If you were to ask me who my idols were, I quickly think of people like Picasso, Asimov, DaVinci, Aphex Twin, Agatha Christie, and Ridley Scott.
There is beauty in seeing another human pour out their creative expression in massive and ‘unreasonable’ volume. It fires me up like nothing else.
These are the habits that connect these people:
1. They set ridiculous targets.
Prolific people are ‘prolific’ because they do what few dare do. If everyone was prolific, it would simply be ‘normal.’
You’re not a ‘normie,’ are you, Jake?
So, to do what few do, you need to set targets that many would deem unreasonable or plain ‘ridiculous.’
This is a good thing because there is a heady vibe to playing a game only a handful play. Write a book a month. Paint and release a painting weekly.
Write a daily thread. Go big to be energised. What could you do that no one else is doing?
2. Kill themselves daily.
Woah there, horsey.
What’s Alex talking about? Isn’t this a little naughty and a teensy bit scary?
I’m talking about the supreme power in being willing to let go of the image of who you think you are every day.
Why? Because the enemy of creativity is the need for self-protection and looking good in front of your mates.
If we feel we have something to lose, we won’t express ourselves fully, we won’t do the necessary work, and we’ll shift into perfectionist mode.
Perfectionist pussies don’t ship.
3. Create from happiness, not to find happiness.
It might seem commonsensical, but if you’re doing anything in order to acquire happiness (or passion), you’re doing it wrong.
The most prolific maniacs let go of the need to find happiness long ago.
Now, they create from the understanding they are already alive and happy and whole. Powerful creation is the expression of a happy soul, not a means to become happy.
