herself exploiting two disabled men who were in her care at an unnamed in-home adult day care centre.
In the first video, it shows Koiyan wearing light blue scrubs and grinding on the head of a shirtless man who is sitting in a bathtub and pulls out a pillbox out of her pocket and places a pill in the patient’s mouth. The second video shows Koiyan in dark blue scrubs and twerking atop another disabled man as he is sitting in a chair. “Y’all need to stop jumping to conclusions”, said Koiyan, who did not seem to realize the error of ways, in a follow-up post in response to the backlash she received for taking advantage of the two men. She tried to explain to viewers that it wasn’t what it looked like and said no one should make a big deal out of the two videos. No one was swayed by Koiyan’s statement, and the Loganville Police Department did not take the situation lightly either. Although it’s not clear when Koiyan posted the two videos, they were both brought to the attention of Loganville police on January 23rd, 2025, and they executed a search warrant leading to the arrest of Koiyan five days later. Koiyan was bonded
out of the Walton County Jail the day after her arrest. She currently faces one felony count of exploitation and could face additional charges. Once again, it seems like people are failing to understand there’s a time and place for everything. Those types of dance moves are not appropriate in a setting like an adult day care. I can’t wrap my head around how someone could think it’s okay to do something like that to someone without their consent, especially when they cannot properly consent. Even if the patients could properly consent, it would still be highly unacceptable for an employee, who should know better, to engage in an activity like that. Along with dancing provocatively on the patients without their consent, she also violated HIPPA by recording the two without their permission. The day after Koiyan was bonded out of jail, Loganville police Chief M.D. Lowry informed USA TODAY Koiyan was employed by SNL Healthcare, LLC. Koiyan should take the time to think about how the other staff
and the employers of the facility feel, because her actions don’t look good on them. The patients are people who are loved and cared about by those outside of the facility, and this situation can make their loved ones look at the facility from an unpleasant angle and have second thoughts about trusting the staff there. Upon discovering Koiyan is 19 and received the job she had at such a young age, I can’t help but to think that she threw her career away. Not too many people are fortunate enough to receive a job like that at such a young age. Most won’t see their careers take off until they’re in their twenties, or even thirties. She had it good and took it for granted. We’re in the middle of a job market crisis at the moment. Many firings and layoffs have taken place lately, and those affected are having issues with finding another job within their field. Job wise, if you’re fortunate, please do not take that for granted and be humble about it, because it only takes one bad choice to lose everything.
Focus on what you can control: Business, Attention, and Growth BY GRANT BROWNING DRIVEN TO SUCCEED Earlier this week, I had a conversation that really stuck with me. A gentleman told me about an interaction he had with someone who was absolutely furious over President Donald Trump and his tariffs on Canada. After listening for a while, he asked the man a simple question: “Who is Donald Trump?” The man snapped back, “He’s the President of the United States!” The gentleman then responded, “Exactly. He’s not our president. If we’re going to be mad, we need to be mad at our government and their actions, not his. President Trump is looking out for his country’s best interests. And as crazy as it may seem, if we had someone doing the same, we’d be cheering them on.” That really got me thinking. He’s 100% right. We spend so much time getting worked up over things outside our control when, in reality, the most productive thing we can do is focus on what we can control—especially in business. When times get tough, we need to push forward. Too often,
business owners cut advertising first, when in reality, it should be the first thing they increase. Money Follows Attention In business, money follows attention. If people don’t know about you, they can’t buy from you. It doesn’t matter how good your product or service is—if nobody knows about it, it may as well not exist. Too many businesses fade away not because they weren’t great, but because they weren’t known. The simple truth is that best known beats best. I’ve been in business long enough to see this play out time and time again. You have to be willing to get in front of as many people as possible and show them, “Hey, this is what I offer, and this can solve your problem!” If you don’t, you’ll get left behind. It’s really that simple. Marketing Isn’t an Expense—It’s a Necessity There’s this knee-jerk reaction in tough times where businesses cut marketing first.
But that’s like deciding to stop talking when you’re trying to make friends. Marketing isn’t an expense—it’s an investment. And it’s not about whether people love or hate your brand, it’s about making sure they know your brand. The businesses that win aren’t always the ones with the best products; they’re the ones that grab the most attention. A lot of people hesitate when it comes to putting themselves out there. Maybe you feel uncomfortable promoting yourself or worry about what people might think. But here’s the truth: if you want to grow, you have to get over that. You have to be willing to make some noise, to be seen, to get people talking. It doesn’t matter if someone likes you or dislikes you—what matters is that they know you. Attention is everything. Taking Control of Your Business Future This ties back to that initial conversation about Trump and tariffs. Whether you agree with his policies or not, the fact remains: he was looking out for his country’s interests. And that’s what every business owner should be doing—looking out for their own
business interests, controlling what they can control. You can’t control the economy. You can’t control trade policies. You can’t control global markets. But you can control how much attention your business gets. You can control your marketing, your branding, and the effort you put into making sure people know who you are. Instead of worrying about external factors, focus on what’s in front of you. If things are slowing down, push harder. Increase your advertising, ramp up your outreach, and make sure your business is impossible to ignore. Because in the end, the businesses that thrive aren’t the ones that sit back and hope for better conditions. They’re the ones that create better conditions by making themselves known. So here’s the takeaway: when times get tough, don’t shrink back—go bigger. When others cut back on advertising, double down. When competitors go quiet, make more noise. Because in business, attention is the game. And those who play it well, win.