Many impactful innovations and works of art have been inspired by nature, and observing nature regularly is a practice that I have personally adopted to spark new ideas or draw helpful parallels when solving a problem.

Butterflies are enigmatic -- they are often seen as mysterious and fascinating because of their ability to shapeshift. While they are known for being muses for metaphors on transformation, I've found that they hold incredible wisdom about everyday innovation.

Here are a few of my favorite innovation takeaways from our winged friends:

🦋 Evolution can be both incremental and disruptive.

Growth comes from effort and experience over time, but, repeated, they leverage the compound effect that allows us to quantum leap into new frontiers.

Changes that happen within each stage of the caterpillar-butterfly evolution occur below the surface but are essential to creating the tipping points for transformation.

🦋 What is successful in one stage might be a hindrance in another.

Have you ever seen a butterfly walk? Mastering the art of walking on several legs and munching leaves as a caterpillar won't fly (pun intended) in succeeding as a butterfly.

Being able to learn from and let go of comfortable, outdated success practices is the key to mindful innovation in all areas.

🦋 Our impact is interdependent.

Imaginal cells live initially in the puddle of post-caterpillar goo and work independently of one another -- passing information back and forth -- until they sync in frequency, working together to create the adult butterfly.

We are the imaginal cells of our communities -- the work we do to innovate from our perspective is not done in a vacuum. We influence and are influenced by one another, and this collectively creates and magnifies impact on the whole.

🦋 Who you become in the process is more important than the process itself.

Like any metamorphosis or innovation into the unknown, having faith in yourself and the resilience to trust and learn from the process allows us to detach from the "how" and connect with the "what" or "who" we will create or become.