David Epstein: ‘Why creative people can’t stick to one thing’ (video)

This explains a lot!

If you tend to hop around from project to project, or take interest in a variety of topics, or generate a ton of disparate ideas, or write in different genres and voices and styles, and wonder if you’re an oddball, well…

OK, maybe you’re an oddball. But maybe you’re also a creative type who can’t stick to one thing.

That’s not a bad thing, as author David Epstein (whose book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World ought to be on every writer’s reading list) points out in this 20-minute video. In fact, he writes, “your scattered interests might be your biggest creative advantage.” Take, for example, two British musicians who came of age in the late 1960s: David Bowie and Peter Frampton. As Epstein explains in the video, Frampton found his lane quickly as a guitar prodigy while Bowie was all over the place. Both achieved success, but one’s path was narrower than the other’s.

Take the time to watch. You’ll be glad you did.

Top image: screenshot from the video.

Friday Five: James Clear on the creative process

Atomic Habits author James Clear shares his five-step approach to the creative process in a recent edition of his 3-2-1 newsletter.

The creative process

  1. Discover – Read a lot. Observe the world. Notice.
  2. Collect – Immediately record anything that strikes you.
  3. Generate – Build on your notes to brainstorm lots of ideas.
  4. Combine – Connect previously unconnected ideas.
  5. Refine – Edit, edit, edit. Select the best.
Continue reading “Friday Five: James Clear on the creative process”

Make today your best day ever

Happy Monday. (Unless you’re reading this on a Sunday.) Here are 10 ways to make today your best day ever.

Yes, this is a link I slapped on to the end of last week’s Friday Five, but I thought it was worth an entry all its own. I hope you agree.

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Now playing: The New Pornographers – Mutiny, I Promise You
via FoxyTunes