Being someone who is highly creative and consistently brave enough to seek new ways of tapping into that creativity can sometimes feel like a lonely venture.

After all, the majority of people in our world are not actively like this, or encouraged to be so. Each of us has the potential to be amazingly creative, but due to a whole host of factors, most of us would rather just fit in, "keep a low profile" and conform to what we think will be a quiet life.

So for those of us that choose not to be just one of the crowd, who know that we have something unique within us to offer the world and are committed to nurturing our creativity and a creative way of life, where does that leave us?

Often, it may leave us feeling like an outsider. Following our true selves may make us feel unconventional, or "different" to the accepted face and profile of the masses.

Sometimes we may think that even our closest family and friends, as supportive and loving as they may be, somehow just don't "get" us and what we're trying to do with our creativity.

We may feel isolated, alone, and wonder why we choose to be like this. We may begin to consider whether it would be better to get a nice predictable job after all and live in a semi-detached house in suburbia, with 2.4 children and 1.4 cars...

If you find yourself in his position, stop for a moment to remember those in history who were brave enough to follow their creativity and explore where their ideas led them.

Think of Einstein, Da Vinci, Newton, Edison, Shakespeare, Mozart. Our world today would surely be a poorer place without their pioneering creative work.

Although it takes great courage to listen to yourself, trust your own judgement and follow what you believe is right, none of the people above truly did it on their own.

Each had their own teachers, mentors and heroes. Each had colleagues and peers, a close network of people around them to encourage them, stimulate them and share ideas with.

So what can YOU do to provide yourself with the support you need for your creativity in times of doubt?

Fortunately, in the information age we live in today, it's easier than ever to find like-minded people who share similar visions, ideas and interests.

On a local level, virtually all towns and cities have adult education classes and courses. There are clubs, groups and associations of all kinds in every community. You could even start your own...

Through your local library or bookshop you have access to many books and magazines on the subjects you love. Often just reading a book by someone who expresses the same passions and pains that you do can be very comforting and highly inspiring.

Then on a wider scale, there's the internet. Spending just an hour or two using a good search engine can bring up an dozens of websites, forums, groups, ezines and blogs all highly relevant and interesting to you and your creative passions.

So what's stopping you? Set aside an hour or so over the next few days to begin to build your own support network.

Write a particular interest you have in the centre of a large blank piece of paper and brainstorm all the ways you could find other people who share a similar passion to you.

You don't have to come up with exact details at this stage, you may not even know the tip of what's out there.

Ideas such as "go to library to research local writing groups" and "search on internet under 'garden design forum'" are great ways to get you started.

You could see it as an ongoing creative project in itself, that of finding like minded people who can offer each other support, inspiration and ideas in their particular field.

There's a whole living thriving creative community out there that's just right for you. Go create it today...