keys to creativity
what gives?
a non-exhaustive list of ingredients to creativity.
"Nobody gives a fuck about your creative integrity, none of it matters, just make shit!”
be bold and prolific
John Mayer explains how you become creative by creating. There’s no thinking yourself into creativity. But you have to be stupidly brave.
You need to get ideas out and keep going. There will be a tonne of bad ones. But once the ‘bad’ ideas are emptied, the good ideas can come out to see the light of day they otherwise would have stayed hidden.
talking about the thing is not doing the thing.
Only doing the thing, is doing the thing.
So do it.
imitation and improvement
But how to get started?
Imitate!
Find your heroes, emulate them!
Read what they read. Watch what they watch. Do as they do.
“Feel free to imitate. We all start as copycats. People who make pastiches of other people's work. Fine. Do that. However, when you do this, focus, start to feel the sense of possibility and making all these things your own. Even when the ideas, tools and moves come from other artists” - Jerry Saltz
accidents, failure, and being bad
Don’t focus on perfect. Focus on doing.
Happy accidents will happen!
Sticky notes were an accident.
I can go on!
But greatness and success aren’t always a clear-cut step-by-step guide.
You gotta try things. Experiment. Be willing to try for the sake of trying, even when it makes no sense.
And don’t be afraid of bad! Rory Sutherland harps on:
The opposite of a good idea can also be a good idea.
People overanalyse and think something is a bad idea. Don’t knock it till ya try it!
I said it before and I’ll say it again. Shy kids don’t get sweets. Ask for that promotion. Ask that girl out for a coffee. try something weird and whacky. The downside is often limited. But the upside is infinitely beyond your imagination. A worthy trade!
Another person I look up to is
. Low key one of the goats. Half my Twitter bookmarks are from the king.
If you follow me on Instagram, you know how much shit hits the fan. But I charge ahead! And I enjoy it! Because it’s a learning experience. And in the grand scheme of things, life’s pretty fucking good! I take 2 hot showers a day! The richest tycoons ever to exist before a hundred years ago would all be insanely jealous of me!
“The most important aspect of creativity and innovation is not being afraid to fail.’ - Richard Feynman
You might have heard of Steve Jobs before. Founded Apple. They make some phones and stuff.
"Your aesthetics get better as you make mistakes. If you’re going to make something, it doesn’t take any more energy—and rarely does it take more money—to make it really great. All it takes is a little more time." - source
And don’t shy away from your mistakes. Own it!
“The chief trick to making good mistakes is not to hide them – especially not from yourself. Instead of turning away in denial when you make a mistake, you should become a connoisseur of your own mistakes, turning them over in your mind as if they were works of art, which in a way they are.” — Daniel C. Dennett
seriously unserious
As mentioned above, some of the best things in life are often accidental, and you can optimise for this!
Everyone knows of a bloke so desperate to find a missus that it seems to have the opposite effect. Whereas a happy-go-lucky bloke who honestly couldn’t care less what happens is on the Most Wanted list.
So dilly dally. Take random walks. Be seriously unserious.
I love golf. I will turn this into my day job one day, yes. But I’m gonna enjoy this process until then! Have coffee with mates. Sleep 8 hours a day. Appreciate those sunny Sundays playing golf comps with the boys.
In Steve Jurvetson’s essay Celebrate the Child-Like Mind: "Celebrate immaturity. Play every day. Fail early and often"
And Tim Ferriss goes further,
As adults, we're so serious and mature, and I think that's kryptonite for creativity. […] Try to find the absurd and create the absurd"
connecting
So I’ve already discussed imitating. But now it’s time to connect!
ABCD! Always Be Connecting Dots!!!
Steve Jobs again:
"Be a creative person. Creativity equals connecting previously unrelated experiences and insights that others don’t see."
But this clip from JRE is goated:
“Creativity is just connecting things. Creative people feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something."
so what now???…
This tweet is kind of a joke, but I take it deadly serious.
I am David and dumbass nepo babies are Goliath. I am simply taking what is rightfully mine.
Get weird! Get funky! Take what is rightfully yours!
“The world isn’t waiting for more of the same… The most innovative ideas come from those who master the rules to such a degree they can see past them or from those who never learned them at all.”
We want to set up an environment where the decision making occurs free of the misguiding force of persuasion. Persuasion leads to mediocrity. To be evaluated, ideas have to be seen, heard, tasted, or touched. - Rick Rubin
Lemme know what ya create!
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." – Aristotle