Spring, 2017. A moment of clarity that would reshape everything I thought I knew about creativity, problem-solving, and human potential—and ultimately explain why I wrote A Child in Us.
The Spark That Started It All
It was a warm spring evening in 2017, and I was watching a group of children at a playground. One child approaches a seemingly impossible climbing structure—too tall, too complex for someone her size. But instead of walking away, she tilts her head, asks her friend “What if we try it this way?”, attempts it, falls, laughs, and tries again with a completely different approach.
In that moment, something clicked.
Here was a masterclass in creative problem-solving happening right before my eyes. No self-doubt. No fear of failure. No overthinking. Just pure, unfiltered curiosity driving action, imagination, and iterative learning.
That evening, scribbled on the back of a coffee receipt, were five letters: C-H-I-L-D.
The Long Journey from Idea to Reality
What followed wasn’t a lightning-bolt moment of genius—it was nearly eight years of relentless exploration, refinement, and sometimes frustrating dead ends.
For the first few years, I toyed with the CHILD framework like a puzzle with missing pieces. I tried different combinations, explored various angles, tested it in workshops, applied it to business challenges, and watched how different people responded to each element. Some iterations felt forced. Others felt incomplete. But slowly, something beautiful began to emerge.
The breakthrough came when I realized that CHILD wasn’t just an acronym—it was a mirror reflecting our most natural, most powerful cognitive process.
By 2023, the framework had matured enough that I knew it was time. Time to stop refining and start sharing. Time to write the book that had been brewing in my mind for over half a decade.
Beyond Nostalgia: The Pragmatic Power of Childlike Thinking
Here’s what most people get wrong about “thinking like a child.”
They assume it’s about nostalgia—some romantic notion of returning to simpler times. But that’s not it at all.
The metaphor of a child isn’t sentimental. It’s intensely practical.
Children are bold learners. They approach the world open-minded, armed with questions rather than assumptions. They’re not afraid of mistakes—they see them as data points. They learn, adjust, and try again until they get it right.
Most importantly, children intuitively understand what truly holds value and what’s merely noise.
These aren’t cute personality quirks. These are sophisticated cognitive strategies that we, as adults, have somehow convinced ourselves to abandon.
What We Lost Along the Way
Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, something tragic happens. Those natural creative instincts get worn down by:
- Self-doubt that whispers “What if you’re wrong?”
- Perfectionism that paralyzes us before we even start
- Conformity pressure that says “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be done”
But here’s the truth that keeps me awake at night with excitement: those qualities are still within us.
This is why I wrote A Child in Us—to bridge the gap between the innate, fearless creativity of childhood and the often stifled, self-doubting mindset we develop as adults. The book empowers readers to reclaim those natural, bold learning habits and equips them with practical tools to apply this creative process in everyday problem-solving and innovation.
They’re not lost. They’re not broken. They’re just buried under layers of learned helplessness and societal conditioning.
The Natural Cognitive Journey We All Share
Watch any child navigate a new challenge, and you’ll see something remarkable: a consistent pattern that mirrors the deepest truths about how human minds actually work.
It starts with raw curiosity—that irrepressible “What if?” or “Why not?”
This leads to exploration—testing boundaries, gathering information, making connections.
Exploration sparks imagination—envisioning possibilities, creating mental models, thinking beyond the obvious.
Imagination flows into clear communication—sharing discoveries, asking for help, expressing ideas simply.
And eventually arrives at logical reasoning—making sense of it all, drawing conclusions, applying lessons learned.
It’s not a linear process. It’s a living, breathing loop that evolves with every question and every discovery.
When we tap into this sequence as adults, something magical happens. We don’t just reconnect with our inner child—we reawaken a deeply human pattern of learning, creating, and solving problems with clarity and confidence.
How 5 Letters Scribbled in 2017 Became the Answer to Tomorrow’s Most Critical Skills
Why This Matters More Than Ever
I’ll be honest with you. Sometimes I wondered if I was onto something real, or if I was just chasing an interesting idea down a rabbit hole.
Understanding this connection between childhood creativity and future-ready skills is central to why I wrote A Child in Us: The Creative Thinking Handbook in the first place. The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report highlights creativity, curiosity, empathy, and active listening as the most critical skills for success in the coming decade. This book is my response—a framework designed to nurture these very human capacities, fostering a generation ready to thrive amid rapid change. The most critical skills for 2030 and beyond? Creative Thinking. Curiosity. Empathy. Active Listening.
Every single one of these maps directly to the natural cognitive toolkit that children use every day—and that the CHILD framework helps adults rediscover.
This isn’t coincidence. As automation handles routine tasks, the uniquely human skills—the ones we’re all born with but somehow learn to suppress—become our greatest competitive advantage.
What This Book Really Is
“A Child in Us: The Creative Thinking Handbook” isn’t a productivity hack or a quick-fix creativity course.
It’s a homecoming.
More than that, it’s a practical guide to reclaiming the mental agility, emotional resilience, and creative confidence that society taught you to outgrow.
Whether you’re an innovator stuck in analysis paralysis, a leader struggling to inspire fresh thinking, an educator trying to nurture young minds, or simply someone who knows there’s more potential within you waiting to be unlocked—this framework meets you where you are.
It gives you permission to ask questions that matter. To try things that might not work. To imagine solutions others can’t see. To communicate with clarity and heart. And to think through problems with both creativity and logic.
The Invitation
Eight years ago, watching children play taught me that our greatest innovations don’t come from thinking harder—they come from thinking differently.
The child in you isn’t gone. It’s been waiting patiently for you to remember who you really are.
This book is my invitation to remember.
Ready to rediscover the creative genius you were born with? “A Child in Us: The Creative Thinking Handbook” shows you exactly how. Join thousands of early readers who are already transforming how they think, solve problems, and create their futures.
Get early access updates and exclusive insights →(link to your pre-order form)
What resonates most with you about reclaiming your natural creative abilities? I’d love to hear your thoughts—hit reply and share your story with me.