Key Takeaways
- A response is judged as creative to the extent that it is a) it is both a novel and appropriate, useful, correct, or valuable response to the task at hand and b) the task is heuristic rather than algorithmic
- Art is basically the production of order out of chaos
- If at first you don’t succeed, surrender
- Drop mental striving
- Apply yourself to a task – full presence and devotion to the task at hand puts us in harmony with our creative source. We dedicate ourselves to the work itself, not to a false personality
- Maintain a spirit of inquiry
- Acknowledge that you don’t know how it’s going to turn out
- Ask yourself a clear question about a key issue before going to sleep
- Destroy judgement, create curiosity
- Less judgment leads to more curiosity and more creativity
- Lower judgment by paying attention to your thoughts, attacking the judgment, making the judgment look ridiculous
- Curiosity eliminates fear and creates confidence
- Pay attention –> penetrating observation –> seeing clearly
- Aim for thoughtfulness and mindfulness without thinking
- Avoid habits as they are unconscious acts
- Fine-tuned listening encourages healing
- High achievers can tell you in 3D terms what they learn from their failures and how they applied that. They think of failures in terms of learning experiences to be applied
- Ask dumb questions
- Creativity always starts with a question – the quality of your creativity is determined by the quality of your questions
- Questions are essential in finding joy in life
- Don’t jump to answers, keep the questions open
- By its very nature, a creative life must be a questioning one
- Do only what is effortless, easy, enjoyable (EEE)
- The test of a vocation is the love of the drudgery it involves. – Logan Pearsall Smith
- Surprisingly, EEE turns into a discipline for achieving a higher goal: the discovery of your true purpose in life
- Da Vinci’s response to his greatest accomplishment was “Da Vinci!”
- There can be no drudgery in work that is a matter of growing self-expression, and no boredom in days that are permeated with the knowledge of your own boundless base, demonstrated in each personal task
- When you live with EEE you find almost a spiritual purpose for your life. You know that you are practicing your true vocation when you love all the hard work, responsibility, and tedium that goes with it
- A life centered around a clear purpose is totally integrated
- When we love our work, then we don’t have to be managed by fear or force. We can build systems that facilitate creativity, rather than be preoccupied with checks and controls on people who are motivated to beat or exploit the system. I believe that everyone wants to find both quality and love in work.
- Do nothing without enthusiasm
- Rank tasks, break into small pieces, do 1 thing at a time
- Don’t think about it! – Beginner’s Mind
- Unstructured free time to wander, physical and mental relaxation
- Don’t focus on success or failure, simply learning
What I got out of it
- I felt calm and enthusiastic while reading this book. The parts about EEE (easy, effortless, enjoyable) resonated deeply and is the biggest thing I’ll remember from this book