Develop the skill to know and own your true feelings about your work, even when it conflicts with external feedback, as this is the single most important thing to practice as an artist.
Adopt a mindset of accepting that ‘we don’t know anything,’ as assuming knowledge limits possibilities and creative exploration, opening up new perspectives.
Continuously question your established methods, recognizing that past success doesn’t guarantee future optimality or that there isn’t a better way to do things.
Actively entertain the idea of the opposite of your beliefs or assumptions being true to challenge authenticity and uncover new perspectives, much like how contrast defines perception.
Cultivate and harness your belief in your ability to create something great, as this belief significantly increases the chances of success and is a healthy thing to do on your behalf.
Utilize self-doubt as a constructive balancing tool, allowing it to prompt further questioning and refinement of your work rather than paralyzing your efforts.
Maintain a forward-looking and present-focused perspective, avoiding dwelling on the past or nostalgia, as this allows for continuous evolution and openness to new experiences.
Maintain an open mind to new and better solutions, regardless of their source (e.g., Stanford or a person talking to themselves on the street), prioritizing effectiveness over origin.
If you have an idea, write it down immediately, because if you wait, it will be gone, much like a dream that fades upon waking.
Pay attention to internal feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, or curiosity – that ’leaning forward’ energy – and follow it, as it guides the art-making process.
Actively pay attention to the world around you, as it constantly provides clues and inspiration for creative endeavors, often ‘whispered or screamed’ if you are listening.
Learn and explore topics purely out of genuine interest, without the immediate idea of using them, trusting that these ‘seeds’ will naturally find their way into future creative projects.
Utilize audio methods like voice memos to capture ideas, as it can be a more natural and efficient way to record thoughts than typing, allowing for later transcription.
Structure your creative process into distinct phases: seed collecting, experimentation, crafting, and completion, recognizing that each phase requires a different approach to time and control.
Impose self-made limitations or rules on your creative process (e.g., using only two colors) to force novel problem-solving and give unique shape to your work.
Translate creative feelings into actionable experiments rather than just verbal descriptions, testing ideas in real-time to gather more data and see where the work goes.
Combine familiar elements in novel ways to create something new and interesting, as this is often how truly original ideas emerge.
Aim to create ‘real moments’ in your art that capture genuine, unrepeatable energy and emotion, rather than just technical perfection, allowing listeners or viewers to feel the specialness of the happening.
Incorporate a ‘jazz mentality’ into your creative work, embracing improvisation, real-time attention, and the absence of a fixed map to create compelling and alive pieces.
Be present and ready to receive creative inspiration, rather than trying to force it, showing up open to whatever needs to happen to find the first thread.
Prioritize staying present and undistracted in your work, as this ability is more crucial for creativity than your current emotional state or external circumstances.
Fully disengage from projects when not actively working on them, avoiding carrying materials or thoughts about them, to allow subconscious processing and fresh perspective.
Engage intensely in other, unrelated projects between sessions on a main project to provide a mental break and fresh perspective, cleansing the palate for your primary work.
Establish a pre-sleep routine with an activity that allows for complete relaxation and mental disengagement, such as watching something entertaining without competition like wrestling, to ensure good sleep.
Adopt a slow, unhurried morning routine, including immediate sunlight exposure and a nature walk, to gently transition into the day and foster a receptive state for creativity.
Practice meditation (mantra, breath focus, or awareness) to quiet self-talk, enhance presence, and become more aware of internal and external sensations, fostering a deeper connection to the creative source.
Listen to lectures, podcasts, or audiobooks before sleep to prevent getting caught in self-talk and promote relaxation, providing a focus point to quiet the conscious mind.
Seek out unpredictable inputs, like professional wrestling or unfamiliar music, to cultivate a mindset of expecting the unexpected and embracing novelty, which can spark new ideas.
Engage with both dynamic (e.g., changing beaches) and stable (e.g., old trees) natural environments to draw different forms of inspiration and open various aspects of your psyche.
Use imitation as a tool to develop skills by emulating artists you admire, eventually leading to the discovery and refinement of your own unique voice.
Don’t be afraid to start creating without prior experience, as a lack of knowledge can lead to unintentionally breaking rules and fostering innovation.
Implement internal deadlines for the completion phase of a project, but be flexible and willing to break them if a new discovery or opportunity arises that would significantly improve the project.
Reframe anxiety as an activating energy that can propel you forward towards a goal, rather than a reason to stop, especially when you feel compelled to move.
Tap into joy, delight, and love as primary sources of creative energy, recognizing them as the ultimate reservoir for sustained effort and inspiration.
Focus on the craft and dedication of collaborators, rather than their perceived external chaos or personal issues, as their commitment to the work is what truly matters.