Chapter 1: I walk into a white room.

• Creativity is not just for artists — it's about problem solving.
• There are no natural geniuses, education and hard work has a lot to do with it.
• In order to be creative, you have to prepare yourself to be creative.
• Everything is usable, and can be found to apply to the subject at hand (think Karate Kid).

Chapter 2: Rituals of preparation.

• Rituals ground you, and provide you for a common framework/context for your daily work.
  • Rituals should be repeatable.
  • Rituals can also be a method of getting unstuck/out of a rut.
• Remove distractions, such as movies, multitasking, background music, etc. Focus on the present.
  • "Subtracting your dependence on some of the things you take for granted increases your independence."

Chapter 3: Your creative DNA

• People observe the world from different "focal lengths" (perspectives.)
  • Polarization (great/not great) is a type of focal technique.
  • Sometimes detachment from the details of the work is the only way to see the big picture.
  • "Immerse yourself in the details of the work. Commit yourself to mastering every aspect. At the same time, step back to see if the work scans, if it's intelligible to an unwashed audience. Don't get so involved that you lose what you're trying to say."
• Zoe: Life without characterization (aggregate 'living'), Bios: All of the specifics (e.g. instances).
• It's important to know yourself, but that also includes knowing what not to do.

Chapter 4: Harness your memory

• Creativity is about connecting the dots: "metaphor is the lifeblood of all art."
• A great way to learn is through copying other experts, artists, etc.
• Muscle memory is a path to genuine creation through recreation.

Chapter 5: Before you can think out of the box, you have to start with a box

• A box can be a filing system for inspirational material (like a mood board.)
  • Include notebooks, tchotchkes, etc.
  • The box represents a commitment to the project.
  • The box is a physical reminder that there is still work to be done.
• Keep your workspace focused on a single task.
• File things that are inspirational to you.
• You can come back to the idea later — the box will store your stuff and the previous state of the project.
• Start each project with a goal/mission statement — put it in writing.
• Information (in the box) is not a substitute for creating — it's just notes, context, raw data — not creative works.
• Do research and understand the problem that you are trying to solve. WHy are you trying to solve it? What information is relevant, and why?
• The box is useful in three stages: when you're getting started, when you're lost, when you're done (review you work!)
• There's a difference between a work's beginning and starting to work.

Chapter 6: Scratching

• "Scratching" is gathering inspiration (it can look like borrowing or appropriating).
  • You can gather inspiration from changing your environment — ideas are all around you.
• The question isn't where you get your ideas, but HOW you get them.
• A good idea turns you on, rather than shutting you off. It keeps generating other ideas.
  • Bad ideas close doors instead of opening them.
  • A really good idea is usually actually the combination of a lot of little ideas.
  • Without little ideas (hooks, licks, etc.) there are no big ideas.
  • "Big ideas" just happen — they're self-confined, self-defining, and consuming.
• Scratching is improvising: no responsibilities, no consequences — be open to anything.
  • Make time to improvise — that's being creative.
  • Return to your improvisations and capture your ideas.
  • Generate -> Inspect -> Retain -> Transform.
• Gather ideas from reading, everyday conversation, peoples' handiwork, mentors/heroes, nature... etc.
• Don't stop with just one idea — scratching just identifies the starting point.
• Use what worked before and adapt it to your situation (reduce time, risk.)
• Be in shape: ideas will come faster when you're immersed and conditioned to look for them.
• Scratch in the best places: be selective, start with the best material.
  • Never scratch in the same place twice - different locations will bring different ideas.
• Don't think ahead, just go.
• Read for growth: what you are today and in 5 years depends on who you meet and what you read.
  • Read archaeologically: reading backwards in time allows you to see ideas develop.
    • The surest method of finding the solution to a maze is by doing it backwards.

Chapter 7: Accidents will happen

• There's a fine line between good planning and overplanning — don't inhibit natural evolution of your ideas.
  • Creative endeavors can never be thoroughly planned out ahead of time.
  • Things that derail plans: other people, perfectionism at the start, the wrong structure, sense of obligation to others, the wrong materials.
    • Perfectionism can be another method of procrastination.
    • Never plan on an ideal situation.
    • No matter how limited your resources are, you always have enough to get started.
    • Limits are a secret blessing — they give you guides to work in and less freedom to overthink.
    • Necessity is the mother of invention.
• Habitually creative people are prepared to be lucky.
  • In creative endeavors, luck is a skill.
  • Accidents only hold significance with those who are prepared to be lucky.
  • The more work, the more chance luck has at biting you on the nose.

Chapter 8: Spine

• Spine: the first strong idea, the toehold that gets you started.

Chapter 9: Skill

• Skill: the better you really know the nuts & bolts of your craft, the better you can fully express your talents.
• Creativity is built on the solid foundation of skill and technique.
• Learn to do for yourself, it's the only way to broaden your own skillset.
• Personality is a skill: humility, seduction, etc. These can be learned, trained, etc.
  • Confidence is a trait that has to be learned honestly and refreshed constantly. People see through inauthenticity.
• Perfect practice makes perfect.
• Practice without purpose is nothing more than exercise — you're not actively learning anything.
  • Too many people practice what they're already good at, and neglect skills that need work.
• Inexperience erases fear: you don't know what is, isn't possible.
• Switching gears is a good way to stay fresh: "never have a favorite weapon."

Chapter 10: Ruts and grooves

• Rut: spinning wheels, but going nowhere — signified by frustration rather than pleasure.
• Can be consequences of bad ideas, bad timing, bad luck, sticking to methods.
  1. See the rut: review effort along the way and make sure you're on the right path.
  2. Admit you're in one: you make a mistake. Deal with it.
  3. Get out of the rut: find a solution.
     1. Identify the process that isn't working.
     2. Write down your assumptions about it.
     3. Challenge those assumptions.
     4. Act on the challenge.
• When optimism turns to pessimism: this is really bad, and is usually caused by external factors (lots of them.)
• Change your environment.
• What is often needed is a new idea, so come up with a lot — set an aggressive quota.
  • Stretching your thinking causes creativity since you have to avoid the cliche and easy ideas.
  • You have to be willing to turn everything upside down, damn the human cost.
• Grooves are the opposite of ruts: straight and narrow w/o pause or hitch. The zone.

Chapter 11: an "A" in failure.

• Success is preferable to failure.
• If you let down your guard, or lower your standards, or compromise too quickly, or leave in something that should of been rejected, you'll have to deal with the other, more painful kind of failure: the public kind.
• "You do your best work after your biggest disasters."
• Failures of:
  • skill: reach exceeds grasp. Get to work!
  • concept: weak idea. Start over.
  • judgment: you are judged by the final project. Take responsibility for your own work.
  • repetition: living in the past. Move forward.
  • denial: refuse to deal with issues. Change.
• Learn from your failures and adjust.

Chapter 12: The long run

• Creative production and quality increases with age.
• Be in the bubble: a lot of the time, isolation is necessary for good production.

Immerse yourself in the details of the work. Commit yourself to mastering every aspect. At the same time, step back to see if the work scans, if it's intelligible to an unwashed audience. Don't get so involved that you lose what you're trying to say.

Dancers are either acceptable (great) or not (everything less than great.)