Jimmy Chim

Tag: Creativity

  • 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 at Stanford in 2005:

    “I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.

    The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything.

    It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

  • 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 we do this consciously or unconsciously, by merely being alive, we are active participants in the ongoing process of creation.

  • 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. 

    You never meet the people. You never shake their hands. You never hear their story or tell yours.

    But somehow, in the act of making something with a great deal of care and love, something is transmitted there.

  • 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 in the life. It becomes challenging to find time and energy to work on the newsletter stories a day or two before the ship date.

    I am now exploring another approach. Instead of trying to find three stories last minute, I write one short blog post every day. It can be a random interesting idea or story or passage I come across. If I do it daily, I have at least seven stories every week. When the time to compile my newsletter comes, I have a collection of materials to choose from. Not all seven will be good, but it shouldn’t be hard to find three decent ones.

    As I was thinking about this, I came across a quote from author and recovering alcoholic Sarah Hepola on slow change:

    “Change is not a bolt of lightning that arrives with a zap. It is a bridge built brick by brick, every day, with sweat and humility and slips. It is hard work, and slow work, but it can be thrilling to watch it take shape.”

    Source: My relapse years

    I love this analogy. Now I imagine myself laying down a brick every time I build on an idea, draw a diagram, or add a post to the blog.

  • Space that unlocks

    Space unlocks creativity. Once set up, it yields unlimited benefits. Space can be physical, digital, or spiritual. For example:

    • A dedicated workdesk (physical) unlocks all the important work you will do.
    • A kitchen with the proper cookware (physical) unlocks all the dishes you will make.
    • A journal (physical + spiritual) unlocks all the ideas you will capture.
    • A prayer or mediation practice (spiritual) unlocks connection with your true being.
    • A website (digital) unlocks the ability to share your ideas with the world.

    Invest in one early.

  • 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 in all possible ways because the identity seemed like a disadvantage.

    Neither felt right.

    I have since discovered a third option: embrace where I come from and where I am. This middle way frees me to be creative. Mix filial piety with open communication. Combine humility and fearlessness. Put my head down and speak up when it counts.

    Why choose between A or B when A and B is possible?

  • 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 comes from.

    No, no, no. These are the Devil’s plans: to wear you out, to overwhelm you, to lead you down frustrating dead ends. You don’t need that certificate (yet). You don’t need to spin your wheels on how others get to where they are. You don’t need to quit your full time job (yet).

    What you need is to start. Do the actual thing. What are they? Poets write. Chefs cook. Comedians tell jokes. Designers design. Painters paint. Artists create. Make stuff. Share your work. That’s what you need to do.

    You are ready. Let’s go.

  • 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 I want to see. If I do it sincerely enough and well enough—if I’m hard on myself and not completely off base, not completely different from the rest of humanity—other people will also get engaged and find the film entertaining.”

    Read more: Innovation lessons from Pixar (An interview with Brad Bird) 

  • 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 ideas a year from now. Many will be duds, but we will find at least a dozen gems in between.

    Above all, our mental muscles will grow stronger. Facing the next unknown will become just a bit less scary.

  • Start with one

    Key to building a new habit: start small. How small exactly? Try one.

    • Write one sentence
    • Read one page
    • Walk one block
    • Jot down one idea
    • Do one practice question
    • Practice one chord
    • Declutter one small pile of paper
    • Meditate or pray for one minute

    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. You will see progress within weeks.

    *Tips: Putting an “X” on a calendar every time you do the habit will help visualize progress. It’s also a good idea to focus on only one habit a time.

    Inspired by: Atomic Habits and Tiny Habits

  • 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 whole company to discourage a culture of perfectionism.

    This practice helps teams get over the embarrassment of sharing incomplete work. It liberates people to take risks, try new things, and inspire each other with constructive feedback.

    Creativity blossoms when we stop worrying about failure.

    ​

    [1] Pixar has “600 people working on a movie for 3-4 years.” If we assume 2,000 work hours per year x 600 people x 3 years, that’s ~3.6 million man-hours.

    In other words, it takes the equivalent of a single person working 24 hours non-stop for over 400 years to produce a Pixar movie. Yet another way to look at it: each minute on screen for a two-hour film takes ~30,000 hours behind the scene.

    This idea was originally inspired by a question: How can a company that spends so many resources on high-risk creative projects ensure perfection? The counterintuitive answer is: it doesn’t, at least not at the beginning.

    If interested, this article written by one of Pixar’s founding leaders is an excellent read.

  • 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 it aside and return later.

    • It’s your puzzle. Solve it any way you want.

    ​Source: Solve The New York Times Crossword Puzzle

  • 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.

  • 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, an art critic for the Times magazine. Hughes recognized Glass and stared at him in shock and disbelief.

    Here’s how Glass recounted the exchange:

    ‘But you’re Philip Glass! What are you doing here?’

    ​It was obvious that I was installing his dishwasher and I told him I would soon be finished.​

    ‘But you are an artist,’ he protested.

    I explained that I was an artist but that I was sometimes a plumber as well and that he should go away and let me finish.

    Situations are never ideal. Sometimes we have to take an unglamorous approach to make life work. That’s not a problem at all.

    ​Source: When less means more​

    *He also worked as a taxi driver. “If you’re in New York City, you might hail a cab. There’s a good chance that the driver would be an actor or a performer. A lot of day jobs around New York are picked up by people in the arts.” he said in an interview.

    I have been looping his Glassworks (composed in 1981) all week. Another classical guitar cover of the same piece is just as beautiful.

  • 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 how feeling alive looks like. What’s missing? Is it rest, attention, or connection with others? Or is it joy, freedom, or a sense of purpose?

    Whatever comes to mind is okay. Give it space. Acknowledge it. There’s no right or wrong answer. That’s simply where things stand.

    Then ask: what’s one small thing you can experiment today?

    Pick up an old hobby, do a kind thing for a friend, or have that conversation you’ve avoided for months? Read a good book, go for a vigorous run, or sit in a church when no one is there? Seek advice, accept a new challenge, or say no to a commitment because you are simply too exhausted?

    This is not an easy question. The path forward requires us to change, to do what our mind resists, and to keep trying.

    But as poet Robert Frost said, “The best way out is always through.” To have a breakthrough, you must first choose to be willing to break through.

    Even if asking these questions is difficult, it’s worth a try. After all, what’s more important than your happiness?