Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - The Essence of Creativity

Episode Date: May 15, 2020

In this episode I delve into a question I received about creativity that took me down a metaphorical rabbit hole. "What is the best book to read for creativity?" Simple question, difficult answer. In today's world we have the luxury of access to unlimited information and resources.  Everything is a google search away. This is amazing because it equips us with the ability to learn and grow like no generation previously could. However, the downside is that we often become so process oriented and focused on "replicating success" that we forget what is arguably the most important aspect of life: Living authentically. The more I thought about it, the more I realized creativity can't be a process. I would go as far as to suggest the very idea of creativity is antithetical to other people's formula's and programs. Creativity is what you get when you reach into your giant well of life experience.  It is a journey...the culmination of each minute that manifests into who you are. Are there books on creativity?  There sure are.  Are some of them good?  Probably. But in my mind, the best advice I can give to a creator is to take the lid off.  Lose the expectations.  Dance in the unknown, and as Steve jobs said, "follow your intuition." That, to me, is the essence of creativity.  

Welcome to Your World Within Daily. In this episode, we're going to look at creativity. Tie it to a very famous Steve Jobs quote. And look at what it means to take your intuition and use it to make a mark on the world. So yesterday, I was doing a live call from my other podcast, Books to Business, where we take a book every week and we talk about it. So someone asked a question, a very valid question. well, what books can I read to be more creative? Creativity was something that they wanted to improve on,

and I didn't have an answer. Which surprised me because if someone asked me how I identify myself, first and foremost, I'd say as a creative, right? From my perspective, you know, you're talking to someone that's created a video every single week for a year. I'm energized by videography, by music, by storytelling, by taking all these things, you know, taking self-expression and bringing them to life.

That's where I get the most joy. And when I was asked that question and didn't have an answer, it really made me think. I don't know what to make of it. And so, you know, like I tend to do, I've been thinking about it. And I think I have a starting point. I obviously wanted that to be the topic for today. And I'm going to tie it to Steve Jobs in one of his most famous quotes

at Stanford, right, at his commencement address. He says, your time is limited. So don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Amazing quote.

In fact, my sister framed it for me. and it sits behind me at my desk. I see it every day. It's a reminder to be yourself, the effort and the work it takes to maintain that authenticity in a world that's constantly trying to shape you, trying to dictate who you are and make you someone else. And I think in understanding that question about creativity, it is step one. Because, you know, I always say the upside to 2020 is that we have access to infinite resources, anything we need to know or learn, we can. We go online and we download it or read about it or watch it and we know. But the downside is everything's there.

There's a blueprint, there's a formula, there's a package for everything. To the extent that I think we sometimes lose what is the essence of life, our own unique self, our own viewpoint, how we see the world. And that is, it's playing with fire. It's a very dangerous game. Because no one's lived your experiences. No one has your exact viewpoint. No one's lived the moments that you have up to now. Which means no one can articulate it like you. And the idea of, you know, acquiring information, it's good, right? Like I said, reading a book a week is one of the most important things I do.

But it is to maintain a perspective. It's to grow. It's to change the way or add to the way I look at the world. Add to my experience. Understand things that maybe I didn't before. But it is the culmination of all these things that becomes the well of creativity that I draw from. And so that's why, you know, when I think back to that question, I wouldn't advocate a book for creativity because creativity, in my mind, is antithetical to processes to other people's formulas.

It's taking your experience and telling it through your lens. So in essence, the idea is not what formula can I follow to be more creative? The question is, when you take the lid off, when you remove expectations, when you act like no one cares, no one's there, no one's going to say or judge, as Steve Jobs says, when you are truly following your intuition, where does that take you? Where does that lead you by default? Life is a journey, and every act of creation is a journey. you're becoming the god of a small universe. So that's how I want to sum it up, right? And I hope this is as meaningful to you as it is to me.

Blueprints are great, right? Processes are great, learning from people that have done it, fantastic. But it's not everything. Far from it. creativity is taking your entire experience and recreating it in terms of your intuition, of what feels right to you, and no one can tell you that. That's something that has to be sought out and discovered. A little late today, I know I'm doing the simultaneous video while I record.

two birds, one stone, so I'm trying to figure out the, you know, how to efficiently do that because it's adding time to the recording process, obviously, but we'll figure it out. We'll make it happen, and this will be out earlier tomorrow for sure. But if you enjoy this, I wanted to take a second to remind you, you know, please subscribe, rate, review. It helps me get this out to the world, and that is my goal. It means the most to me, so thank you for that, and I will catch you guys tomorrow.