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A sign I photographed while taking my cub scout den to our local go-cart racetrack to get in the spirit of our upcoming Pinewood Derby. I remember thinking, "We all need this service at work!" ;)

Fridays are my Really Un- Unconference Days. I find it much easier to carve out an hour to myself to explore online when everyone is in a good mood. (And today is the first sunny day we've had here in quite a while so everyone seems doubly cheery.)

This week, I'm going to the How Design Conference in my head. (If you can go in real life, it will be June 10 through 13 in Atlanta.) Sam Harrison is leading a session on "Uplift the Face and Pace of Your Space" which caught my eye because we are rearranging in my area next month and my fellow officemates and I have been talking about how we would like our shared space to change and why. During the session, he will share the guiding principles behind the Serenbe project - sustainability, naturalism, a sense of community, collaboration and more - then help you develop a plan for injecting them into your own work/life environments.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. (Maybe next month when we get into the hands-on work I can report back.)

I found an article written by Mr. Harrison that then led me to his Web site and these great creativity "zingful tenets." I like that they are short and sweet and easy to follow. (And, OK, I really like numbered lists, too, for reasons which I've never fully understood myself.)

So here you go...start your weekend with a zing. And print the list out so it will be waiting on your desk as a reminder on Monday morning. (And with this, I officially proclaim Sam Harrison my innovation muse for this week.) Here are the first five tenets:

1. Don’t stop with the first idea you spot. Even if it’s a good idea, it’s probably the same one everyone else would spot. And the good is often the enemy of the best. Put the first three ideas aside and dig deeper.

2. Laugh. A common trait of most creative people is the ability to laugh at themselves and their circumstances. OK, Hemingway had no humor, but do you want his ending? Don’t take yourself too damn seriously.

3. Be passionate. Watch any artist possessing zing, and you’ll see passion. Want it with all your being.

4. Work hard. Wanting it with all your being isn’t enough. You’ve got to do the work. Stay up late. Get up early. Take responsibility.

5. Be childlike. Not childish, but childlike. Wide eyes. “How come” questions. Playful. Giddy. Eager.