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February: Book of the Month – The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

“The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell, whether he knows it or not. He will be dining for the duration on a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt, and humiliation.”

― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles

Upon not playing or writing any music for about 3 months straight: feelings of distress, anxiety, resentment, self-doubt, self-pity and discontentment were seeping into my psyche. I couldn’t believe that this was due to not playing the guitar. So, I sought out some help. 

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How to hack your creativity – Part 2: Steal and collaborate

Steal

What’s the point trying to hack your creativity when every idea under the
sun has already been thought of? 

It’s true that no fundamentally new ideas exist. Every ‘new’ idea is based on the thinking of the previous era. This means that when we have ‘new ideas’, they are really just mashups of previous ideas. 

“What is originality? Undetected plagiarism” – William Ralph Inge 

So, why bother creating anything if we can’t do anything original?

a) I don’t know, creativity makes us feel good?

b) Enter deep philosophical answer…

I would say that it has something to do with art being a reflection of life. When an artist paints, they do so within the context of how they were raised, their beliefs, their insecurities, their physical attributes, their influences and so much more. So, while there is nothing new under the sun, each individual can still contribute to the pool of creativity with their own interpretations. Continue reading “How to hack your creativity – Part 2: Steal and collaborate”

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How to hack your creativity – Part 1: Schedule it

How to hack your creativity - schedule it

“Creativity scares us. There is so much uncertainty about it that we often reject it in favour of predictability and conventionality” – Bruce Nassbaum

If you’re a creative person and you are making money from your craft; congratulations, you’re an entrepreneur! However, as many creative entrepreneurs quickly find out, there is a constant barrage of admin tasks that need to be done in order to keep the money rolling in. 

The stress piles up when your days are full of these tasks, and you end up with little energy and time to fulfil your creative needs. Here is how to hack your creativity by using scheduling. 

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