Mike Monday

Inspiration On Demand

What is Creativity?

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So I’m just leaving my driveway now for a, uh, walk a bit chill here in Queensland, uh, this morning, but I’ve been, uh, meaning to do a podcast. In fact, I’ve started a bunch of podcasts over the last 10 years. Um, and so this is yet another, uh, attempt because, uh, one of the main ways that. Learn things is, uh, audio.

So I, um, have walked a lot over the years, um, while, uh, building my coaching business and, um, Obviously walking lends itself very well to either being read to by audio books or listening to podcasts. So, um, I’ve done a lot of that and what’s, uh, very unusual is that I’ve never had my own, uh, podcast, uh, despite the fact that the kind of thing that I do is, would expect me to, uh, and.

I’ve kind of never got around to it, I think because I’ve not made it easy for myself. Uh, yeah, because I’m such an avid, uh, podcast listener. I’ve sort just over complicated things and I want it to be there, so I want it to be that. Um, so as recently I’ve, uh, kind of fallen off the walking, um, Habit. I saw what better way to motivate myself to do both of these things that I want to do.

And I’m not doing, uh, recording podcasts and walking by doing the both at the same time. Um, so what I’m going to be talking about in, uh, this, uh, podcast is essentially. To creative process, um, creativity itself, uh, how I believe that almost any resistance or struggle or pain or suffering related to making things.

Uh, Springs from not knowing how it works, really. Um, I think, is it Carl Sagan or maybe it was Arthur, C Clark, or maybe it was as him off. I don’t know. Um, but one someone like that said. Any sufficiently advanced technology seems like magic. I’ve completely birded that. And I’ve got no, no idea who said it, but essentially, you know what I take from that?

One of the things that I take from that is if you don’t understand something, you are gonna think you are gonna start ascribing, you know, just the way the human mind works. You you’re probably gonna start ascribing various things about it, to. Yeah, the equivalent of magic. Um, you are gonna start, you know, uh, thinking that it’s due to something which.

You either can’t control or that is, uh, external to you, or it’s almost like we end up believing things that aren’t true because we dunno how else to explain it. so in nice part, my, uh, life, my entire life has really come from one experience really that I remember very clearly. It’s one of my earliest, uh, memories, which was sitting down at the piano and playing these exercises called H.

Uh, which are our finger exercises that my piano teacher gave me. I started the piano at. And, um, and they’re very, very boring. I mean, just like up and down, that kind of thing. And I distinctly remember with the, particularly with these kinds of exercises sitting down and playing them and then losing myself in some way.

And then coming out the other end, hang on a minute. Did I actually just do ? Did I actually just do that? And, um, then my mom, who would, would always be the one that would tell me to do my piano practice every day. Um, my mom, uh, saying, well, you did that better than you’ve ever done it before on the occasions at which I lost.

Where, where I don’t actually, it’s almost like I was in another state. Now, if you’ve, uh, done anything in your life where you’ve kind of lost track of time and have just yet you recognize that experience, you you’ll know what I’m really talking about is flow the experience of flow and, um, What was interesting to me, probably not back then.

Um, I mean, at that point, yeah, I was very little, um, but it was just something I noticed like, Ooh. Um, uh, but ever since then, what has fascinated me is that what, how can the same person doing the same thing? one minute, just like, do the, do their best work in whatever way without thinking about it without it’s almost like without them being involved, that’s what it feels like.

And then on other occasions, struggle, do their worst work, no matter how hard they try. Um, and that question has. Delighted surprised, shocked, haunted, um, me over the years and is what largely my coaching business has been about because I refuse to believe that it is magic. I, I refuse to believe that there isn’t a set of explanations and I also refuse to believe that it it’s not okay to have incomplete.

And in some ways incorrect explanations. Uh, from my perspective, it’s better to have an incomplete and therefore, uh, in some way, incorrect explanation than it has to have no explanation and just saying, oh, you know, a wizard did it or, you know, oh, it’s yeah, it’s just magical. You know, sh you shouldn’t go there.

You know, you you’ll you’ll break it. rubbish. of course you won’t break it. You, you you’re destroying its magic by knowing what it is. You know, the more I have, uh, learned and understood about creativity, the human mind creative process, the more magical it feels, even though I know it’s not magic and. So in these, uh, walks, uh, that you’re gonna take with me, I’m going to be talking about the creative process.

Now I am a musician. Um, but I mean, I’m also a coach and I do a lot of writing related to that. Um, and also I’ve been, uh, building various different kinds of businesses. One was an artist, uh, business. I have an artist business, uh, right now, and, but also a, uh, music artist that is, and, uh, also a coaching business, which is in itself a creative act, um, fact.

A business where you deliver value to other people, um, is one of the most creative things that you can do. And it was very, very surprising to me when I, um, about how long ago was it now? About 10, 12 years ago, something like that. Um, stopped making music for a while. Two focused on my coaching business.

I’m back making music again now. Um, and one of my friends said to me, I don’t understand how you can just stop being creative like that. It’s like, it caught me short. I didn’t quite know what to say. I’m not often lost for words, but I didn’t really say anything. Cause I was like, whoa, what . Um, and you know, what I realized was that if your, um, definition of creativity is music or art or drawing or sculpture, if that’s what you mean by being creative or, or, or, you know, or even writing.

Then quite frankly, you’re wrong. that is not creativity. You know, often when people say I’m not a creative person, but then they go and do plumbing. Yeah. Or, or they’re an electrician electrician, I’ll say to them. Yes you are. you’re doing, you’re being creative in solving the problems that you’re solving right there.

Yeah. I, I remember there was a, a session I did and I was talking. The scientific process. And, uh, I think one of the people, uh, who joined it was a free thing. So it was someone who, you know, wasn’t aware of what we do and, you know, he was like, yeah, but you know, science, isn’t creativity. And I was like, what you kidding me?

uh, hello. Uh, and I think, you know, right there is. Another of the things that I want to, uh, address and talk about, because one of the number one barriers to human beings being as creative as they could, the human race really, um, solving the problems that they could is the inappropriate siloing of subject.

Matter of information, um, to. Yeah, well, creativity, you know, uh, creativity is the realm of, uh, artists and, uh, writers and musicians , um, and business and science and sports and plumbing. Aren’t that is just wrong. That is, I understand where it comes from. I get it. I believed it for many years, but it’s wrong.

Human beings. What, what makes a human different to an animal? Even a very intelligent animal, as far as we know. Um, and obviously I can’t be certain about anything, but, but as far as we know what makes a human being different to, um, an animal, is that a human being. Creates what hasn’t existed before, something in, uh, scare quotes new.

Um, so for instance, you know, that you can probably hear the bird singing in the, uh, background. That bird singing is creating music in a sense. Uh, but is it music? It’s music? It, it has, uh, the quality of music to it. It’s, tuneful it’s melodic, but is it actually creating something new? Well, in the sense that no, you know, no bird has literally made that precise, um, bird call, right?

Uh, that it’s making that point where yes, it is creating something new, but it’s. Creating in the sense of solving a problem, doing something differently. It’s, it’s following a preexisting program of which it isn’t of its own creation and really what makes humans different is their ability to, for there to be something that isn’t there, something that’s not even been thought of.

and to use the environment, the resources, the preexisting, uh, stuff that’s come before to reconfigure those things into something that hasn’t been seen or heard, uh, before. And for me, that really defines who, who we are as a whole, whether you are a. Uh, a dentist, a musician, a business owner, a a, a sports person, any of these, uh, any of these, um, areas, scientists, any of these areas require human creativity.

Um, and I’ve seen it time. And again, When you recognize what the creative process actually is, what creativity is and start to understand how it works. It unlocks the universe to you and to your family and to your friends and to everyone else. Because how I use my music in my life is as. Um, little micro experiment, a a little testing ground for me to problem solve and then take into other areas of my life.

In fact, I do it kind of music. Isn’t the only, uh, place I do that. So for instance, if I solve a business problem, I will be asking myself, well, how does this apply to, uh, my music? Yeah. What, what does this teach me about? A problem. I have in my music. Similarly, if I have, you know, some friction with my wife, uh, how can I, and actually sometimes I get in trouble cuz she goes, stop coaching me.

so, but you know, how can I use what I’ve just learned in solving the problem with the base end on that? How can this apply to the, the, yeah. Animated discussion I’m having with my wife right now. So that’s. Really how I see the world by understanding what creativity is, what the creative process is, how we solve problems, how we make something, uh, out of nothing.

And. Literally taking nothing off the, the table in terms of what is relevant and what is irrelevant. Um, by doing that, I am convinced I’m sure I know that every problem that we have, uh, as a human race, Soluble, um, that as long as what we’re trying to do, doesn’t defy the laws of physics, the laws of the universe.

Then we can, uh, solve absolutely everything. Maybe not right now, but certainly each of us can contribute. To doing that to move humankind. Um, and I would hope, uh, at least, uh, you know, the natural world take the natural world with us rather than destroying it. Um, we can move humankind, uh, to a much better future.

Do NOT Delete

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I have another magic music machine question this time from p. and he asks, So what stage in the machine? He said, Okay, to start fixing mistakes. I know that leaving mistakes there can lead to other ideas, but sometimes it’s just distracting. Yes, it is . Um, but yeah, let’s just, uh, be honest here. Lots of things are distracting

Um, so. Yeah, it being distracting isn’t necessarily always a good reason to, uh, fix a mistake, uh, because, you know, it could go on forever. Um,

You know, you might find that if your trigger for fixing something is that it’s distracting you. All you end up doing is fixing things rather than moving forward. Now you might think, hang on a minute though, isn’t fixing things moving forward? Hmm. It could be depending on where you are in the process. . Uh, but also what it can be is a not so subtle way, but procrast.

Yeah, so for instance, if I’m in splurge or discover or even draft and I’m like, Oh, you know, that I hat is just like not quite cutting through. So, uh, and then I spend an hour, uh, you know, messing around with a high HAKU in various different, uh, EQ plugins. Uh,

Even though I am fixing a mistake and sort of making sure that I’m not constantly distracted by it, uh, I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing in draft, which is basically working on the arc. Right. So if so, that’s a con, that’s a slight concern I have with, with the, with the question or, or with, with the, with the trigger for fixing the mistake.

So this really brings me on to the answer. Yes, it is. Okay to fix mistakes, I would say do your best not to. I mean, it is okay to fix mistakes. I should, uh, clarify that it is okay to fix mistakes earlier on in the. But as you go through the machine it becomes more, okay, . Okay, so pl in splurge, if you were being utterly splurgy, cuz they’re no the number one rule of splurgy cuz zero focus on quality, then you wouldn’t fix any mistakes at all.

You just wouldn’t do that. In fact, Even though there are videos in the past of me, uh, doing pls and fixing mistakes, I don’t do that anymore. I just don’t do it. Why? Well, as, uh, panel, uh, says it can lead to other ideas, but also it’s a. It, it’s basically a waste of time. , you don’t, you don’t need to do, you just don’t need to do that.

If you’re going as fast as you can and not worrying about the mistakes, then, then you don’t need to. You gotta remember that the Mu, the music machine isn’t just about

making better music, although it totally is about that. It does it. Upgrading you and how not fixing mistakes, upgrades, you are not fixing mistakes early on in the process. Upgrades you is by training you in focusing on what’s important. Yes. So there is an argument for saying don’t fix mistakes. So you’re train yourself in not being, It’s distracted by mistakes.

That’s a different way of looking at it, isn’t it? Um, the other thing is, so actually let, let’s come back to it. So, in splurge, I would recommend just not, I mean, if you have to, if you really, really have to. Okay. Little bit of this, little bit of that just, but, and obviously if you. need to practice more. So what you’re actually doing is just a complete and utter, uh, mess.

Well, this solution to that could be to spend your time fixing mistakes, or it could be to splurge more and practice more and improve those skills so you don’t, you have less mistakes to fix cuz that is what starts happening. You start noticing that you’re actually making less mistakes because you’re actually making a lot more idea.

Okay. So I mean, that’s the other thing about fixing mistakes early on in the process is that you are practicing a skill that you actually want to reduce the amount of time you’re spending on that skill, not increase it. Yeah. I mean, again, I keep saying if you are making music to express yourself, there is an element of what you are is the constellation of skills and abilities that you have.

Right. And if your entire, Well, you know, like 99% of your music making process is covering up what you are, are you truly expressing yourself? Are you being authentic? So how about instead upgrading who you are? Yeah. By actually hearing those mistakes. Yeah. Now obviously we are finishing pieces of music here.

It’s not just a practice machine, although it is that too. We are, we are, we, you know, we want to fix those mistakes, so, My recommendation would be don’t in splurge, in discover, really, you’re splurge on a splurge. So I’d probably say don’t do it there either. Although, you know, it’s okay if if there’s something you just want to, to fix, all right.

But you’re not really meant to be, but that’s okay. Yeah. Uh, so again, this is, this is coming from, you know, this is the sort of, uh, the, uh, The, the tablets of stone version . Okay? But recognize these are all at the same time. You are the artist. So I don’t wanna say you must do this and you must do that, but if you are following the, uh, music machine as intended, you wouldn’t be fixing anything in splurge at all.

You might occasionally do something in discover, uh, to sort of fix something that’s a mistake. Um, but you would be doing an absolute. Yeah. Cause really what you’re doing is you’re finding out what it wants to be by kind of creating more stuff. You’re s splurging on a, on a splurge, um, in draft. Okay. Well now we’re into where we’re actually creating the a or we’re kind of getting to a particular point and we have the idea, you know, we know what the purpose is in our head at this point, I think.

It makes sense that you are, depending on what kind of mistake you’re talking about. Cause this is the other thing. It’s, it’s, it’s, what kind of mistake are you talking about? If it’s a little mixing mistake. Then I wouldn’t be doing that in draft unless it was like making my ears bleed or, you know, have inva involuntary bowel movements or breaking the speakers or something like that.

I just, I just wouldn’t be doing that if it’s a, in scare quotes, mistake with the arrangement with the arc. , Well, you’re working on the arc, so that’s okay, . Yep. Um, you know, if, if there’s something in the. This is interesting though. You know, is it a mistake if I was to say if there is something in some of the hooks, which mean that they’re not really expressing the, um, the purpose of the piece of music.

Cause that’s what we’re doing in draft. We know what the purpose is and we are kind of, uh, expressing you think, well that’s really not expressing the purpose. Is that a mistake? If, if the answer to that question is yes, then yes you can fix mistakes. Um, . And if the, if the thing that is a mistake is actually eclipsing the purpose, well then of course you fix, uh, that mistake.

But I, I think you would be hard pushed to say that, you know, the high hat being a bit dull or the basin kick being a bit muddy, uh, or a lot muddy is eclipsing the purpose. Yeah. It’s more like it’s being distracting. So, so, so plo, you know, again, this is what I mean about. , what is the trigger for you wanting to fix those mistakes?

This is really the, the algorithm or the, the, uh, the sort of little formula that you have to have in your head is, what am I supposed to be doing, focusing on at this stage of the machine? Right? So, and is the thing that I’m, you know, is the purpose of this particular stage of the machine. Being eclipsed by the mistake.

Yeah. Being, uh, so, you know, if there’s something like, there’s a big, it’s like weird section in your track in draft and uh, it’s outta place or something cause it just doesn’t fit the purpose well, that’s something you wanna fix. Right? But that is the purpose of draft. So, So again, um, . And of course when we’re moving things into done and remember, they stay there and done, uh, for seven days before we decide what we want to prepare for.

Release. Well, the, that’s the final that into the done, you know, done prep, um, that final draft, uh, session, uh, where. Essentially do a rough mix by taking a particular approach, you know, based around what kind of spaces we’re creating. Well, in that case, uh, we are doing some mixing things and I mean, yeah, of course.

I think at that point, fixing and, uh, air quotes, mistakes. It might be something that you would, uh, find yourself doing and then once you’ve decided what you’re gonna prepare to release in the, in the release, uh, phase, uh, at that stage, Yeah. I mean, you are fixing mistakes for sure. , that’s, that’s, that’s kind of what you’re doing.

You’re actually, I mean, specifically in the music machine, the idea is that you are locating problems. Yeah, you, you’re lit, you’re listening, direct listening, and then you’re actually going, right? Where are the problems? You’re locating them. You’re describe, you are, um, observing them. You’re describing them mutually, and then you’re explaining why they’re a problem.

And then you are, out of that will come, uh, the solution. So like literally you are. Fixing mistakes at that, Uh, um, at that point, I, I prefer not to call them, uh, mistakes cuz hard to know what a mistake is. I prefer to call them problems. Um, so, so maybe, maybe that’s what I kind of wanna leave you with. The whole idea of a mistake is something I’m not sure about.

I think what’s, what a much better way of putting this is, what are the problems? and are the problems that I’m hearing, the problems I wanna be solving at this stage of the machine. So again, if there’s a problem, not a mistake with the mix, do I wanna be solving that in discover? Well, of course I don’t.

Cause everything might change and it’s probably gonna be a complete waste of. Yeah. And you know, are those problems eclipsing what I actually need to be doing so that you know, if it’s just like literally you can’t hit, you can’t, you can’t notice anything else, but I want want you to make that quite a high bar for yourself, then alright, take a bit of time and sort it out.

But I would thoroughly recommend not doing any of this in Splurge and almost none of it in d.