“Everybody says I’m burning the candle on both ends, and I always worry about that. What’s going to happen when you age and things slow down and your body just doesn’t work as well? The idea that the energy would slow down kind of freaks me out, so maybe that’s where the urgency comes from…. Read more »

I’ve been slowly, manually, moving this blog to a new site. There was a little bit of time when I lost track of the purpose, but I’m diving back into it in the coming weeks. My goal has always been to help others better understand and do more with their creativity. So that’s what I’m… Read more »

Photo by Marietta Varga. “Art is the big door, but real life is a lot of small doors that you must pass through to create something new.” — Jean Giraud To be creative is to be open to the idea your ideas—your way of understanding the world—are limited by what you have experienced. A simple… Read more »

If you want to be creative: you’re better off doing things than waiting around for inspiration to strike. Too many people say they want to think more creatively—they want to have ideas for making money, turning their art into their livelihood, or how to have an impact—but end up doing little to nothing because they… Read more »

The painter always sits down with the tools he has available to him, in front of a canvas with a set size, knowing what his abilities will enable him to create. A chef comes to the table prepared with ingredients and supplies at the ready. It doesn’t matter what the specifics of the constraints are… Read more »

My life changed when I realized just how powerful simply showing up and trying things can be. I remember one time coming into the office and, upon hearing how I liked to dabble with web design during the weekends, my boss asking if I could create a little project for the office. The deal was… Read more »

Originally posted to Quora. What does it mean to be “in a rut”? By definition, a rut is a deep track made by the repeated passage of a person or thing. It’s like going out for a walk every day of your life and always taking the same path. Over time that path becomes worn… Read more »

There are a lot of reasons to get into cooking as a profession, being hungry isn’t one of them. Instead, a reason to take up cooking is to learn the art behind the dish, or to help satisfy others, or because you really enjoy a finely crafted meal, or—and most likely—to fill a void you… Read more »

Do regular, 9-to-5 jobs kill creativity? If so: how do they stifle it out of people who otherwise might be creatively gifted? What can we do to prevent it? Who’s to blame? Is it common for 9-5 jobs to kill creativity? As TV scriptwriter Stan Hayward puts it: “No. Not at all. Because a creative… Read more »

austinkleon: “Creativity and ego cannot go together. If you free yourself from the comparing and jealous mind, your creativity opens up endlessly. Just as water springs from a fountain, creativity springs from every moment. You must not be your own obstacle. You must not be owned by the environment you are in. You must own… Read more »