Ben Wilson

And suddenly I'm brimming with ideas of like, this is terrible. I would do this better. I would do this better. I could improve this. I would improve this. The cognitive dissonance feels unsettling in your mind. And so you like kind of can't let it go until you create something better.

And suddenly I'm brimming with ideas of like, this is terrible. I would do this better. I would do this better. I could improve this. I would improve this. The cognitive dissonance feels unsettling in your mind. And so you like kind of can't let it go until you create something better.

Again, I'm not sure this is something you want to do all the time, but I think it can be really very effective for generating new ideas. Again, the quote, his superior ideas are the consequences of inferior ones. So my takeaway is sometimes you have to have contact with inferior ideas in order to give yourself good ideas. Okay, number seven.

Again, I'm not sure this is something you want to do all the time, but I think it can be really very effective for generating new ideas. Again, the quote, his superior ideas are the consequences of inferior ones. So my takeaway is sometimes you have to have contact with inferior ideas in order to give yourself good ideas. Okay, number seven.

We actually did touch on this one at the beginning, but creativity as imaginative research.

We actually did touch on this one at the beginning, but creativity as imaginative research.

Christoph Wolff writes, Bach, for whom the invention of ideas constituted a fundamental requirement, anyone who had none, he advised, to stay away from composition altogether, as his son later recounted, understood the elaboration of musical ideas not as an act of free creation, but rather as a process of imaginative research into the harmonic implications of the chosen subject matter.

Christoph Wolff writes, Bach, for whom the invention of ideas constituted a fundamental requirement, anyone who had none, he advised, to stay away from composition altogether, as his son later recounted, understood the elaboration of musical ideas not as an act of free creation, but rather as a process of imaginative research into the harmonic implications of the chosen subject matter.

Okay, so let's just focus on that last sentence. The process of imaginative research into the harmonic implications of the chosen subject matter. I love the idea of imaginative research because I think what it does is when you're trying to be creative, it takes your mindset from being focused on creation to being focused on learning. Okay, you're doing research.

Okay, so let's just focus on that last sentence. The process of imaginative research into the harmonic implications of the chosen subject matter. I love the idea of imaginative research because I think what it does is when you're trying to be creative, it takes your mindset from being focused on creation to being focused on learning. Okay, you're doing research.

And I think when you do that, it takes the pressure off and ironically lets you be more creative. You know, this morning, I woke up at 3.30 a.m. for no reason. I just bolt awake, look at my watch, 3.30 a.m. I'm like, oh, shoot. And so I start thinking to myself, oh, man, this is so early. I really need to get back to sleep. I'm recording today. I need to be well-rested.

And I think when you do that, it takes the pressure off and ironically lets you be more creative. You know, this morning, I woke up at 3.30 a.m. for no reason. I just bolt awake, look at my watch, 3.30 a.m. I'm like, oh, shoot. And so I start thinking to myself, oh, man, this is so early. I really need to get back to sleep. I'm recording today. I need to be well-rested.

And what happens when you think that way? I can't sleep. So finally, at 5 a.m., I just say to myself, all right, I'm just going to get out of bed. Like apparently I'm not falling back asleep. I'm just having an early day. So at 5 a.m. I say I'm going to get out of bed. And what do you think happens? I immediately get drowsy and fall back asleep.

And what happens when you think that way? I can't sleep. So finally, at 5 a.m., I just say to myself, all right, I'm just going to get out of bed. Like apparently I'm not falling back asleep. I'm just having an early day. So at 5 a.m. I say I'm going to get out of bed. And what do you think happens? I immediately get drowsy and fall back asleep.

Because for sleepiness, when you're focused on it, you can't sleep. And as soon as you kind of forget about it, then you fall asleep. Creativity is like that. When you're telling yourself, man, I really need to be creative. I have to think of something new. That is when you get writer's block. That is when you can't think of new products, new art, new ads, like whatever you work on.

Because for sleepiness, when you're focused on it, you can't sleep. And as soon as you kind of forget about it, then you fall asleep. Creativity is like that. When you're telling yourself, man, I really need to be creative. I have to think of something new. That is when you get writer's block. That is when you can't think of new products, new art, new ads, like whatever you work on.

That's when creativity comes to the stop. When you're trying to put that pressure on yourself to create. So I think creativity, like sleep... is a problem that is best approached indirectly. So if you just think of it as imaginative research, then the creativity comes to you naturally. All right. So for example, I think J.R.R.

That's when creativity comes to the stop. When you're trying to put that pressure on yourself to create. So I think creativity, like sleep... is a problem that is best approached indirectly. So if you just think of it as imaginative research, then the creativity comes to you naturally. All right. So for example, I think J.R.R.

Tolkien was genius at imaginative research rather than completely new creation. Because when he imagined Middle-earth, he didn't imagine it as this new fictional world. He actually imagined it as an actual literal history of way ancient prehistoric England. And I honestly, I think he kind of semi-believed that it was a real history. This stuff really happened.

Tolkien was genius at imaginative research rather than completely new creation. Because when he imagined Middle-earth, he didn't imagine it as this new fictional world. He actually imagined it as an actual literal history of way ancient prehistoric England. And I honestly, I think he kind of semi-believed that it was a real history. This stuff really happened.