Introduction
I just got back from a three-hour trek around my Auckland neighborhood on this phenomenally beautiful Sunday morning and felt compelled to share some ideas. The very inspiration for this blog came about as I passed a young family walking in the opposite direction. The little boy, who must have been about 3 years old, was lagging behind his parents because he was transfixed on something that had captured his attention.
As we approached each other, the father called his son, broke the boy's attention, and he ran to catch up with his parents. In that instant, the boy looked up at me just as we were passing each other and engaged my eyes with the utmost innocent and whimsical look of genuine curiosity. He just kept staring with an ear to ear grin on his face, his little brain processing the image of my face, my hat, shirt, shorts, everything. It all happened in less than a few seconds, but it was a moment that really inspired me jot down some thoughts and write the blog post you're now reading.
The Death and Rebirth of Curiosity
As I carried on walking, I couldn't help but be envious of that pure, unbridled child-like curiosity. Dammit, I was once that curious. We all were! Where did it go? While I do still consider myself a curious adult, an "observer of life," I can see just how easy it is for the modern world and all its trappings to kick the stuffing out of us and make us forget about those little traits that help form our very humanity.
But how do you capture this essence? And what practical value is there to harnessing and nurturing curiosity? Based on my own observations and experiences, I am convinced that curiosity is the spark which ignites creativity and inspiration.
Happy Place
First, cliche as it sounds, I believe it is imperative that each person finds their little "happy place." It can be a physical location such as the beach, the mountains, lake or whatever. Maybe even your local coffee shop has an energy about it which facilitates an open mind. Be social and surround yourself with up-beat, motivated, and positive people who bring out the best in you (avoid energy vampires that complain and moan about every little thing in their lives which only serves to sap your creative drive). Listen to music that evokes positive feelings of well-being and forward momentum. No matter what trips your trigger, find it and conscientiously go there...regularly.
Capturing Curious, Creative Moments
Second, you MUST capture those curious, creative moments. The vast majority of my ideas flow freely through my mind when I'm actually AWAY from the computer and a bit more connected with nature (out walking, exercising, surfing, whatever). I find most people have lots of ideas, even GREAT ideas, but the problem is they just pop into their minds for a fleeting moment and quickly evaporate the split second something else moves onto their mental radar. In fact, this was my problem too up until several years ago when I decided to implement one simple change in my life: carry pen and paper with me everywhere I go and then capture that internal "soundtrack."
So what should you write down? EVERYTHING! The rule is that there are no rules. If it pops into your mind, write it down. Period. Pay no attention to grammar, spelling, syntax, but get it down on paper! Call it a self-administered psychotherapy session. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Hacking Through the Hieroglyphics
Third, so you've got three pages of thoughts, feelings, and ideas scrawled in hieroglyphics on three loose-leaf sheets of paper, now what? While you still have momentum, go onto your computer and create a master file for managing your "content." I personally use Microsoft's One Note program. It's a free form program which allows you to create master headings and tabs which nicely complements the organization of your "diary of a madman." Transcribe that content into your system and then continually add to it each time you come back from your creative place. Over time, you will be amazed at how it all adds up and may even be something you can adapt into a paid presentation or magazine article.
See (or Create) Opportunities Others Miss
You absolutely MUST train your brain to see the opportunities that others miss and then act upon those opportunities. Other times there is no opportunity, but instead you create it out of thin air. For example, I recall going to the supermarket for a liter of milk, bread, and eggs. As I walked by the magazine rack, I saw a diabetes magazine. I picked it up, flipped through the pages, thought it was a good publication, memorized the editor's name and email address from the mast head, went home, sent an introductory email with a story idea, some writing clips, and within an hour had a paid assignment in the pipeline!
Unchained Fingertips of Fury
A few years back, I was up late working on my PhD and had the TV on in the background. An infomercial for some gimmick ab blaster machine came on the air and, in that instant, I just snapped and went on a writing binge about how egregiously misleading the advertising was. This sent me down another series of mental rabbit holes which, after a couple hours, I had about 10 pages of a hand-written brainstorm. I took some photos of the screen and before I knew it, I had all the content I needed for both a new consumer health/advocacy presentation and article!
Operate From a Locus of Passion
More recently, after months of seeing those annoying Ab Circle Pro commercials, I finally threw in the towel and decided to do something about it. I literally took the company to task on their marketing claims and wrote a scathing 15-page expose in less than 48 hours. I did final edits, HTML formatting, and had it up on my website within a week (read it here). Since I released it in June, it went viral and has had countless thousands of views from all over the world, with all feedback being amazingly positive. Point is, this was the product of an inspired moment I conscientiously decided to capture and act upon. I could have done nothing and continued to spout off about how stupid and useless I believe the product is, but instead it was far more productive (and personally therapeutic) to harness that energy and direct it into something constructive that has value for the world.
Final Thoughts
In closing, I am convinced everyone has an innate curiosity which can spawn creative moments, but unfortunately most people are too beaten down by the tedium of daily life to take action. The expression "the neurons that fire together wire together" is all too true. You can "train your brain" to do nothing each time you have creative moments or you can harness them and use them to propel you forward in life. The choice is yours.
I just got back from a three-hour trek around my Auckland neighborhood on this phenomenally beautiful Sunday morning and felt compelled to share some ideas. The very inspiration for this blog came about as I passed a young family walking in the opposite direction. The little boy, who must have been about 3 years old, was lagging behind his parents because he was transfixed on something that had captured his attention. As we approached each other, the father called his son, broke the boy's attention, and he ran to catch up with his parents. In that instant, the boy looked up at me just as we were passing each other and engaged my eyes with the utmost innocent and whimsical look of genuine curiosity. He just kept staring with an ear to ear grin on his face, his little brain processing the image of my face, my hat, shirt, shorts, everything. It all happened in less than a few seconds, but it was a moment that really inspired me jot down some thoughts and write the blog post you're now reading.
The Death and Rebirth of Curiosity
As I carried on walking, I couldn't help but be envious of that pure, unbridled child-like curiosity. Dammit, I was once that curious. We all were! Where did it go? While I do still consider myself a curious adult, an "observer of life," I can see just how easy it is for the modern world and all its trappings to kick the stuffing out of us and make us forget about those little traits that help form our very humanity.
But how do you capture this essence? And what practical value is there to harnessing and nurturing curiosity? Based on my own observations and experiences, I am convinced that curiosity is the spark which ignites creativity and inspiration.
Happy Place
First, cliche as it sounds, I believe it is imperative that each person finds their little "happy place." It can be a physical location such as the beach, the mountains, lake or whatever. Maybe even your local coffee shop has an energy about it which facilitates an open mind. Be social and surround yourself with up-beat, motivated, and positive people who bring out the best in you (avoid energy vampires that complain and moan about every little thing in their lives which only serves to sap your creative drive). Listen to music that evokes positive feelings of well-being and forward momentum. No matter what trips your trigger, find it and conscientiously go there...regularly.
Capturing Curious, Creative Moments
Second, you MUST capture those curious, creative moments. The vast majority of my ideas flow freely through my mind when I'm actually AWAY from the computer and a bit more connected with nature (out walking, exercising, surfing, whatever). I find most people have lots of ideas, even GREAT ideas, but the problem is they just pop into their minds for a fleeting moment and quickly evaporate the split second something else moves onto their mental radar. In fact, this was my problem too up until several years ago when I decided to implement one simple change in my life: carry pen and paper with me everywhere I go and then capture that internal "soundtrack."
So what should you write down? EVERYTHING! The rule is that there are no rules. If it pops into your mind, write it down. Period. Pay no attention to grammar, spelling, syntax, but get it down on paper! Call it a self-administered psychotherapy session. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- What's on your mind?
- What's eating away at you?
- What's holding you back in life?
- To do lists? Write em down, get em done!
- Figures, schematics, concepts, etc.
- What inspires you?
- What motivates you?
- If you could wake up tomorrow and be doing whatever it is in life you REALLY want to be doing, what would it be?
- What steps are you prepared to take to make it a reality?
- What sacrifices will you make to accomplish what you feel you rightly deserve?
- Let's say you want to launch a new project but don't know where to begin? Start brainstorming. Write down everything in your mind. Every idea, no matter how big or small. What are the challenges, barriers, difficulties? What are your strengths you bring to the table?
- Perhaps you want to write articles for magazines. What topics do you think would have real value to the world? What are your key messages? Bullet point the key headings and then fill in the content underneath each bullet point. Voila, new article.
Hacking Through the Hieroglyphics
 |
| My brainstorms tamed on paper |
See (or Create) Opportunities Others Miss
You absolutely MUST train your brain to see the opportunities that others miss and then act upon those opportunities. Other times there is no opportunity, but instead you create it out of thin air. For example, I recall going to the supermarket for a liter of milk, bread, and eggs. As I walked by the magazine rack, I saw a diabetes magazine. I picked it up, flipped through the pages, thought it was a good publication, memorized the editor's name and email address from the mast head, went home, sent an introductory email with a story idea, some writing clips, and within an hour had a paid assignment in the pipeline!
Unchained Fingertips of Fury
A few years back, I was up late working on my PhD and had the TV on in the background. An infomercial for some gimmick ab blaster machine came on the air and, in that instant, I just snapped and went on a writing binge about how egregiously misleading the advertising was. This sent me down another series of mental rabbit holes which, after a couple hours, I had about 10 pages of a hand-written brainstorm. I took some photos of the screen and before I knew it, I had all the content I needed for both a new consumer health/advocacy presentation and article!
Operate From a Locus of Passion
More recently, after months of seeing those annoying Ab Circle Pro commercials, I finally threw in the towel and decided to do something about it. I literally took the company to task on their marketing claims and wrote a scathing 15-page expose in less than 48 hours. I did final edits, HTML formatting, and had it up on my website within a week (read it here). Since I released it in June, it went viral and has had countless thousands of views from all over the world, with all feedback being amazingly positive. Point is, this was the product of an inspired moment I conscientiously decided to capture and act upon. I could have done nothing and continued to spout off about how stupid and useless I believe the product is, but instead it was far more productive (and personally therapeutic) to harness that energy and direct it into something constructive that has value for the world.
Final Thoughts
In closing, I am convinced everyone has an innate curiosity which can spawn creative moments, but unfortunately most people are too beaten down by the tedium of daily life to take action. The expression "the neurons that fire together wire together" is all too true. You can "train your brain" to do nothing each time you have creative moments or you can harness them and use them to propel you forward in life. The choice is yours.
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