*I suppose this image on “do what you love” is a bonus principle :)*

I’ve been an artist and musician for over 25 years (it’s crazy to write that out…). And in this time, I’ve realized a few things – a few truths, if you will. So welcome to my principles of creativity.

This post is a collection of things I’ve noticed to be universal in everything I’m doing personally and the creative world at large.

But of course, I’m only human.

So if you’ve got any more creative principles (or you’d like to challenge one of mine), feel free to leave a comment below – I’m always keen to learn more!

But let’s wrap up this chit chat.

Let’s get it.

What Does ‘Principles’ of Creativity Mean?

This post is a bit philosophical. Mostly because that’s the way I’m defining principles here.

So here’s my take on creativity principles.

Principles of creativity are the fundamental truths and beliefs that we hold about creativity, creative people and creative work.

This definition is pretty close to the basic definition of principles. But it works nicely for our purposes.

10 Principles of Creativity (fundamental truths I experience)

Alright, now that we’re all on the same page, let’s jump into my top ten list.

I’ll also try to keep this post updated if I come across any exciting updates or new additions.

But otherwise, I hope you enjoy my take on these fundamental truths about creativity.

1. Creativity Is Subjective + Individual

Being creative can be hard. It requires a certain level of confidence, vulnerability and courage.

And here’s the hard truth about it: some will hate what you do.

But here’s the fun part: many others will love what you do.

It’s because of one simple truth, and it’s that creativity is subjective. We all have different likes, dislikes, opinions, tastes and preferences.

This is what usually makes things interesting and fun.

But it can be crushing as a creative to hear someone’s negative take on your hardwork and artistic expression.

So if you’re a creative person, I definitely recommend honing your mindset so you’re not relying on any outside validation for your value or self worth.

Easier said than done, I know.

But it’s something that definitely makes me happier and more stress-free in my creative pursuits (which ends up actually promoting more creativity).

2. Creativity Is Never Right Or Wrong

This is somewhat related to creativity being subjective.

So here’s my second truth: there’s no right or wrong way to be creative.

Of course, there are skills to be honed. But at the end of the day, creativity is all about letting go, getting into a flow and having fun.

The key takeaway here is that creativity shouldn’t cause anxiety. It shouldn’t be compared to the next person above and it doesn’t need to be picked apart.

There are times for deep analysis of creative works, but at its core, it’s your individual expression.

Creativity is the tangible translation of intangible concepts from our brain.

There’s no right or wrong to it.

It just is.

3. Creativity Is In Everyone

I believe creativity is an innate human trait.

I believe in this principle: humans are naturally creative.

We just have different ways of using and expressing it. Sometimes, it doesn’t even look like creativity.

But creativity is flexible in its use and applications.

I see it in everything from the way people make art or music to how someone parents or runs a business.

It’s an ingredient in almost every system (more on that below…).

So humans are innately creative. I guess it’s our whole schtick and it’s a large part of what got us here evolutionarily and culturally.

It’s a big part of what colors the canvas of society.

It’s even the subtle, small and nuanced parts of our day-to-day life.

So here are some examples of how creativity exists in all of us (even in some of the seemingly mundane things):

Cooking a new meal
Writing emails
Having engaging conversations with friends
Raising children
Planning a date
Putting stickers on your laptop
Fashion – or just choosing an outfit for the day
Making a daily schedule or a travel itinerary

The list goes on.

But I think you get the point – creativity is not an all or nothing kind of thing.

There are numerous levels, contexts and nuances to it.

But one thing’s for sure: it’s in all of us.

4. Creativity Is In Everything (not just art)

This next principle is an extension to the last one.

If creativity is in all of us humans, it’s also in all of our systems.

So the principle is this: creativity exists in all systems and facets of society.

If we think about this, it makes sense. It’s actually kind of obvious (so I apologize).

Everything from product design to marketing and architecture requires a high level of creativity.

Creativity is in everything.

The MacBook I’m writing on right now and the water bottle next to my aqua colored coffee cup beside the cheap shelving that holds my extra shirts.

Each item came from a system and supply chain with various artistic stages.

Even the conceptualization and testing of the products are creative in nature.

So yea, I believe it’s safe to say that creativity has its hands in literally everything, at some point or another.

5. Creativity Is A Riddle

This principle on creativity is exciting. And it sort of reminds me of a riddle.

The more you use it, the more you have.

Specifically, it reminds me of this riddle: The more of them you take, the more you leave behind – what are they?

(Know the answer? Comment below 😏)

So I feel creativity as this sort of magic bucket that gets bigger and refills itself the more I use.

I think there’s a notion that the more you use it, the more you become exhausted or you’ll run out of new ideas and energy.

Yea, no, it's the opposite.

The more you practice and use creativity, the more you have.

It’s probably in part due to the fact that creativity is a skill which can be sharpened.

And like anything, the more you practice, the better, quicker and easier it gets.

6. Creativity Is Made Up Of Old Ideas

Creativity is sort of synonymous with new.

But usually, it’s made up of old – often borrowed – ideas.

But this doesn’t make creativity any less novel or amazing. It’s the connecting of the dots and the unique twists that us as artistic humans can put on something.

Creativity is the act of taking your existing knowledge, experiences and information and drawing new conclusions and connections from them.

Often this looks like something new. But really, it’s the result of old ideas and concepts almost serendipitously coming together in one (or a few) lightbulb moments.

Creativity is the art of reframing things in new and interesting ways.

Creativity is the active art of idea evolution.

It’s made up of old ideas and foundations, but creates new conclusions and paths to explore.

7. Creativity Alone Isn’t Sustainable

Creativity alone isn’t sustainable.

It’s a truth I’ve been exploring a lot recently, because I’ve realized something important.

Creativity, inspiration and motivation are not often mood-based or spontaneous, which can be inconsistent.

So being able to turn on creativity through action and discipline is key.

It’s easier said than done, but getting into the habit of taking action when you’re not feeling inspired is an essential component for sustainable, long-lasting creativity.

Currently, I’m gamifying my creativity by using a song-a-day challenge in 2023. One of my core goals is to build more resilient creative discipline.

But there are many ways to build creative discipline. So here are a few tips:

Just try to take action for 5 minutes
Aim lower and do smaller tasks
Break down your bigger goals and projects into smaller steps and tasks
Remember your why and define your values and mission
Learn to be more process-oriented
Hang around more people who inspire and motivate you creatively

Just remember, creativity and inspiration often come after taking action. So we can create creativity by simply starting.

Motivation comes after we start something, and we end up working longer than originally planned.

I guess it’s true, an object in motion tends to…well, you know the rest.

8. Creativity Isn’t Always “Pretty”

Creativity is messy.

I’ve been a musician and artist for quite a while now, and I’ve definitely made a lot of crap things.

But they weren’t any less creative. It’s part of the process of getting better, exploring new ideas and honing your craft.

And this is the truth about creativity: it’s not always pretty, or even that good.

Creativity often requires risk-taking. And risk-taking often leads to missteps, blunders and misses.

But risk-taking also leads to the gems – the best options, iterations and paths forward.

It’s like this: to find a high quality thing, you need to have a high quantity of tries.

And a lot of those tries will be…meh.

But understanding and accepting this reality makes it easier to get through them, as they’re necessary steps to finding something great.

I’m obsessed with one single idea:

What’s on the other side of failure and unlucky projects?

I guess it goes back to the importance of persistence and consistency (#7 above).

So don’t get discouraged, because creativity doesn’t always look creative or pretty.

It’s just the journey (and it never ends).

9. You Don’t Need to Be Great to Do Great Things

You don’t need to be great to do great things.

Put another way, the driving force behind creativity is not just talent.

I love this idea and it’s something I try to remind myself of daily.

Because if we’re being honest, what does being “great” – or worse yet, “perfect” – even mean?

We all have a different answer.

And we all have a different interpretation of quality and a different taste in music, art and creativity.

This goes back to my first point on this list (that creativity is subjective), but we can take things a bit further.

Often with creativity, there’s this fear of failure or an obsession with trying to be perfect. But perfectionism is a lie and it doesn’t exist.

Sometimes, the things that we think are just kind of meh, can end up inspiring or moving someone else in a big way.

We don’t always realize the impact we have and creativity can be so subjective, it’s not clear why some things hit when others don’t.

Why is Andy Warhol’s tomato soup artwork better than that highly skilled and trained landscape artist that no one’s heard of before?

Sometimes, it’s the story (not the cover of the book) that we fall in love with. Other times, it’s some nuance or maybe some je ne sais quoi aspect about a project.

Long story short, you don’t need to be Da Vince to make a splash or have an impact.

Because sometimes, creativity is about a lot more than the objective quality of what we first see in an artwork.

10. Creativity Is Both A Soft + A Hard Skill

There’s no way around it, creativity is a modern skill.

But there are two sides to this coin.

Creativity is a soft skill as much as a hard skill.

It’s a squishy skill.

Here’s what I mean.

Creativity can feel a bit intangible. It’s a blend of mindset, outside-of-the-box thinking, emotional intelligence and risk-taking (among other things).

It’s a soft skill.

But it’s 2023 (as I write this post), and as creators we have an almost overwhelming amount of tools, software and creativity enhancing products available to us.

It’s an amazing time to be a creator.

But with these tools often comes a steep learning curve. These are the creativity hard skills I’m getting at.

For example, you may be intuitively and innately creative, but without the hard skills of knowing how to express that creativity using modern digital tools, you may be left behind.

And trust me, I know how frustrating it can be to struggle with turning your creative ideas into creative output, because of some tech and digital dexterity issues.

I’m still anywhere near where I want to be with music production.

But there’s an important silver lining to remember here.

It’s the simple fact that skills can be learned and sharpened – thanks to that thing called brain neuroplasticity (i.e., our brain’s innate ability to change, learn and adapt).

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