I love living in Monte Vista!
Last night after a nice early dinner my wife Chrissy and I along with our friends Amelia and Jackie walked a block and a half over to Laurie Auditorium and checked out celebrated British comic genius John Cleese as he discussed “The Importance of Creativity”.
Laced with small doses of the same dry and sardonic wit that Mr. Cleese brought to both Monty Python and Fawlty Towers, the funny, smart and insightful talk honed in on one of my favorite subjects - the all important aspects of unleashing the creative power of the subconscious.
Sighting the two psychology books he's co-authored, Families and How to Survive Them and Life and How to Survive It, it's clear that Mr. Cleese truly understands and cares deeply about not only the art of creativity, but more importantly how letting the internal and subconscious process "do it's thing" is vital to the evolution of any great idea, script or joke.
Bottom line: Play more. Work hard and play hard. It's not only OK to play and have fun, it's truly one of the best ways to simply and effortlessly let your mind work the way it was designed to work by making coherent lighting fast connections using all you collective knowledge retained within to resolve whatever it is you're working on. Intently ingest, sleep on it and the answers will come!
I've always referred to this as Thinkubation. Once I plant the seeds of an idea, project or personal challenge, study it, live it, learn it and understand it as much as my mind will allow, sometimes to the point of exhaustion, I put it away for a day or so, try to forget it and let my subconscious do it's thing - Thinkubate.
It's almost magic how effortless the process becomes when the idea or task at hand is revisited! After a good night's sleep, a cup or two of coffee (along with the proper time and workspace to focus ) the ideas seem to come from nowhere, lots of them flowing out quelling any anxiety I may have had and thus making it less of a chore and yes, fun!
It's amazingly comforting to know, trust and understand that once I take the first step and invest the time reading-studying-understanding something, I can then go about my daily routine while my subconscious works hard behind the scenes churning and connecting thoughts and ideas to assist me in not only doing my job to the best of my ability but also enabling me lead a more fulfilling, happy and anxiety free existence!
Awesome. Thank you John Cleese!
That's Right,
HMK
Thanks to Trinity University and John Cleese. The Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by an endowment gift from Mr. and Mrs. Walter F. Brown of San Antonio.
Side Rant: I realize this may sound like a luxury (and it is!) to those stuck in the corporate world working under the thumb of veteran, know it all hacks where face time, deadlines and forced brainstorming sessions rife with egos, deceit and hidden agendas always seem to override true innovation, freshness and real creativity. So, for those of us that are blessed and lucky enough to understand, appreciate and embrace the stimulation and thrill of authentic research, true collaboration, trial & error, a methodical approach, stream of conciousness thought processing, and discovery - rejoice and leave the anxiety, misery and ulcers to the drones of posers, self centered higher-ups, the shallow and greedy status seeking wannabees with their fancy bullshit job titles, cliché mindset, pompous airs and meaningless accolades - I'll take happy, content and real over miserable, rich and fake every time!
The Hamilton Manufacturing Co. traces its roots back to the very first wood types made in the United States. Darius Wells produced the first American wood type in 1828; his business was reorganized into Wells & Webb, then acquired by William Page, later passing back to the Wells family, and finally sold to Hamilton sometime before 1880. The product of this consolidation was a type specimen book issued in 1900, Hamilton’s Catalogue No. 14, which offers a good survey of American display typography of the nineteenth century.
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