A while back I wrote a series titled “Living the Creative Life”. I’m reading it again for inspiration and thought I’d share it with you. Check out the advice these amazing people dish out:
- Leonardo Da Vinci- An Artist’s Advice
- Vitruvious- An Architect’s Advice
- David Bohn- A Physicist’s Advice
- Jonas Salk- A Physician’s Advice
- Eleanor Roosevelt– A Humanitarian’s Advice
- James Watson- A Biologist’s Advice
I’m also reading (sometimes at the same time– does multi-reading count as multi-tasking?) Creativity researcher Keith Sawyer’s Explaining Creativity which summarizes current findings about how Creativity works. Sawyer has a new book out as well, Group Genius, but I thought I’d read his stuff in chronological order. In Explaining Creativity, Sawyer makes recommendations for anyone wanting to be (more) Creative. Check out his list below:
- Make sure that you are doing something you love. Creativity takes years of hard work and dedication.
- Get involved with a group of like-minded people, share ideas and collaborate.
- Don’t worry about who gets credit. When everyone genuinely collaborates, everyone ends up being more creative.
- Build on past ideas, whether or not they are yours. Stay on top of what everyone else is doing, and be open to inspiration from other people’s ideas.
- Create a large network of colleagues, and stay in touch constantly. Put yourself at the center of a creativity web.
- Don’t expect the solution to come fully forged in a flash of insight. Creativity takes time and involves many small sparks of insight, which you need to work hard at weaving together.
- Put yourself in an environment that rewards failure. Creativity is risky; successful creative people are also the ones who fail most often.
- Creativity is inefficient. Don’t expect every idea and every project to pan out. Know when to cut your losses and move on.
This to do list is a bit overwhelming especially when summer has just begun.
The cure? Turn back to simplicity.
So this first day of summer, here’s MY one line advice to you–
Just get to work baby!
Filed under: Advice Tagged: | Creativity, Creativity advice, david bohm's advice, Eleanor Roosevelt's advice, Energy for Creativity, explaining creativity, first day of summer, group genius, keith sawyer
love this.
Sawyer summary in my words:
1. temperament
2. connection
3. motives – starts w what it’s doing for Me
4. knowledge is flat
5. –
6. in process
7. celebrate our flaws as well as our perfections
8. ”
personalized by Me
That’s right… always make it your own
I like your #7 best.
Thanks for commenting.
D #4, V #6, B #2, S #5, R #14, W #16
I may need to whip out my text-ionary…
I appreciate your comment Carl.. Can you elaborate?
the letters are the first letter of the last name of each person. I never use text writing. It is astonishing that grown people use 14 year old valley girl speak.
I find my writing creativity by reading other’s works and observing. I find it distracting to be in lively groups or listening to music. Weird, huh? But it works.
The thing is, the perfect environment is one in which you can get work done. It’s different for everyone. Thanks for commenting!
Julia Cameron, who wrote “Artists Way” and other books on creativity uses “Morning Pages” where one writes three pages of stream of consciousness first thing in the morning. I’ve been doing that for about three months now and find that after I write my dreams and things I’m anxious about come my to do lists. Then finally creativity comes and I accomplish something. I do my best writing then.
I guess it comes in the area of doing what one loves. One of your creative people said this and it’s true. Have one obsession is also a favorite although many musicians also paint and vice versa.
It’s interesting to me that some people intuitively know what they love to do and follow their minds to that thing but others have to figure it out. Is this is genetically-based or more environmental or (more likely)a combination/ dynamic interaction between the two?
Einstein is a great example of someone with one obsession– although he did play the violin to take a break from it. Creative people often use other pursuits (often artistic ones) as relaxation.
Thanks for commenting!