Tag: Creativity

Motivation vs discipline

I can’t think of anything to write. It’s often the way with writing. Or painting. Or creating anything.

Sure, every now and then the words flow like wine from a carafe. Sweet muse does her thing and inspiration hits. But most of the time it feels more like squeezing water out of a rock.

What helps in these situations is discipline and routine. This forces you to do some work despite the way you feel. Open the laptop. Write something. Anything. Go through the motions.

And there’s another blog post.

Podcast ambitions

Today I am starting to work on a new series of podcasts for the blog.

This is a misleading statement because as yet I don’t know what it’ll be about, who will be on it or how many I will do.

Perhaps more accurate would be to say I am starting to think about starting to work on the podcast!

One idea is to use the blog itself as a resource, looking back over the most popular posts I have written and use them as a guide for podcast topics.

But like I say – still early days. So watch this space, and prime your ears in the meantime 🙂

Reading better

There is simply too much to read. The internet is endless and ever growing.

That’s why companies like Facebook and Twitter have done so well. If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, if you’re bored or if you’re lonely, these companies will give you something to look at. It will link up with your social life, your browsing history and your location too, if you let it (yes, there is a choice). It will make you feel pleasure and excitement for a fleeting moment.

Calling the main page on Facebook and Twitter a “feed” is no coincidence. Like a baby screeching for mother’s milk, these companies recognize our thirst for connections and take the thought out of choosing what to read and what to consume.

But can we do better and can we read better? Any reading for a purpose is better than the default Facebook addiction. Managing what we expose ourselves to is a full time job but it’s worth it. Choose books and newsletters and RSS feeds. Choose active reading over passive consumption. Better yet, read something purely for the purpose of creating something.

Drawing lines in the sand

Imagine you got rid of all the worst things in your day-to-day job. No more commute with the masses, no more mind numbing meetings or menial tasks, no more annoying co-workers who you are forced to share a room with. No more awful boss nagging you. Imagine all of that was gone – now what would be left?

I bet the answer is that you would be alone with yourself and a blank slate in front of you to fill with….something. It’s a liberating and terrifying thought.

As human beings we crave freedom and we crave fulfillment in our work. The flip-side of our condition is we are inherently fearful beings. We don’t naturally seek to make our own rules. We like to be part of a tribe with someone to follow.

So to be free we must draw lines in the sand. If we are stuck somewhere we don’t want to be, we must define why we don’t like it and plan to eliminate the negatives from our life. If we have all the freedom in the world, but spend all our time being unproductive, then we need to draw a line in the sand and make a change. Maybe sell all your time-wasting devices. Maybe buy a new device ONLY for stuffing around.

We draw our own lines in the sand, or we follow someone else who draws them for us.

J. M. Coetzee and Moving to Cape Town

Like pulling a massive tree out of the soil, a move of country and city is especially hard once you are older and grown up. The roots are longer, the trunk less flexible. The uncertainty is greater and the relocation more scarring.

One thing I was worried about when I moved to Cape Town was leaving the culture, the art, the vibrancy of our lives in Sydney, Australia. Living in Africa can feel like living in the past and in the outback at times, with outdated technology and infrastructure. Less trendy, less options.

At least, that’s what I thought.

The truth is, South Africa is as vibrant a place you could hope for – its present and its history are full of stories. The Silicon Cape initiative is thriving.

What makes me especially happy is that great authors have written stories set just down the road from me. I love relating to art on many levels, and one of the best relationships to have with a book is an intimate understanding of the geography. Much of “Disgrace” is set in Cape Town and in areas of South Africa I have seen with my own eyes. I am a quarter of the way through and loving it so far. So far the protagonist is an unlikable man, but his predicament is fascinating.

I think I will stay in Cape Town a while longer. At least to finish this book!

Dune final thoughts

So I finally finished Dune – the sci-fi classic which has clearly influenced the likes of Game Of Thrones and most other popular sci-fi stories since. I had two final thoughts on why it is so impressive and resilient to this day as a gripping sci-fi story.

First – The characters are super, but the world in which they inhabit is the real star of the show. A character on its own merit, Arrakis dominates any event in the book. Just as ‘winter is coming’ in GOT, the extreme weather and awesome beauty of the desert planet is what the main characters have to come to terms with to fulfill their destiny. Though it is a completely different sort of novel, I am seeing a similar strong focus on setting and location in the book i am currently reading: “The Knowledge” By Steven Pressfield.

The impressive depth of the cultures, languages and religions created by the author in Dune are second to only Lord of The Rings in my experience. I marvel at the time this and dedication this must have taken from Frank Herbert. It gives the story authenticity and reflects back to the reader our own clan like behaviour and superstitions here on earth.

Dune is magnificent. Well worth the read and the reputation it has gathered.

Painting versus writing

Yesterday I painted a wall from green to white. Not the most exciting thing I’ve ever done, but I learned something nonetheless.

For good results, there is a definite, clear, systematic way to best paint a wall in one single colour. (FYI, first comes covering up the parts you don’t want to paint, then comes painting the delicate edges, then comes moving systematically from one side of the wall to the other, filling in the gaps. Once dry, repeat). Not much room for improvisation, dawdling, doodling or spitballing. Not much creativity once the system is in place.

I love writing because it is completely different. The blank page doesn’t have to be filled with one particular type of word, it can involve as many or as few words as I like. The end result is variable. I can do what I want within the parameters of the page. I can take you to the moon or throw you into a hole. I can create a new world out of thin air, and I can drown it in a flood if I so choose. (I generally wouldn’t so choose – but you get the point) – this writing process is creative versus the industrial, repeatable painting job.

I’m glad I am not a wall painter. But at least I got another blog post out of the time spent yesterday :).