TITLE: The Strange Creativity Rule Shared by Alan Watts and Takashi Murakami
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo_zirVnpXM

Most people think creativity comes from effort, but it doesn't. And all growth, you see, is fundamentally something that happens. But, for it to happen, two things are important. And the first is, as I said, you must have the technical ability to express what happens. And secondly, you must get out of your own way. You must get out of your own way. >> [music] >> You must get out of your own way. Look at the cursor on your screen right now. The cursor is not a tool. It's a judge. Think about one idea that you're too afraid to start because it won't be perfect. The harder you try to be creative, the quicker you lock the door to your own ideas. I used to think my best work came from my hardest days, but I was wrong. People think if you have more options, you'll be more creative. It's not true. The more options you have creates paralysis. It stops you from being creative. They call it the paradox of choice. Look at your own software. How many plugins do you have? How many fonts? How many color options? The more choices you have, the more likely you are to say no and not choose anything. Watch what happens when you strip all the colors away. When you limit the options, notice the friction in your own process. Most of us surround ourselves with friction. How-to videos, endless choices, that gets in the way of being creative. The inverse effort rule. Most people think of creativity is like a muscle you flex. Like grinding it out gives you the best idea. The harder you try to be creative, the quicker you lock the door to your own ideas. The emptiness is almost really important thing. It's kind of the For example, sports athlete have to try hard to making for the emptiness in a brain. Every day the constant condition is the most important thing. So, our job is looks like that. So, emptiness condition is a super important. That's why I am a brainwash to the, you know, kind of music that YouTube. And then, you know, white out the brain can bring for the new idea. Creativity is not about trying harder. It's about removing everything that tries. Cuz I think, you know, to some extent creativity is involves when your brain manages to evade its own self-censorship mechanism. That's the creative brain versus the security guard brain. It's a locked door to ideas. The gatekeeper problem. The editor is sitting behind you. That's why I I try to develop this this system which actually gives me the opportunity and with a lot of practice through the years to to shorten this distance and to be able to uh to cover the the the complete area of musical spectrum instantly in order not to to to give to give the the excuse or or the room to myself to think if it's good or not. Cuz I don't know. I don't want to know. When you look at biology, you start to understand why effort is our biggest enemy. The brain thinks of new ideas as a threat to survival. A new idea is risk. And your brain reacts negatively to risk. That's where self-doubt comes in. You'll often hear people say they have writer's block or they're blocked, and usually they're over-managing. They're not really blocked. The part of your brain that worries, that edits, that's the part of your brain you're trying to get out the way. You're thinking too much. You're trying to figure it out. There's nothing to figure out. A A person I would say who is um >> [clears throat] >> really functioning completely is basically a person who trusts his own brains and permits his brain to operate at a more optimal level. In other words, he knows how to think things out, but he makes his best discoveries without thinking. You can learn the inverse effort rule. It means instead of doing more, you do less. I had to learn this from sitting at my desk for hours struggling. Then I give up. I walk away from the desk, and then ideas start coming. Some things that work for me is giving myself limitations. More choices create paralysis. I like to narrow things down to a binary choice. You get two choices. You're going to do this or you're going to do that. And you pick one and you start. So, if you activate certain constraints, like time, like choices, then what ends up happening is that you start the project. It's like the logical part of your brain has to quit. Then your creative brain can take over. Trial by error, basically. How old were you then when you started? 10. Does that sound Mhm. Television commercials, and then later you get cast in a film, if you're lucky. Mhm. I can't really explain why I understand what I understand. I just do. Mhm. And to try to figure it out, I think would kind of ruin it, you know. >> Mhm. I want to leave it like uh a mine of gold, you know, without ever mining it, you know, and selling it. I don't want to sell it off. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to understand it in a way that will exploit the pureness. So, I just leave it. I don't understand it, but I I believe it. This is not finding inspiration. It's putting yourself in a position to allow your creative part of your brain to take over. You have to pay attention to situations you put yourself in where you trick your brain. If I sit here and play some chords, whatever, and say I'm going to write the best song ever written, nothing happens. Something in the heavens has to say, "Look, this is the time that this is going to be laid on you, and this is when I want you to have it." Now, I remember when I when I wrote Billie Jean, I just let it go, really. Artists seem to get in the way of the music. Get out of the way of the music. Don't write the music. Let the music write itself. If you have to convince yourself that the project doesn't matter so that you enter the project with nothing blocking that part of your brain, then that's what you should do. I don't consider myself at all either great or small. And I really mean it. And that's an irrelevant question. When you say, "What do you consider What do you think about the Buddha?" I don't think about the Buddha. >> [laughter] >> Cuz thought doesn't enter into the field of understanding. Thought doesn't exist where love is. And when there is love and when there is that state of mind when there is no operation of thought, there is no comparison. Whatever you can do to give up trying is what you should do to put yourself in that mode. This is not logic. You need to create an environment where you can make mistakes. Instead of planning a color palette, close your eyes and pick a color. Start with one chord, but don't care what chords you choose after. I don't learn. Like say I got something like this, right? Um that I'm playing right now. >> [music] >> Like how to Um this is [music] nice. How to like then have that and then create like a B section. You know, like do I just go pick some other chords I like? >> Yeah. And then figure out how to Get that. >> Yeah. Yo. It's like no rules to this The editing part comes later. In the creative phase, we're not using that part of the brain. Then when you finish your creation, you can go back and edit. We're seeing it in the editing phase from a logical standpoint. Sometimes that brain kicks in and we'll call it writer's block or block or creative block, but it's really us using the wrong part of the brain at the wrong time. stems from people, either through their expressions in films, books, things that people tell you about, things you witness. Musically, I think that's much more obscure area. And in a way, it's the music that often will suggest the subject matter. So, the music is quite often the thing that sparks it all off. And that comes from the air, really. Most of our brains is clogged with ego, strategy, [music] and fear. The funny thing is when all those things are gone, when they're out the way, that's when you see magic happen. >> [music] >> As I always say, I can make you look, but I can't make you see. Seeing is a choice. If you want to find a way to support the channel, please become a member. Please subscribe. Hit the notification bell. This is Brian from The King's Hand. The departed hand of the king.