Tag Archives: creativity

Ability and Agility

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I love this quote, shared in a video on LinkedIn:

“It used to be about ability. And now, in a changing world, I think what we should be looking for is agility. I want to know how quickly do you change your mind? How fast are you to admit you’re wrong? Because what that means is you’re not just going to be reacting to a pandemic or to AI, you’re actually going to be anticipating those problems and seeing around corners, and then leading change as opposed to being a victim of it.” ~Adam Grant

It’s more than just anticipating problems, it’s about being agile, understanding challenges, and addressing them while they are small. It’s about understanding your strengths, and the strengths of your team… as well as weaknesses.

It’s about Agile Ability, which is why I titled this ‘Ability AND Agility’, rather than ‘Ability VERSUS Agility’. We need to embrace our failures and learn from them, recognize problems early, even predict them and be preemptive. This is so different than a culture of accountability and blame.

The desired student, employee, partner, colleague of the future will learn what they need to on the job. They’ll be exceptional because of their agility and willingness to learn, not just because of what they came to the table already knowing.

Avoidance is easy

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I’m back in the loop of struggling to write. It makes me truly appreciate the challenges of authors who do this for a living. Sometimes the words flow and it’s like a poetic dance between thought and expression. Words, and even full ideas almost magically appear on the page, leaving me uncertain of where they came from.

Other times I stare at the blank page, or worse, I avoid the blank page. I seek distraction and call it inspiration. I am looking in all the wrong places. I am literally uninspired.

When I feel like this avoidance is easy. The ‘simple’ work of developing an idea into a piece of writing is not simple, it’s hard. Really hard. Avoiding the effort of thought when the thoughts are not coming becomes a losing game. Maybe I’ll look here for ideas, there for motivation, or over here for… yet another distraction even though I don’t want to call it that. And that’s game over. Time not so well wasted.

Avoiding the blank page is easy, but it’s not productive. How many things do we do that are the equivalent of this avoidance? For some it’s avoidance of a hard conversation, for others it’s a big task, for yet others it’s the minutiae that needs to get done but feels monotonous. Some people find solace that different ‘stuff’ gets done when they procrastinate, but does that really result in a positive experience?

How much time do we spend in a state of busyness rather than dealing with business? Avoiding the real task by doing other things, or worse yet doing something that’s merely a distraction. Some things get automated, habits get ritualized, and the work just gets done. But sometimes the struggle is real. The action avoidance becomes the easy task and the work doesn’t become the work, but actually just getting down to work. Because once you start the work gets done.

Saying it again

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Today I was going to write about the benefits of increasing protein in my diet, especially as I age. I came up with the title, ‘The Power of Protein’, but that sounded familiar so I searched my blog and found a post by that name, on this topic, written this past January. Then I thought about writing about ‘rinsing and repeating’ old ideas, but that seemed familiar. A quick search of my blog led me to ‘Rinse and repeat’, but I wrote that over 4 and a half years ago, in February 2020.

I ended that post saying,

“I’m sure this will happen again. I will have moments when my creative juices are flowing and I’ll share fresh ideas… or at least fresh ideas to me. And I’ll have moments when I end up recycling or repeating older ideas. The process of writing every day will lead to some repetition, hopefully though, the ideas I choose to repeat are worth reading and thinking about again. I probably won’t re-share this idea of sharing my repeats again even if I catch myself, but if you catch me doing this, please feel free to let me know.”

But I think enough time has gone by to be able to bring this topic up again. The reason is a bit of a realization (in two parts). First, I think some ideas are worth emphasizing. Saying or thinking something once doesn’t always sink in. Sometimes I need reinforcements, and the writing process reinforces my thinking. For example, while I eat more protein than I did a year ago, I still don’t eat as much as recommended by people like Dr. Rhonda Patrick or Dr. Peter Attia. So writing about this again makes me think about increasing my intake.

Secondly, I’m not some guru that knows a lot about everything. I have passions and interests and that’s what I enjoy writing about. So when I’m writing about some topic yet again, I’m ok with that… Because I’d rather write about something I’m passionate and interested in, rather than forcing myself to write about a topic I’m less interested in, just to add more variety to my writing.

It’s more of a ‘rinse and re-emphasize’ rather than repeat. So, despite previous saying, “I probably won’t re-share this idea of sharing my repeats again even if I catch myself.” I just did it anyway. And I’m doing it to emphasize a different point: I will repeat myself! But when I do, I’ll do my best to emphasize some aspect a little differently. I’ll attempt to enlighten rather than digress… to rinse out new ideas, rather than just repeat them.

AI Image Fails

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I use AI images to accompany roughly 18 to 19 out of 20 Daily-Ink posts. My general rule is that I’ll try one or two requests and pick from those. I don’t want to spend 10 or 15 minutes of my precious morning schedule to search for images, they are the side quest, my writing is the adventure.

However, it being the weekend, yesterday I had time to play… and yet I failed.

Here was my original request for my last blog post:

When that didn’t work, I got more and more detailed, even pausing the requests to ask Copilot (which uses DALL•E 3 to create images) if it knew what a waterpolo cap looked like. It described it perfectly… then I got it to reiterate my request before continuing. This is what I got:

But the caps still came out with helmet masks and at no point was the shooter facing the net. I finally gave up and cropped an image. Here is what I used, and then the full image:

Below are many of the fails. I recognize these are not common requests, and the images have some redeeming qualities, but there is still a way to go when it comes to AI text-to-image requests. So, when you see a less-than-perfect image added to my Daily-Ink posts, please recognize that I’m trying, but I’m not wasting time trying to get everything just right… I’d rather use that time to write, meditate, or exercise.

Distraction versus Inspiration

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Parkinson’s Law states: “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”.

My morning write has been like that recently. I’m not writing more so much as I’m procrastinating getting started. Then by the time I get to this point here in my writing, I’m already going to need to rush some of my routine after writing. It’s a procrastination routine that doesn’t work for me and yet I go back to it. I allow myself to be distracted. I permit myself to not look at the blank page and pretend that distraction is actually inspiration.

Distraction is not inspiration. It has appeal, it seems like an attractive path to a new idea, but it is not. No, the quick email check isn’t going to inspire a good idea. Neither will the red notification on my phone app, nor will social media… All distractions.

How often do we do this? How often do we justify our distractions and lack of focus? We also allow ourselves to procrastinate by getting other stuff done that isn’t the task we really should be doing. The ‘To Do’ list gets smaller but the more immediate tasks still sit undone.

Work expands not just to fill the time allotted, but to just beyond that time. Then the pressure builds and suddenly I achieve more in less time than I thought possible. What just happened there? I had a lot of time and I got too little done, then I feel the time crunch and get it done anyway. Rushed, stressed, but done.

This isn’t my regular modus operandi, but rather part of my productivity cycle. Some days I’m flying through tasks feeling like I’m unstoppable. Other times I’m keeping busy, but not necessarily focused on what needs to be done next. But when I do this at work, I’m still getting stuff done. When I’m home, when I’m trying to get inspired to write, I’m actually just distracted. Other things aren’t getting done, nothing is happening except I’m losing time.

Inspiration can come when you don’t expect it. You can take a break and insights can hit you unexpectedly. But intentional distraction is the enemy of creativity, and choosing a distraction is never the seed of inspiration. Creativity does not strike evenly, but it does strike more frequently when avoiding distraction. If you are hiding from the work, creativity will be elusive. Distraction distracts you from inspiration and creativity.

Epic Tales

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I’m watching Foundation on Apple TV. It’s loosely based on Isaac Asimov’s novel series by the same name. It’s about an empire roughly 25,000 years in the future. It has all the components of an epic tale, with power and greed, betrayal, uprising, rebels, assassins, and unlikely heroes.

I am in awe of writers who can come up with tales in imagined worlds like this, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and other epics that involve intricate world building and cultures or alien life forms. I love when storylines weave together, and when tangential incidents become entire storylines.

The art of telling a grand story that spans generations is one that I truly admire. To be able to build entire worlds, like Philip Pullman did in His Dark Materials series, leaves me in awe. That such worlds can be created in one’s mind… it’s just absolutely incredible.

If you watched Back to the Future as a kid like me, you probably thought we’d have hoverboards instead of skateboards by now. If you also watched the Jetsons, you’d probably have expected robot maids and flying cars. We haven’t progressed as fast as our imaginations, but that’s to be expected.

We have an incredible ability to imagine far more than we are capable of. And as I write this, somewhere in the world a child is being born. He or she won’t be the saviour of the human race, they won’t be a hero that stops the destruction of the universe, but they just might be the next author to capture the imaginations of us all in an epic tale that we couldn’t imagine right now.

Who is an author who has created an epic tale that kept you enthralled?

Blank Canvas

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It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve created something, there are times the blank canvas or the blank page is an exciting thing to look at, and other times when it is the scariest.

It amazes me how writing daily can be a fully inspiring experience: Today I get to create something novel, to share my view of the world!

And writing daily can also be overwhelmingly challenging: Start an idea… delete. Start another idea… delete. ‘Why do I even bother?’

I know the answer. If I don’t bother, I won’t write… at all. I’ll have great intentions, but intentions without commitment leads to inaction. Skip a day, and I create an excuse to skip another day. And another. And another.

Daily-Ink. Weekly-Ink. Occasional-Ink. Think-but-no-Ink.

The commitment involves hard days and easy days. Like I’ve said in reference to regular exercise, it’s the hard days that matter most. It’s easy to work out when you want to. It’s easy to write when the ideas flow. It’s the days when it’s challenging, when energy levels are low, or inspiration is lacking, that make the habit worthwhile. Because without persevering on the tough days, the tough days become excused days… and then the excuses keep coming.

The days when the blank canvas is daunting are the days when practicing your art are most important. The problem with ‘waiting for inspiration‘ is that waiting is not creating. Waiting is not really doing anything.

The days when the blank canvas is daunting are the days when you decide if you are a creator or a wanna-be creator: An artist, a poet, an athlete, a writer, or a procrastinator. The blank canvas holds a world of potential. But potential stays latent without effort. Either potential is developed or it is wasted.

Never walk away from a blank canvas. Create, don’t wait. Start, don’t postpone. Inspiration is created through action, and the longer you wait, the more ominous the blank canvas becomes.

Gen X Wave

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We are in for a unique change in the workforce. We are approaching a wave of Generation X retirements and that’s leading to shortages in the workforce. Teachers, nurses, doctors, plumbers, and many more positions that AI won’t easily replace, are seeing retirements happen faster than they can be replaced.

So part one of the change is simple to see, and that’s workforce shortages. The other part of this wave is these same Gen X’ers taking on different jobs. People retiring in their late 50’s and early 60’s are not all going to leave the workforce completely. This will happen for a couple reasons.

They won’t leave because their pensions need to be subsidized to live the life they want to live, and they won’t leave because work gives meaning to a lot of them… being productive is important in feeling young and staying healthy. Some of these people will continue working in their old fields after receiving there pension, ‘double-dipping’ and earning both a pension and also doing their old job part time. But others will go into whole new fields.

This is a part of the wave that is undefined and even exciting. I think you are going to see an increase in ‘creatives’ who are going to be 55+ in age. Older social media influencers, and artists, and producers of creative content. You’ll see novelists whose first best seller was written after the author turned 60. You’ll see short, clever, high quality filmmaking and storytelling. You’ll see new companies going viral with first-time CEO’s and entrepreneurs who are also senior citizens.

When Gen X retires they are going to ‘hit different’. Then again they are a generation that seemed to define themselves as different all along. I’m excited to see how they hit retirement are redefine it in the coming years.

Having AI write my blog for me

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This is NOT something I plan on doing. I was just interested in seeing what Chat GPT (on the Bing interface) could write in my style. The first blog topic it suggested wasn’t great. It suggested: The Rise of Micro-Entrepreneurship: Empowering Individuals in a Digital Age”

The article was just that, an article, not a Daily-Ink, a ‘let me tell you about this topic’ essay. So then my next prompt was: ‘try a lighter topic please’. (I tend to use ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ in my prompts.) This was what Chat GPT came up with:

The Art of Finding Joy in the Little Things

In a world that’s always racing to the next big thing, it’s easy to overlook the small moments that make life truly special. But what if I told you that the secret to happiness might just be hiding in those tiny details we often take for granted?

Take a moment and think about the last time you paused to watch a sunset, or how you felt when you caught the scent of fresh rain on pavement. Remember the warmth of a cozy blanket on a chilly evening, or the infectious laughter of a child. These instances may seem insignificant, but they hold the essence of joy.

It’s in these moments that we find a connection to the world around us. A beautiful melody, a kind word from a stranger, or the perfect cup of coffee can uplift our spirits and remind us that joy doesn’t require grand gestures; it’s all around us, waiting to be noticed.

So, let’s celebrate the little victories, like finding a forgotten bill in your pocket or hitting all green lights on your way home. Let’s find joy in the everyday – in the quiet morning hours before the world wakes up, in the pages of a good book, or in the comfort of our favorite shoes.

Life is a collection of moments, and the happiest people aren’t those who chase after extraordinary experiences, but those who find delight in the ordinary. So here’s to the little things – may they continue to inspire us and bring a touch of magic to our everyday lives.

Embrace the little joys, and watch as they transform your perspective on life!

There are a couple parts that feel like my voice, but not enough of it that I’d mistake this as my own writing. Still, this is much better than ‘The Rise of Micro-Entrepreneurship’… and more in line with a few topics I’ve written about.

I find myself using AI a lot more, but I won’t be using it to write my Daily-Inks. I want this space to be one where I express my thinking, my learning, my voice. For me, the art of finding joy is in a little process called writing, not prompting.

Writing your own chapters

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If your life were a chapter book, how many chapters would it have?

Would you choose to write about long periods of time in a single chapter? Would you provide vignettes? Would you think of your life as seasons or interludes or would it have features and long gaps between stories shared?

How complete would the story be right now?

What chapters are waiting to be written? And how long have you waited?

What would highlight in the current chapter?

Start writing.