Marc Silber
Carmel, California
“Action is the foundational key to all success.”
—Pablo Picasso
This book is geared toward action and not just thinking. I imagine you’re reading it because you want to transform your life and take action, which is the key to success, as Picasso said.
Tools for Creativity
A tool is defined as “something used as a means of achieving something.” (Encarta Dictionary.) In terms of creativity this could be a physical thing, like a paintbrush or a spatula, but it could also encompass non-physical things such as one’s ability to communicate as a means to express oneself. We’ll be covering both senses when I talk about tools.
“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’
Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools
you may have at your command, and better tools will
be found as you go along.”
—George Herbert, poet
I’ll be presenting tools to you that I have discovered which will lead to new ways of thinking and DOING. You will be familiar with some of them, of course, but please don’t make the mistake that a few do and brush them off because “I already know that” which is just another way of saying “I have nothing more to learn”—the biggest trap one can step into. Keep your mind and eyes wide open to learn, especially what may have been staring at you right in the face!
The following are key points that will help you get the most from this book (or “course” as I sometimes refer to it) and help spark a transformation to a more creative life:
Leave Room in Your Cup
I have told this story at the start of my workshops:
Nan-in, a Japanese master, received a university professor who came to inquire about his teachings.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”
“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I teach you unless you first empty your cup?”
I encourage you to come to this book with an empty cup. If a new idea won’t quite flow in, check to see if you need to make a bit more room in your cup.
Take Pleasure in the Joy of Understanding
“The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.”
—Leonardo da Vinci
My parents instilled a deep respect for understanding words and their derivations by encouraging me to use dictionaries. My mom’s mantra was to always look up any word you didn’t understand as soon as you encountered it; to never try to slip past one, or you wouldn’t experience the joy of understanding.
In addition to using a good dictionary (I recommend the Oxford Concise which also comes in a very handy smartphone app.) You can also Google “define _____”—but watch out, some of these start simple but soon get more complex. So grab what you need to understand the word and don’t dive in the deep end.
Be Fully Involved
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember.
Involve me and I learn.”
—Benjamin Franklin
Another point I cannot stress enough: get fully involved with what I’m discussing with you as soon as you encounter it. Look at how it applies to you and your life and find real scenarios. For example, when I’m discussing tools for creativity, take a moment to locate yours, so you have solid examples. They might be kitchen knives, or a musical instrument, or wood working tools—whatever they are, connect what I’m discussing with them. This is vital to bring about positive changes.
Part of being involved is setting a schedule to study and work with this book, ideally daily, but at least weekly. Whatever you set, stick to it. Try to get in at least three hours a week which could be a little as twenty-five minutes a day. Not a bad investment to bring on a new creative life.
Track Your Stray Thoughts
“Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters
up into your brain. Cheap paper is less perishable
than gray matter, and lead pencil markings endure
longer than memory.”
—Jack London
I love notebooks (they have long been a staple for artists) and I want you to get one and write in it daily. It helps to use it for visual thinking to sketch or write down your discoveries, key words you want to remember, diagrams and drawings of how something works, and flashes of inspiration and “stray thoughts.” I write my realizations in a notebook daily so that I can keep track of what I’m learning and accomplishing and to face up to areas I need to master.
Your first assignment is this: get a notebook and use it daily while you go through this book. Write in it, draw, explore your ideas, make notes, ask questions, diagram and learn.
What to Expect as You Learn
The shape of the book is this: I’ll discuss the tools that I want you to be familiar with and give you examples of their use. Interspersed between the chapters are my interviews with a wide variety of creative people telling their stories about how they’ve transformed their lives. As you’ll see, we have a very eclectic mix of artists, Grammy award-winners, a serial entrepreneur who grew up homeless on the streets, the voice of Bart Simpson, and many others who help us round out the book.
At the end of each chapter I’ll ask you summarizing questions about what we covered so that you have an opportunity to look at how you can apply these points to your life. I’d like to you feel as though I’m right there helping you become involved and owning what we’ve covered. Use these moments as a chance to take the given concept and do something with it: reflect, imagine applications, use it to analyze a given personal or unique situation.
If you cannot easily do so then review that section of the book until you can apply it. But don’t treat these as “tests.” Rather, use them as an opportunity to really dig in, get involved, and arrive at the “joy of understanding.”
Next, I’ll give you application
