Emergent-C

You’re not not creative. Tapping into your innate creativity could be your key to success.

For a decade, I worked with founders as a strategy consultant. I still do it today as a podcast instead of a retainer. The one lever for founders to perform at higher levels is an unrestrained, cultivated, and ferocious approach to creativity.

Overcoming Resistance

How fast do you go from idea to creation? The time between idea and creation tests your resistance → the limiting beliefs weakening your creativity.

Common resistance thoughts with rebuttals:

• “I have a 9-5…” → You have a 16-hour, 5-9 to create.

• “I have to finish this one thing, then…” → You can do things in parallel (more on this later).

• “I’m too busy…” → Check your phone’s screen-time. Replace excess time with creativity.

Cultivating Creativity

With resistance gone, how do you create AMAZING things? Manage your energy and environment.

Energy Management

1. Physical → Eat well, break a sweat, and avoid toxins.

2. Emotional → Sit with, listen to, and acknowledge your emotions, enforce boundaries, and cut off habitual boundary violators.

3. Informational → Only consume work from inspiring creators. Cut out any content that creates doubt, fear, or insignificance.

Environment Management

1. Physical → Surround yourself with tools for creativity. Remove distractions.

2. Emotional → Spend time with uplifting people and places. Avoid emotional vampires.

3. Informational → Follow amazing creators. Fill your kindle or bookshelf with creatively reinforcing content. Watch movies that ignite your creative thinking.

Maximizing Creative Output

With the right environment and energy, its time to create!

Avoid these creativity limiting pitfalls:

• ✘ Sequential Thinking → “I’ll create x, then y.”

  • ✔︎ AND Thinking → “I’ll create x for 80% AND create y for 20% of my time.”

• ✘ Showing Early Work to Critics → Avoid critics, even if they’re your dearest friends or family.

  • ✔︎ Showing Early Work to Fans → Build a community of supporters that will encourage your creativity and build your confidence.

• ✘ Waiting for a Big Break → Don’t wait for permission.

  • ✔︎ Permission-less Creative → Build and explore all your great ideas!

This is the exact strategy that helped me build Caravan Notes. I stopped seeking validation and built a community of supporters. I balanced client work with building Caravan Notes, consuming startup content, and cutting out energy vampires. I practiced intermittent fasting for energy. I focused on creation, avoided boundary violators, and built my app, community, podcast, newsletter, and social media following simultaneously.

You can build your dreams too. Own your creativity and protect it from premature sabotage. With time, you’ll build strength, confidence, and ferocity in your creativity.

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