Subtitle: 10 Ways To Stay Creative In Good Times and Bad
Listen Here
Interesting People
Interesting Links
EP#6 The War of Art | TLDR Show
EP#5 Pre-Suasion | TLDR Show
Meditation Apps (Medito, Headspace, Waking Up by Sam Harris)
What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness
EP#2 Influence - Part 1 | TLDR Show
Books Mentioned
Show Your Work by Austin
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Daily Rituals by Mason Curry
Pre-Suasion by Robert B Cialdini
Getting Things Done by David Allen
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon
Extra Notes
These are Notes that didn't make it into the episode, but still hold value in them
Suckcess: is success on somebody else’s terms. Or undeserved success. Or when something you think sucks becomes successful. Or when success or chasing after it just plain starts to suck.
The writer Kurt Vonnegut had this to say about the act of making "Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake"
So yeah, a dash of ordinary and a pinch of extra attention and voilà, an extraordinary.
Keep working. Keep playing. Keep drawing. Keep looking. Keep listening. Keep thinking. Keep dreaming. Keep singing. Keep dancing. Keep painting. Keep sculpting. Keep designing. Keep composing. Keep acting. Keep cooking. Keep searching. Keep walking. Keep exploring. Keep giving. Keep living. Keep paying attention. Keep doing your verbs, whatever they may be. Keep going.
Episode Transcript
Episode Introduction
[0:00] Hello and welcome to the TLDR Show, a podcast where I distill the knowledge of books just for you. I am your host, Abdelrahman, and I am very excited to have you with me. For today's episode, we come to the finale of our series on creativity. In the last episode, we covered the second book of the trilogy, Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. We learned about why we should share our work, and the 8 commandments. Today, we come to where we will set sail and start our journey beyond our horizons.
Without further a due, let us dive into our final book, Keep Going, subtitled 10 ways to stay creative in good times and bad by Austin Kleon.
Austin Kleon Introduction
[0:54] Let us start by introducing our author. Austin is a writer who draws. He makes art with words and books with pictures. He's the author of the best-selling books Newspaper Blackout, and our lovely trilogy Steal Like An Artist. You can find a number of his talks at TEDx, Google, SXSW, and Pixar on YouTube. You can also find him on Twitter at AustinKleon and on his website Austinkleon.com
Keep Going is the final book in our lovely trilogy and series. In this book, we'll answer how do you keep going? As always, this was mainly written for writers and artists, but the lessons do apply across the board. Whether you're a student, engineer, doctor, or any profession, there're some valuable lessons you can get from here.
The book is divided between the 10 tips to keep going in the good and bad times. Let us get to them.
I-The Journey Isn't Linear
[1:50] Now, our first tip is to understand that the journey isn't linear. Just like Sisyphus from Greek mythology, who's destined to keep pushing a boulder up a hill for eternity. Our life sometimes feels like pushing a rock up a mountain. Some days, waking up is easy, and the rock is light. Other days, you question your whole existence just to pull yourself out of the bed. But, we already know this. We talked in The War of Art in EP#6, how resistance is eternal, and even after knowing it and winning few battles, the war is never over.
So, our 1st tip to keep going is to control the smallest useful unit of time, the day. Controlling these 24 hours is the way to go.
So, how do we take control of our day? Here're 4 steps.
Controlling Your Morning
[2:42] The first is to control your morning. We have all been guilty of starting our day by having a quick look at the phone. When I say quick, I mean 30-50 mins, Your mileage may vary.
However, none of us wants anything to do with the news, notifications, emails, or messages first thing in the morning.
So, if possible, put your phone away from the bed, or resist the temptation for 30 minutes at least. Start your day with a cold shower, hot coffee, stretching, listening to music or maybe head to your bliss station, which we'll see later. The point is, the last thing you want to start your day upset, freaked out, or angry at the world. On the same note, Airplane mode is the chemical x. Use it in your mornings. It'll do you miracles.
Establish a Daily Routine
[3:34] The second step to controlling your day, is to establish a daily routine. In the book, Daily Rituals, by Mason Curry, which we mentioned in EP#5 of Pre-Suasion. He discusses the daily routines of famous people throughout history. As Austin says, reading it is like visiting a human zoo. You'll see how Beethoven for example would pour large amounts of water on his hands while humming loudly. Then he'd walk around the room with staring eyes and write something down. Then repeat. Or a more boring routine of Haruki Murakami, the famous Japanese author. He wakes up at 4 am, works for 5-6 hours straight. Runs or swims, do daily stuff, and bedtime by 9. Give it a read, you'll find some great examples in it, and trust me, it'll feel like a human zoo.
Now, having a routine denies the chance for chaos or mood swings to ruin your day.
In the War of Art, there was an example of Somerset Maugham, the famous English play writer, and novelist of the 1930s. Someone asked him whether he writes on a schedule or when struck by inspiration. His reply was, "I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes every morning at nine o'clock sharp".
Another way that having a routine helps you is by conditioning you to perform whenever you do it. We talked about the power of conditioning in our 1st series of books on human nature. If you haven't listened to them, give them a listen.
So, how do you come up with your weird daily ritual? For a starter, you can't just copy someone else. It must be yours. So, observe yourself, which time of the day do you work best at? What lifts your energy? Is it music, food, a cold shower or maybe running around? Do you have any silly superstitions that use the placebo effect? For example, using a special guitar pick when you write new music or having a special notebook for generating ideas. Whatever you decide to do, make sure to have a routine that's uniquely yours.
Make Lists
[5:47] Our third step for controlling your day is to make lists. Having lists keeps your mind at ease of what's completed, what're you working on now, and what's needed to be done. Your list can be as simple as a To-do list or pros vs cons to more complicated ones such as the Eisenhower Matrix of Priority or the Getting Things Done (GTD) system of David Allen.
Your list shouldn't only be limited to tasks. Have one for your bucket list, dream items, activities that make you happy, interesting links, or books to read etc.
Some Days Are Just Gonna Suck
[6:26] Now that you have established your ultimate routine, and made a list for every little thing. The final step to control your day is to accept the fact that some days are just gonna be bad. Despite all your prep work and effort, it won't turn the way you wanted. Here, you need to remember a few things. One, you're a professional stoic. So, you only control your thoughts, actions, and reactions. Two, be a little forgiving towards yourself. As Ralph Waldo, the American novelist and philosopher, said "Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could, some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely and with too high of a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense".
II-Build A Bliss Station
[7:15] Our 2nd tip to keep going is to have a bliss station. It's from the book, the Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell, the American literature professor and author of The Hero With A Thousand Faces. A Bliss Station is a place or a certain time of the day, where you just disconnect from the world. It's where you're in solitude and only focus on yourself and the work. In a way, your sacred shrine.
The perfect combo is to have a special room and time, but either of them is sufficient. If you're living in a small space, have a corner or a spot. If you're working most of the day or have kids, choose an hour early or late of the day.
Personalize your bliss station as much as you can. Remember our geography of persuasion from Pre-Suasion. Have pictures and quotes hanged around if you want . Remember from Steal Like An Artist creative process. Have your analog tools here, the physical calendar, and your side projects. And definitely leave your phone out of your bliss station. There's a quote in the book by Lynda Barry, the American cartoonist, and author. She said, “The phone gives us a lot, but it takes away three key elements of discovery: loneliness, uncertainty, and boredom. Those have always been where creative ideas come from.”. So keep this in mind.
III-Forget the Noun, Do the Verb
[8:47] The third tip is to Forget the Noun and Do the Verb. The noun here is the title, like being an artist or creative. But, the thing is, sometimes we focus too much on meeting our expectation of the title, that we don't do the work. If your title is a creative artist, you may waste your time ensuring that you fit the title, by wearing designer eyeglasses, using a MacBook Pro, and following outlandish fashion. I know I'm using the stereotype here, but the point is the same. Be yourself, and don't let the title influence who you are.
Another thing about the title is that it can cage you into a specific mold. I remember I was talking to a friend, and I suggested he pick up painting or music playing. His response was that he's an engineer, and creative work isn't for him.
The thing is, creativity is just a tool. It can be used in everything from painting to making an exquisite late-night bowl of noodles. So, if you're a writer, well, you can try out painting and so on.
At the end of the day, the titles are for others, and the Work is for you. So, be free and do whatever you like.
Play Like a Child
[9:57] This brings us to looking at work as a play and enjoying it with a child's spirit.
If you have seen children play with building blocks. They would be building something, breaking it down, building a different thing again, breaking it down, and then stopping in the middle, and moving on to something else. They don't care about the end result. All they care about is the process, and they enjoy it to the fullest.
The point of playing like a child is that sometimes we get too serious with the work that it becomes just a choir for us. We forget the flame that sparked it at the beginning.
If you like to take photographs and want to reignite your spark, try taking some pictures just for the sake of it . Look at them, then delete them. Heck, if you print them, you can even burn them. Another way is to try and do your worst. Take the ugliest pictures. Don't care about the lighting, rule of thirds, composition, or balance. Just take ugly ones, have a laugh at them, and delete them.
IV-Make Gifts
[11:00] The 4th tip is to make gifts. Here, Austin calls for us to think of our work as giving gifts. This included a few things.
One, you shouldn't care about the numbers. I'm guilty of this, and I try my hardest not to check, the number of listens, likes, shares, etc. I'm currently writing this and the 1st episode had been out for 5 days, and the listening is almost stopped. When I checked it in the morning, I got to admit, it stung for a bit, but I finally managed to push it aside and focus on the work.
This idea can be expanded to any type of work. In any project, after submitting a task that you felt is outstanding, sometimes, nothing happens. Like at all. You may get a generic thank you, and that's it. All your glamorous imagination of the praise that you'd have received just evaporates, and you're left with a broken imagination.
So, instead, what we should do, is as always, be stoics. Remember from the War of Art how resistance can come by relying on outside support. And ask what really matters. Was the end product good? What did you learn? Any mistakes to be avoided? And if it's something you love, you should check, what it did to your soul.
So, to keep going, stop caring about the numbers and outside support. See your work as a gift.
V-The Ordinary + Extra Attention= The Extraordinary
[12:35] Our 5th tip to keep going is the following formula. The Ordinary + Extra Attention = The Extraordinary. Let us address each variable separately.
The Ordinary
The ordinary part is the mundane and usual things around us. The idea is that we can use it to feed for our work. You don't need to go to the mountains to get inspired or need special pens and paper to get you starting drawing, or a fancy MacBook to edit your work. You have everything you need.
This part applies to people who're just beginning and ones who need to keep going. They both use the limitation of resources as a barrier for not starting or growing. The starting ones are usually deterred by the need of having specific tools to even start. But, that's like saying I won't start to swim till I buy that 300 dollars swimming shorts, 100 dollars googles, and practice in an Olympic pool.
For the ones who have been already working for a while, this gives a barrier to growth. We'd think that if we moved to a bigger city, or a new apartment, or maybe having an actual recording studio instead of my recording card box, would make me the next Joe Rogan. But, it won't. Using what you already have is the way to go, and the obstacle is the way.
On a side note, there's a YouTube channel named "Ordinary Things", where the ordinary guy discussed the history behind ordinary stuff around us. I'll link to it in the show notes.
Extra Attention
[14:13] Now, let us go to our second variable in the equation, extra attention. We had a whole book about attention and how important it's in Pre-Suasion, EP#5. Paying extra attention is divided between two areas. One, pay extra attention to the outside world.
Try to think and let your mind wander at a wall, the tree across the street, or the bus handle as it moves. It'll give you just enough disconnection from the world, for your mind to relax.
The second area to pay extra attention to is where you pay your attention. This advice is an important one regardless of your line of work.
One of the best ways to learn how to focus on what you're thinking is meditation. A misconception about meditation is that it helps you to empty and have no thoughts on your mind. In reality, it teaches you to pay attention to what you're thinking about. To realize the early signs of when we get angry or upset. If you want to start mediation, there're amazing phone apps. From totally free like Medito to paid one like Headspace. If you want something with a more philosophical element to it, check the Waking Up app by Sam Harris.
Another way is to have a diary. 5-minutes morning journals are a great tool to reflect on what's going on. A much simpler way is to have a look at the music you're listening to. Your current favorites might reflect your inner state.
So, how's paying attention helps us keep going. Well, sometimes, you wouldn't be in a mood for working or seem to struggle to come up with something. A small reflection and you can remember how you started your day by reading that it's going to be 46C today, and you have just been dreading it since then.
Extraordinary
[16:07] Now, with both the ordinary and the extra attention out of the way, we get the Extraordinary. The best example and one of the most amazing projects is "Newspaper Blackout" by Austin himself. It's a book of poems that are made entirely from newspapers. He'd take a newspaper, highlight some interesting words in an article, make a linkage that connects them, and blackout the rest. All his books are filled with blackouts that contain some golden nuggets. .
I'll make one to honor this episode, and you should try it to. Send me your newspaper black over at Instagram or Twitter at TldrShow.
VI-Quit!
[16:49] Now, ournext tip to keep going is to quit. The following line from the book explains it very well. "If making your art is adding net misery to the world, walk away and do something else. Find something else to do with your time, something that makes you and the people around you feel more alive". It's true that we have been talking about how important the work is and how to fight resistance. However, what really matters is you being a decent human throughout your journey. If in the process starts hurting yourself or loved ones around you, stop it. Do something else. In the end, as Austin says, Art is for Life, not the other way around.
The same can be said about other struggles. We rationalize our lack of taking care of ourselves or our families in the name of pushing our careers forward. This may be a bit contradicting considering that, for the past 3 episodes, all I have been saying is work work work. But, it's a delegate and a fine act of balance.
In the TED talk by Robert Waldinger, which's titled, "What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness". This study is done by Harvard and ran for more than 75 years, following the lives of 724 men. They tracked them from their teenage days till now, following their ups and downs. The critical finding is the single most determining factor for a long, healthy, and happy life is the quality of relationships around us. It wasn't how much money they made in a year, their diet or exercise, or even whether they smoke or not.
So, if your work is making you and your loved ones suffer, maybe it's time for a change. As always, I'll link to the TED talk in the show notes.
VII-You Are Allowed To Change Your Mind
[18:41] Now,o ur 7th tip to keep going takes us back to the weapons of influence of EP#2. To be more specific, the weapon of commitment and consistency. There, we talked about how small commitments can result in long-lasting consistency.
The tip here is that you are allowed to change your mind. There're a few points to discuss.
The first is beautifully summarized in a quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the American novelist, who said, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise". So, don't be a slave to your existing values, ways of work, tools, programs, or even favorite restaurants. Add a sense of chaos sometimes. Challenge your principles, use a new program and try a new restaurant.
There's a YouTube video by Andrew Scott, the Irish actor of Jim Moriarty in the BBC series, Sherlock. The video is titled "Choose One of Five", and it walks you through five choices of modes of thinking. From shutting yourself off, and not thinking, to complete freedom. I highly recommend watching it, and Scott's performance is outstanding.
Like-Minded Vs Like Hearted
[20:09] Now, how can you ensure that you don't just fall into the trap of having the same mindset ? Well, one way is for you to hang around with like-hearted people, not like-minded ones. Which's in my opinion a great rule for choosing your partner as well. Let me explain.
Like-minded people are ones that share similar interests, music tastes, political views and watch the same movies as well. The thing is that, after a while, it gets extremely boring, and nobody really challenges anyone's ideas.
Like-hearted ones, on the other hand, are the ones that share similar values to you. They're kind, caring, and thoughtful. But, they don't watch Friends with you, maybe they don't listen to your Hip-Hop and Rap music. Sometimes, they'll challenge your opinions or ideas. And this's great, since they'll share their own point of view, and you get to hear a different one.
VIII-When In Doubt, Tidy Up
[21:07] Now, our next tip has 3 levels to it. It's simple when in Doubt, tidy up. Let us explore the 3 levels.
1st Level: Tidy Up Your Physical World
The 1st level is the tidying of your physical world. I'm not calling for you to have everything lined up and perfectly fit in place. But, your work and bliss station should have 2 characteristics when it comes to organization. One is to keep your tools tidy. By tidy, it means you won't waste time looking around for it. Two is to keep your material messy. Here Austin want you to have your physical material, whether it's books, notebooks, pictures, sticky notes, or some random scribble laid around you. The idea is that this engineered mess will induce connections and new ideas as you go around exploring and looking for a piece of paper. These are Austin's rules, and as always make it fit for you.
2nd Level: Tidy Up Your Inner World
Our 2nd level of tidying up is tidying up your inner world using the magic of sleeping and napping. Sleeping is a great tool to organize your thoughts and ideas. When you let your mind flow freely, some magic can happen. So, use it strategically. Are you stuck and can't solve a problem, have a quick nap or leave it to tomorrow. Even at the office, when you can, take a 10-minute break, close your eyes, and put on your headphones.
3rd Level: Tidy Up Your World
Our 3rd level of tidying up is to leave things better than you found them. Instead of aiming for leaving a huge mark or making a dent in the universe, aiming to leave the world just a bit better than you found is a much attainable and sustainable goal.
So, keep these levels in your mind, as you go on with your journey.
IX-Demons Hate Fresh Air
To Exercise Is to Exorcise
[22:54] Our next tip, which I also took as a personal motto of mine, is Demons Hate Fresh Air. I'll leave you with a quote by Vivian Gornick, the American writer. She said, "I set out to dispel daily depression Every afternoon I get low-spirited, and one day I discovered the walk...I set myself a destination, and then things happen in the street".
So, go out on a walk, explore the world, put your phone on airplane mode, capture any thoughts that you get. And remember, demons hate fresh air.
X-Plant Your Garden
[23:32] Our last tip is to plant your garden. If not in the literal sense, at least you should understand this. Life, and creativity for that matter, has seasons. It sometimes needs harsh days before blossoming. It'll have sunny days, rainy ones, stormy days, and heavenly ones. George Carlin, the American comedian said "It's the American view that everything has to keep climbing, productivity, profits, and even comedy. We made no time to contract before another expansion. No time to grow up. No time to learn from your mistakes. But that notion goes against nature, which is cyclical".
So, pay attention to your seasons. Use your winters to reflect on yourself and the springs to pour out your work. And always remember this motto, This Too Shall Pass. Whether it's your best day or worst ones, they shall all pass.
Conclusion
[24:32] To wrap things up, today, we went through the 10 tips that can help us keep going. From controlling our day using routines and lists, building our bliss station, to the magical equation ordinary + extra attention = the extraordinary. We went on to explore a different magic, the magic of tidying up our 3 levels. Our physical, inner, and the world around us.
We also talked about how important it's to not be stubborn and be willing to change. And when we're having bad days to remember, this too shall pass.
Series Conclusion
Now, this's the last episode of our second series on creativity.
Now, to summarize this it, I'll do a quick restructure of these books, and show you how do they connect in my mind.
The first key idea is resistance. We needed to know what it's? The characteristics & symptoms. After understanding the enemy, we need to start building a better foundation for ourselves before the journey.
So, we move to Steal Like An Artist. We learned about how we can start our work, by copying. We also got to know the fuel for quality input, curiosity, great mentors, books, and quality people. As we're copying and putting work out into the world. We lose few battles to resistance, but one day, evolution happens. We turn pro. We become patient, Stoic, and realistic. We get to see resistance for what it's and understand the lessons from Steal Like An Artist.
So, we move to Show Your Work. We expand our work beyond the final product to include the whole process. We have our boxing lesson and avoid becoming human spam or a vampire.
Now that we're set, we start the journey beyond resistance. We get to know our allies, the angles, and the muses. And Austins gives us 10 tips as a parting gift, to help us in our journey.
Throughout the series, I sprinkled some new concepts that I hope you checked out. From the 4 types of luck, the flywheel, the hedgehog, Fear Setting, the Agile framework, and the rest of the good stuff.
Now, I'd love to hear from you, did you learn anything new? Have you used any of it? Did you talk to your friends about any of the ideas? Send me your thoughts on Twitter or Instagram at TldrShow.
As always, Make sure to check the website at tldr-show.com for the show notes, episode transcript, links to social media, and the extra good stuff. Till next time, be curious, be critical.
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