I think creative productivity is a result of all three factors AND MORE. Different people are creatively productive in different ways. Some people are just lucky and have things come to them (mental happenings as discussed earlier). Some people have ideas resonate with something they already know or have studied. Some people work hard to come up with something original.
In my own personal life of creativity, original ideas do not typically just spring into my head. More often than not, I start with something that has been given to me (either by divine inspiration or by someone else—directly or indirectly) and I work at it. I was not someone that was gifted with innate intelligence, but I work hard enough to try to make up for it. I spend QUALITY time (there is ABSOLUTELY a difference between time and quality time!) doing what I think is important and sometimes when the stars align, I end up with a worthwhile result.
If I had to split it up (I am thinking in terms of circle/pie graphs as we just studied these in my own classroom) I might say that 70% of my productivity is a result of hard work, 5% is sudden insight, 15% is chance happenings (random inspiration or ideas from friends/family/people), and 10% other factors.
As I've matured (aka gotten old) :) I've begun to realize that the gifted label bestowed upon me as a child was probably not warranted. I played school well, loved to please others, and worked really, really hard to make sure I followed the directions to a tee. I also see how that may have thwarted my creativity. Life is about learning and growing. I'm glad that you're recognizing your strengths and have the willingness to try things out when they don't necessarily feel comfortable for you.
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