#16 The insights have always been here

ByLukas
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Creativity isn’t about inventing new concepts, thoughts, pieces of art or machines out of thin air.

It’s not even making new connections between unrelated concepts.

Creativity is exposing connections that have always been there but nobody has noticed before.

Again: the connections have always been there. The hard part is noticing them.

That requires presence. Slowing down. Taking a step back. Asking “Where have I seen this before?”. Trusting your mind for doing what it does best: recognizing patterns. Paying attention. Sometimes, paying no attention at all and letting the breakout principle work its magic.

This view of creativity can set you free from a lifetime of frustration
because once life becomes one big exploration
where every detour, every diversion, every event
no matter how unimportant or seemingly insignificant
holds the promise of a new insight
a new breakthrough, a connection to stumble upon…

And once the crushing pressure – invent something you must
disappears, turns to dust
replaced by curiosity and wanderlust
then you can slow down, enjoy the present moment, and trust
that everything you ever wanted to know, feel, see, hear
every insight or desire you hold dear
has always been here
hidden in plain view, underneath the world’s veneer.

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  • #298 Setting yourself up for success

    ByLukas

    You can choose what success in your life looks like.

    And if you make your daily successes achievable enough so you feel successful every day, guess what: you’re a successful person now.

    There’s a reason it’s called Tiny Trust Builders, not massive out-of-reach Trust Builders.

    So celebrate that one-minute workout you did.
    That one sentence you wrote today.
    That one new word you learned in a new language.
    That one time you didn’t give in to cravings.

    Because daily Tiny Trust Builders create massive momentum and massive self-trust.

    And I don’t know about you, my friend, but I’d rather feel successful every day than like a failure because those good feelings will carry over in all other aspirations and relationships.

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    #8 Musenküsse

    ByLukas
    klimt-the-kiss-musenkuss
    Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss (1907-1908).

    der Musenkuss (German) The kiss of the Muse

    Creativity becomes much easier if you see it as a game of finding new ways of describing what has always been there.

    Observing, rather than inventing.

    It’s liberating. Because now the game changes from pulling ideas out of thin air to a game of discovery. Observation. Paying attention. Building upon what’s already discovered, then connecting the dots in way nobody else has.

    Most of all: listening, when the muse finally arrives and visits you for a kiss.

    There’s this voice in my mind
    Impossible to ignore
    And yet I fill my head with noise
    Drowning out
    What deep down I know to be true
    Do I even want to admit
    That this song in my heart
    Is not about me
    But about you?

    P.S.: I’ve observed the same principle in language learning (and wrote a book about the consequences of this mindset shift).

    Which begs the question…

    Where else would we do better if we observed a bit more, rather than trying to invent from scratch?

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