The Secret to Creativity
Newsletter
Hey friends,
Last week I finished the bookΒ βUnreasonable Hospitalityβ by Will Guidara. If youβre not familiar with him, Will Guidara is former owner of some of New Yorkβs most expensive restaurants, including one which was recently named the best restaurant in the world.
The bookβs packed full of interesting ideas, but his approach to creativity was something that particularly stood out to me.
Now, Iβve never really considered myself to be a creative person – Iβve got friends who can seemingly pull amazing ideas out of thin air, whereas I feel like Iβve got to rely heavily on external sources of inspiration. Like, when I sit down to come up with ideas for something I usually turn to things Iβve read, watched, or listened to so I can gradually piece things together and connect the dots in my own way.
Creativity just isnβt a spontaenous process for me, which is how Iβve always thought it should be.
But, in the book, Will talks about creativity as something thatβs far more systematic than spontaneous. Basically, he says that the people we think are most creative are the ones that have aΒ systematic processΒ behind that creativity.
This was a very liberating idea because Iβve had this limiting belief for some time that βIβm not a very creative personβ. But, if we think of creativity as being a systematic process, rather than a spontaneous process, then this isnβt true at all.
For example, Iβve got systematic processes for my creativity when it comes to making YouTube videos (which we teach our students in theΒ Part-Time YouTuber AcademyΒ – enrolment closes on Friday 17 March btw π) and systematic processes for thinking of business ideas (which involves journalling and asking myself various questions).
And although these processes donβt look that creative, theyβre responsible for the consistent creative output that has helped me to create hundreds of videos and grow a multi-million dollar business over the last few years.
So, the takeaway here is that creativity is an active process.
As William Faulkner once said, βI only write when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes at nine every morning.β
The point is, the only way to be properly creative is to show up and put in the work.
So, if youβre ever held back by the limiting belief that βyouβre not creative enough to do Xβ, realise that the way you become more creative is to stop waiting for inspiration to strike and start taking action.
Have a great week!
Ali xx
ποΈ The New Paperlike
If you own an iPad, I canβt recommendΒ Paperlike screen protectorsΒ enough.
I have them on all my iPads, and they make the surface feel like paper when I use an Apple Pencil. The slight stroke resistance makes writing and drawing feel precise + tactile.
Paperlikeβs βsecret sauceβ is a thin layer of nanodots on the surface. Those minimise glare, so you get a nice clear image. And with their new Paperlike 2.1 model, those nanodots are spread more evenly across the screen to improve visibility.
Getting a Paperlike screen protector might just make you use your Apple Pencil more.Β Check out the Paperlike 2.1 here.
Thanks to Paperlike for sponsoring this issue of Sunday Snippets π
β₯οΈ My Favourite Things
π¬Β VideoΒ – βRevealing A YouTubers INSANE GROWTH Secretsβ. This video is from our friend Ed, at Film Booth. I always enjoy the way he explains how different YouTubers have grown their channel, so this video about Joshua Mayo was no exception. I obviously spend a lot of time think about this stuff because itβs what we teach students in ourΒ Part-Time YouTuber AcademyΒ (which is open to enrolment until Friday 17 March).
π₯·Β Kickboxing – Iβve started taking kickboxing lessons. So far Iβve had two lessons, but the plan is to go to the gym 3x/week and kickbox 3x/week. The reasons Iβve decided to take up kickboxing are 1) lots of people I know said itβs fun, and 2) it seems to be a good balance of cardio / flexibility / mobility / self-defence. So I thought Iβd give it a go and it’s been super fun so far.
π±Β AppΒ –Β Gather. This is a virtual office space that the whole team has been using recently. We basically all have our own desks in the app and chat to people as if we were all in the same building. To begin with it felt a little gimmicky, but now it works nicely. I can just virtually run over to someoneβs desk and start talking, instead of having to spend ages talking over Slack or setting up a Zoom meeting. Itβs completely free to use up to 10 users, but if you decide to pay for more users Iβve got a cheeky affiliate link you can use:Β gather.town
π±Β AppΒ –Β Trainerize. This is the app I use to track all my workouts. If youΒ follow me on Instagram, you may have already seen it as Iβm regularly sharing my progress over there. To be honest, I wouldnβt recommend this to everyone as the appβs designed to be used by personal trainers for their clients – for example, my app is linked up with my coach (Dan Go) who is helping me with my journey to become a Gymshark athlete. So, if youβre not currently working with a PT, my recommendation would be to use theΒ Strong appΒ instead, which is what I used before working with Dan.
πΒ Combination Padlock – I keep this in my bag at all times, which has been super useful. It means that when Iβm out the house I can just go to the gym and trust I have a padlock with me. This also means Iβve not actually missed a workout for about 4 weeks because Iβm always prepared. So, adding a paddlock to my everyday carry has been insanely helpful to achieving my fitness goals.
π¬ My New Videos
β³Β 7 Habits that Save Me 3+ Hours a DayΒ – Over the years I’ve experimented with a lot of different time management and productivity habits and techniques, and only a few have stuck. So in this video I go through my 7 favourite habits that save me around 3 hours every day.
βοΈ Quote of the Week
FromΒ OversubscribedΒ by Daniel Priestley. Resurfaced usingΒ Readwise.
Knowledgeable news letter