There are times when you feel inspired, and creativity just flows.
But what about the others, when you just can't seem to come up with anything new?
Waiting for ideas to come will only make things worse.
There's a chicken and egg situation here. How can you create something if you don't have the ideas?
Counter-intuitively, creativity is itself spurred by action.
For Example, if you want to start a blog, book, or newsletter. Just write whatever comes first to mind about your subject without thinking too much about it. You don't even have to publish it.
It's simply about building momentum.
If you are building a piece of software, this can mean writing some code and pushing it to source control. It doesn't have to make it into the final product. It's just to get you going.
If you are building a hot sauce company, start with creating the first batch and iterating upon that. No worries if it ends up looking more like hot soup instead.
If you want to start a YouTube channel, you can do a few test runs entirely unscripted. Then if you find it cringeworthy, delete the videos after watching them and re-shoot based on what you observed.
Once momentum builds, the flow state will take over. You will be flooded with new ideas even when you least expect them. It's like opening a tap of inspiration. Your brain will start connecting pieces from your life and research and apply your own unique voice to it. Everything you do will spark something, and you will begin to move naturally in the direction of creativity on demand.
But, make sure you stick to ONE thing at a time. Otherwise, your brain won't know which pieces to connect. Should it be thinking about the hot sauce business or the YouTube channel? Or was it the second YouTube channel? Keep it simple.
The first piece is usually the hardest. After that, it gets easier. Writing the first post for this newsletter was the biggest challenge for me. After that, I could build upon the ideas and develop a consistent writing habit. The same thing happened with the premium posts; the first one took me weeks of procrastination and editing, and I wasn't sure if I'd have anything to say. But since then, I have posted a second and third much more fluidly, with many more on the way.
Your ideas and vision will naturally evolve and morph into something unexpected and beautiful. But this can only happen if you take action. Just thinking about something will not build the confidence required to ship your work. It's too easy to overthink things or for self-doubt to creep in.
Taking action, however, will build your self-confidence and open the tap to infinite creativity.
After that, you'll need to force yourself to take a break. But would you really want a break when the process is so enjoyable?
You tell me.