Tag: Creativity
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What Gets In the Way Is the Way
In 1985, Steve Jobs was forced out of Apple over disagreements with the company’s board and management team. Being kicked out of the company he co-founded was a painful experience, but the setback fueled his future ventures–NeXT and Pixar–and ultimately his return to Apple in 1997. Jobs reflected on his journey at his commencement address…
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What Wasn’t There Before
Music producer Rick Rubin wrote in his book The Creative Act: To create is to bring something into existence what wasn’t there before. It could be a conversation, the solution to a problem, a note to a friend, the rearrangement of furniture in a room, a new route home to avoid a traffic jam. Whether…
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Make Something Wonderful
After the iPhone launched in 2007, one employee asked Steve Jobs at a staff meeting how Apple would keep its culture and brand intact as it grew. He answered: One of the ways that I believe people express their appreciation to the rest of humanity is to make something wonderful and put it out there. …
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Brick by Brick
For 40 weeks now, I have sharing three interesting stories/ideas in my newsletter. I plan to keep it up. One challenge I consistently run into is that I don’t have the stories early enough in the week so the last couple of days becomes stressful. Sometimes my full-time job gets busy, and other things happens…
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Space that unlocks
Space unlocks creativity. Once set up, it yields unlimited benefits. Space can be physical, digital, or spiritual. For example: Invest in one early.
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Choose A and B
As Lunar New Year approaches this weekend, it dawns on me: I have lived almost half of my life in America. In the early days, I lived as if I had never left home: spoke Cantonese all day, read Chinese books, and hung out with Chinese friends. When I started working, I hid my Chinese-ness…
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You don’t need more prep
Before starting a creative project, the voice says: you need more prep! More research, more planning, more studying. That voice is loud and obnoxious. Writer Steven Pressfield calls this voice the Resistance. It takes you on detours like getting a somewhat related certificate, envy other people’s achievement on LinkedIn, or worrying about where the money…
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Create what you want to see
Brad Bird is a film director, animator, and producer at Pixar. He led the production of two major computer-animated films: The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Both movies won the Oscars. When asked whether Pixar tries to “find out what the customers want,” Bird explained his approach during an interview: “My goal is to make a movie…
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Try something new every day
Doesn’t matter what it is, how insignificant it appears, or whether anyone notices. Take the long way home. Learn a new word. Do the exercises at the end of the chapter. Review old photos. Find a better way to solve the same problem. If we do that daily, we will have experimented over 360 small…
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Start with one
Key to building a new habit: start small. How small exactly? Try one. Make it absurdly easy. Then do it every day at around the same time*. Resist the temptation to ramp up quickly. Keep it nice and steady instead. If you miss a day, no worries. Pick it back up where you left off.…
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Creativity without Fear: The Pixar Way
Pixar has produced two dozen films since the animation studio was founded in 1986. Almost all of its movies—such as Toy Story, Inside Out, and Incredibles—became instant blockbusters. While Pixar spends millions of hours[1] on each movie attending to every detail, perfectionism does not guide its creative process. On the contrary, every day Pixar shows unfinished work internally to the…
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Crossword puzzle strategy
Will Shortz has been creating crossword puzzles at the New York Times for over 50 years. His advice on the game is sound wisdom for life: • Begin with the answers you’re surest of and build from there. • Don’t be afraid to guess. • Don’t be afraid to erase an answer that isn’t working out. • If you are stuck, put…
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Use what you have
If you don’t have a pencil, use a pen. If you don’t have blue, use black. If you don’t have lime, use lemon. Use what you have. Don’t get stuck.
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Why Can’t A Musician Also Be A Plumber?
Philip Glass is an influential composer and pianist. His operas, symphonies, and chamber music are highly regarded. Three of his film scores were nominated for the Oscars. While establishing his career, Glass supported himself by working as a plumber*. Once during a service visit in New York City in the 1970s, he came across Robert Hughes,…
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Daily grind
Does today feel like a grind—an endless cycle of work, chores and obligations—only to repeat again tomorrow? How can we freshen things up when life feels dull? One thing to try: be curious. Spend a few quiet moments and check in: what’s going on? If you don’t feel alive, you must have some idea of…