"The Double Edged Sword" - Creativity through Adversity

Blink, and you might myth it...

There is a fabulous Greek Myth about a strapping young lad called Sisyphus. Sure he was all about travel and commerce - but had this nasty habit of killing travellers and being a terrible liar (his lies were actually quite believable, he just did it often).

For this awful way of behaving, he was cursed with the task of pushing a boulder up a hill only to watch it roll down again... forever...

There are times when the creative task in front of us can seem like that steep and unforgiving hill, when being at the bottom with that heavy looking boulder can bring about panic, fear even... But if we're creative people then doing anything else will send us mad eventually - so how do we face this creative curse, this Double-Edged Sword?

Creative Eating

I'm not suggesting you tear down that canvass and have yourself a novel wrap, nor devise bold new ways to tackle that bolognese - but some foods have links to health and happiness and , in turn, creativity.

• Avocados - filled with monosaturated fats (good fats!) and oleic oils
• Blackberries - Filled with antioxidants (help prevent cellular damage) specifically in the brain area
• Cinnamon - filled with lovely things I can't pronounce that help your blood and your brain
• Leafy Greens - Fight the bad stuff and help you build the good stuff better... squeeky is good!
• Water - Keep hydrated! A dehydrated brain is a lizard brain and creativity flows from the higher functions of that grey matter

To sleep, perchance to dream

There have been many studies into creativity and sleep has been the "glass half full" of the majority. Some say that plenty of sleep allows creativity, others that insomnia is the key component. Regardless of the studies, when you are well rested it is easier for you to attain a state of relaxation and this in turn leads to the 'open' state where creativity happens.

For some people, the sleep itself is the moment of creation. The song Yesterday came to Paul McCartney in a dream, Frankenstein was inspired by a dream that Mary Shelley had a Lord Byron's villa and Coleridge's seminal Kubla Khan came to him in a dream (albeit a drug induced one).

If you have trouble sleeping here's a few things that help:-

• Read - This helps focus your mind on one thing rather than racing through the things that the day dumped on you
• A pillow between the legs - This can help reduce discomfort and pain and allows the hips to attain a more natural position
• Use a mask and/or Earplugs - shielding our eyes from the light and better managing the sound helps your mind relax and slip into that unconscious REM which brings deep sleep

For more information on how to sleep better, visit the SLEEP HELP GUIDE and read to your hearts content!

PART TWO TO FOLLOW

Part one: "Following the Big Footprints" - 3 Creative Giants and their Creative Process

How they did what they did...

There are a great many creative greats in various industries. But how were these people successful at what they set out to do? Well answering the success question is too subjective to cover here, but in any sector of the world where success is the end goal, tenacity will be a big factor.

However, when it comes to finding out how they went about doing what they did, we can look at processes - maybe even glean a little something for ourselves.

So - how did they do it?

1) Monthy Python

It would be remiss of me to exclude the Godfathers of sketch comedy from this list, the group for which we owe so much in terms of creativity in the modern world. Essentially the most successful group of professionals to ever do exactly what they were told not to, and break those preconceived barriers to incredible effect.

A) Establish rules

Well they broke them all, but found a way of working with one another to great effect. After having real problems with getting things started, it was agreed that anything was possible in a sketch, but they'd only work off a completed sketch idea in the first place. From that, the world was their oyster, but they need somewhere to start.

B) Meet, Sleep, Play

As I'll cover in another blog, creating to a fixed time limit in a fixed position with a group is not only very hard, but not a nice way to spend a day. The Pythons found that the best way of answering that question, or writing that joke was to meet up, ask all the questions then head off and play or sleep on the issue.

This lets those sub-concious gears turn and the areas where the unexpected leap from are reached.

C) Mind-dump alone, Mind-refine in groups

When coming up with multiple ideas, the Pythons would brainstorm ideas and create lists of concepts by themselves, these ideas would then be brought to the group and the creativity would begin. Birth an idea alone, then have the strength of character to bring that idea into an arena where it will be pulled apart, twisted and played with. By the end the team will have grown it into something very different, but in most cases much better.

D) Unleash that Inner Child

Children are both unaware of social formats of thinking and don't care if they get it wrong... longing to fit in is something we learn as awkward teenagers. Remember that creativity is best when experienced through a team remembering what it is to a be a child, unafraid and full of wild thoughts. This is usually where the magic happens.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2

Part Two: "Following the Big Footprints" - 3 Creative Giants and their Creative Process

2) Ernest Hemingway

Pulitizer and Nobel Prize winning writer Ernest Hemingway had a very specific process in his day-to-day writing. For him it was about consistency, control and a firm realisation of when he was doing what he needed to.

A) Know your Environment

Hemingway knew that it go to hot in the afternoons, and his mind would become sluggish so he would set himself a limit to be finished before 12:00 in order to make the most of his mind.

B) Set a realistic limit

His process is most famous for being consistent yet light in quantity. He would write around 500 words a day, knowing that it was better to leave a sentence unfinished and return to it with a fresh mind the next day. He did, however, push himself to commit to those 500 words every day. This is contrary to many people's process, who wait for that moment of inspiration and milk it.

C) Know when to stop

It was his belief that it was better to know when to stop, whether it be mid sentence or mid paragraph or midday, than plough on for hours on end and produce great swathes of mediocrity. He was quoted saying "I write one page of mastery to 91 pages of shit... I try to put the shit in the waste basket".

CLICK HERE FOR PART 3

Part Three: "Following the Big Footprints" - 3 Creative Giants and their Creative Process

3) John Legend

Multiple Grammy award winning Writer/Singer John Legend is regarded as one of the most incredible writers in the industry. Consistently producing original works of great creativity, what does he have to do to get from the pen to the people?

A) Don't stop believing in your own Talent

A huge believer in self belief and how it can fuel the creative process. His first single, Get Lifted was the result of being the first Artist to be signed to Good Music Records in 2004. It was "An attempt to define who I wanted to be in the eyes of the public... we tried to reflect where we were musically at that time"

B) Let It flow...

In various interviews John Legend has suggested that the music of a thing flows from a place where words cannot fit straight away. He lets the music and the rhythm flow out, records it then goes back and adds the words. When the magic happens, capitalise on it and then go back to refine what came naturally in order to make the most of what your gift offers.

C) Collaborate

His career has been spurned on by his personal ability, but his entire Career - from being on Lauren Hill's Track in his 1998 debut, to his work with Kanye West - has been a result of collaboration and team work. He uses his belief in team work to reflect in his ability to help the world around him, having worked on many charitable and political causes he believes in.

Little thoughts to go away with...

These are ways in which successful people have stayed creative - but it's eveident that each of the processes work for them and what their needs are. Take the time to analyse how you work, how you work well, and what you need to keep it going. Then, spend the time applying those things to your everyday life in order to keep that creative flair in your day to day. Let it give you as much room to breathe and relax as it does to create.

“Creating Inside the Box” – 3 Steps to Setting Boundaries and Breaking Them

“We cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that got you there in the first place”

-          Albert Einstein

Creativity is fluidity, it flows and eddies as a river; meandering and eroding its natural path through the landscape in which we work. Subsequently, it’s hard to imagine a freedom of creativity that is set in a system of rules or a place of boundaries.

And yet, we must face boundaries in everyday life and there is not a creative pursuit in the world which is not bound to some kind of stricture… so how are we to produce the very essence of freedom, when constrained by rules?

More a form of measurement, less a doctrine

“The strongest tree in the forest is not the oak with its deep roots and hard wood, but

the Bamboo who can bend with the breeze and not break in the storm”

-          Unattributed

The environment in which you are playing or working is integral to the process of your creation. To set structures or petty requirements can seem counter-productive, but in terms of productivity it’s essential.

Suggestion: If you work as a team or as an individual, then decide as what your goals are and then focus on what will allow success, what will hinder success and, more importantly – what success will look like when you get there!

The Relentless Tick-Tock

I was told a couple of weeks ago that we are all in a society which is becoming increasingly money-rich, yet time-poor. This suggests that time will be an increasing increment on the creative process. So straight away we are all provided with a boundary over which we have no direct control.

Maybe your work is project and deadline based, maybe your creativity is outside of your regular source of income, and so restricted by the demands of that roll, perhaps this is a last minute opportunity and it’s “now or never”.

Suggestion: Decide what you want to achieve in the time set out then decide on the correct attitudes and actions which will bolster your creativity.

Raise the Praise

When caught up in the cycle of creativity, it’s so easy to lose track of what you’re doing, if it’s any good, why you’re doing this in the first place – in other words you can’t see the wood for the trees. This is where you need to go back to the goals you outlined in the first place and give a little moment to reflect on how you’ve achieved.

Suggestion: This is an ideal time for you to understand your own process. If you’ve only achieved half of what you intended in the given time, then perhaps you’ve underestimated the time it takes you to achieve those goals. This is always a good thing, it lets you understand just how much time you need to assign to your creative tasks in order to complete them to your satisfaction

"The Road is Long" - Sustainable Creativity

"Wisdom Begins in Wonder"

This quote from Socrates sent me on a small but very important journey recently, and it's a subject from which I rarely stray, a worry from which I am rarely free.

I have no doubt in my ability to be creative, thoughts spill from the small bucket of my mind more often than perhaps my employer or friends would find appropriate, but the problem I really face - is staying creative.

The Raven that keeps tapping...

It is a great fear of mine that my greatest work is already behind me, that the creative flair I carried for so long is an extinguished fire. I'm sure i'm not the only person who lives in fear that "that great thing I did was a one off, a fluke" - that fear keeps tapping at my door and I hear the whisper of "nevermore".

Well the ancient Greeks and the Romans believed that creativity was a god (daemon), or Genie (hence, Genius...) which would inhabit the artist when the mood took it and produce in them something original and exciting.

This meant that, though an artist was never directly responsible for their own work, neither were they entirely to blame for the creative dearths. It was merely the artists responsibility to show up and do their side of the bargain, it would be up to the ethereal genius if it would come that day or another.

Nothing Succeeds Like Excess...

The truth of the matter is, that the mystical place where those original thoughts and dreams came from, the ones which started you down this path of art, or design, or creation is never out of reach. Some days, it may seem like it's million miles away and that your Daemon or your Genius has long since forgotten about you but keep in mind all the things which inspired you to be a creative person in the first place.

In a recent conversation on LinkedIn an artist made a point which really resonated with me:-

 I can only speak for myself, but I have a many methods... When I am creative, I focus on creating new work. Then when I fall into a hole, I can take those designs and push out the mechanics. In addition, I let others work inspire and push me

So here, creativity is like a jet engine, fuelling itself from it's previous endeavours, or allowing you to tempt that Genius out of the walls with awe from other achievements.

Final Thought

Bottom line, don't stop creating...

• Those days when you feel defeated, create even more and create new things rather than re-working something already in development.
• Find inspiration from the wealth of greatness around you. The internet is now a vessel for inspiration, but don't forget just how inspiring people's company and conversation can be
• Never loose faith, never give up no matter how hard the challenge seems.

Like so many of the TED Talks I was inspired by what this professional had to say, and her unwavering desire to keep going.

If you're in a creative dearth when you're reading this then walk to that tapping door, banish the Raven and his endless "Nevermore" and usher in your genius. I don't know who you are, or what you're working on, but based on what I've learnt in this little journey then one day what you're doing may inspire me. So I believe in you, I believe in the power of creation, and I believe that original art from any corner of the world makes it a better place.

So why not start with a little Wonder... it may just lead us all to a little Wisdom.

Find a Job that Loves you...(Top 3 best places to work)

...And never work a day in your Life

You may have read in a previous post that in research conducted last year, IBM discovered that the most important personality trait for the future success of their business is Creativity.

Why? It's simply important to be adaptable in order to succeed in the modern World of business.

So which companies are empowering those feelings of creativity? Strangely enough it's the same list as the best places to work and every single one is worth a lot of money...

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In at Number 3

Company: FedEx

Worth = Approx $2.1 Billion

FedEx have a scheme in which they encourage their employees to volunteer to make the world around them a better place. This seemingly Altruistic act seems to have had a knock on and highly beneficial effect.

Doing a good deed is a sure-thing when it comes to happiness. Happy people are more confident in themselves and their own ability, which in turn leads to people who aren't scared to fail - this is the magic soup where creativity flourishes.

What to Take Home from this?

Do something good, be grateful, get happy - allow creativity and watch doors open and good things happen!

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What do Number 2 do?

Company: Kimberly-Clark

Worth = Approx $18 Billion

Kimberly-Clark claim to help over 1,000,000 people world wide and pride themselves on having not only an effective but a valued and happy workforce. In their top 3 elements to encourage in their employees they list "Let them Feel Welcome, Let them Dream, Let them Grow".

Again, the comfort-creativity factor allowing a HUGE company the ability to push itself into every available nook and cranny of the business world.

What to Take Home from this?

Giving someone creative freedom is like writing them a blank cheque for contentment. And a contented individual is a productive, reliable and enjoyable person to be around.

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You won't have heard of Number 3...

Company: Google

Worth = Over $93 Billion

Now once your eyes have stopped watering at the sheer massive nature of this companies worth, let your breath be taken away by the awesome nature of their environment. Everything this company does revolves around play, and that play lets people relax and lets them create. Just take a look at the 16 buildings housing 18 totally free restaurants, video games, gyms table tennis sets, pets, BBQ's in the summer and eco-centric business attitudes.

What to Take Home from this?

What comes first? Success or creativity? Well all you need to know is that these three companies hold Creativity and Play above all things in their environments and the outcome has been relentlessly successful. Remember that that the only thing that we should take seriously is our need to play with the world around us.