If your computer crashes and you've lost everything…you're notalone. Creatives renown and unknown have all been there and all ofus have found a way to move on.

In December of 1999, U2 frontman Bono lost a laptop containingthe lyrics to all of the songs that would become All ThatYou Can't Leave Behind. Bono told the press, “Everything I've written since Augustwas on this and I hadn't backed up any of it – so I would reallyhave been a goner. This is like my portable brain.” Fortunately,that story has a happy ending. Bono's laptop was eventuallyreturned by a fan, but many of us can connect with the despair oflosing our portable brain.

In some cases, a backup isn't possible. One quirky note from thecareer of John Steinbeck, Steinbeck's dog actually mauled an earlydraft of his manuscript for Of Mice and Men, forcingSteinbeck to re-write the novel again from scratch. Steinbeckappears to have taken it pretty well.

Read David Burkus' complete 99U article and don't panic next time something gets deleted or you spill coffee onyour laptop. Burkus is the author of TheMyths of Creativity: The Truth About How Innovative Companies andPeople Generate Great Ideas.