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This week The Big Idea turned 11, so we thought we'd have a bit of fun and share 11 things we love . . .

Feel free to share yours in the comment box below.

• Pohutakawa in flower - summer is well and truly on its way
• All the digital tools we use that help the sharing and spreading of ideas as well as seamlessly connecting
• How the barriers to expressing creativity are changing everyday - movie making using smartphones, game design using tools like gamefroot
• The generosity of our creative community, Marshall and Tom from The Sound Room are a recent example talking about what The Big Idea means to them and why they decided to support us - thanks guys.
• Living in K Rd - thanks to the BizDojo for its support. It means we are part of a thriving creative hub with events like First Thursdays showcasing how creative and vibrant Auckland can be
• The innovative and creative partners we have worked with this year including Creative Coalition, Arts Regional Trust, the New Zealand Comedy Festival
• The inspiration that The Big Idea's columnists and bloggers give to the creative community
• The world of brilliant ideas shared globally by people like TED, behance and  Maria Popova from Brainpickings
• How the creative sector is embracing business and entrepreneurial thinking to ensure their sustainability
• How disaster [and rejection] breed creativity and innovative thinking as shown by Gap Filler and Rekindle [from the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes]
• The way creative disciplines combine and collide with great projects like Flatland and Storybox - call it multidimensional, transmedia - it's storytelling across multiple platforms. Fiona Milburn and Anna Jackson cover this beat in their Transit blog.

One final thought - some ideas from Maria Popova on happiness.