A few weeks ago, I had the honor of stepping onto the TEDx stage in Awaji Island to share a message that's incredibly close to my heart: Creativity is a skill, not a gift. Standing in front of a crowd, surrounded by the peaceful nature and warm energy of the island, I felt something shift. This wasn't just a talk. It was a moment of connection, reflection, and truth.

The theme of the event was "Collage: Shattered Pieces, Shared Stories". And wow, what a perfect theme to bring so many different voices together. Each speaker came from a wildly different background. There were marketers, educators, engineers, and even musicians. On paper, we couldn’t have been more different. But as the day unfolded, it became clear that we all had one thing in common. At some point in our lives, we had been broken. And in that brokenness, we found the strength to rebuild something new, something stronger.

That was the core of my talk. I opened with a quote often attributed to Einstein: "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." As kids, we’re all creative. 98 percent of five-year-olds test at genius levels in divergent thinking. But by the time we become adults, only 2 percent remain. That’s not because we lost the ability. It’s because we learned to be afraid of being wrong.

On that stage, I shared my own story. Growing up in Costa Rica. Losing my mom to cancer. Moving to Asia. Feeling like an outsider in Japan. And how, through all those moments, creativity kept pulling me forward. Even when I was at my lowest, creativity was there like a thread weaving the broken parts back together.

Being on Awaji Island felt symbolic. An island, like a person, can be isolated. But it can also be a place of rebirth, surrounded by the sea yet connected to the world. I found so many parallels between the location and the stories we told that day. We weren’t just sharing ideas. We were piecing together a larger story of what it means to fall apart and come back stronger.

What really struck me was how deeply I resonated with the other speakers. Even those who had never touched code or designed a product shared stories that hit home. One speaker talked about losing everything after an injury. Another spoke about leaving their home country with nothing but a dream. We all had different tools, different skills, different lives. But our stories overlapped in the most human way. And that’s what creativity is all about. Finding new ways to connect, to express, and to rebuild.

This experience reminded me why I do what I do. My mission is to inspire people with creativity. Not the perfect kind. Not the polished Instagram version. But the real, messy, sometimes heartbreaking kind of creativity that comes from being human. I want people to know that it’s okay to feel lost. That failure is not the end. That creativity is not a talent for the lucky few, but a skill anyone can reclaim.

So if you're reading this and feeling stuck, remember: you are not alone. And you're not broken beyond repair. You're just in the middle of your story. Keep building, keep making, and most of all, keep believing that your voice, your vision, and your creativity matter.

Thank you Awaji. Thank you to everyone who made that day so special. I’ll carry those stories with me for a long, long time.