John Cleese's 5 Factors to Make Your Life More Creative

Recently I came across a fantastic (and perfectly timed, of course) article on the website Brain Pickings.  Feeling in a bit of a creative slump, this article landed in my in box at a Silver Lined moment.

Do you know John Cleese? You probably do, right? If not, I’m excited to introduce him to you.  His website describes him as a “writer, actor and tall person.” Seriously. John Cleese was studying law in the early 1960s at Cambridge University when he was sidetracked, and joined the Cambridge University Footlights Revue, a performing group. I am especially fond of his work on Monty Python. What can I say? It’s my kind of humor. And then when he appeared on Will and Grace (for which he won the Emmy Award for his appearance as Lyle Finster), well, I was fully smitten.

In a 1991 lecture, John Cleese offers a recipe for creativity, delivered with his signature blend of cultural insight and comedic genius. Specifically, Cleese outlines “The 5 factors that you can arrange to make your lives more creative”

1. Space: “You can’t become playful, and therefore creative, if you’re under your usual pressures. That means sealing yourself off where you will be undisturbed.”  This is so hard for me and when I can’t/don’t do this, I am definitely not as creative.
2. Time: “It’s not enough to create space; you have to create your space for a specific period of time. It is by having a specific moment when the space begins and stops (about an hour and a half) that you can seal yourself off from the closed mode.” Dedicating an hour and a half is such a helpful hint for me.  All too often, I think: I need to work for multiple hours at a time. It is a Silver Lining to break creative time down into smaller, more manageable increments.
3. Time: “Giving your mind as long as possible to come up with something original, and learning to tolerate the discomfort of pondering time and indecision.” Yet another great insight that is completely enlightening.  I am definitely familiar with the discomfort of indecision!  Phew. It’s worth it, though!
4. Confidence: “Nothing will stop you being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake.” This makes so much sense to me. In life, I try to function in a proactive way rather from a defensive position.
5. Humor (& perhaps a 22″ waist): “The main evolutionary significance of humor is that it gets us from the closed mode to the open mode quicker than anything else.” I couldn’t agree more! A smile or giggle chills me out immediately!

You can watch the video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijtQP9nwrQA.

I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!