Creative Rebellion Essays: what you do to live and what you live for
Leaves of Grass – photo by JC Caldwell
I had my monthly catch up with a new friend, who I’ve only ever connected with via Zoom. He’s a designer, he’s also half-Japanese like me, and we are both fascinated with the subject of creativity. The basic conundrum we both aligned on is that there is the seemingly at-odds state of needing to make a living and the need to create. Ideally, we would be making a living from what we love doing but that’s often the exception, not the rule.
In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the foundation of the pyramid is physiological needs (food, water, warmth, rest) and at the top is self-actualization (achieving one’s full potential, including creative activities). So much of our waking lives are spent at the lower levels of the hierarchy, and that’s completely understandable especially during these days of extreme financial uncertainty and the pandemic, but our true purpose in life is probably closer to the top of the pyramid.
In the introduction to my book, The Art of Creative Rebellion, I wrote about “doubling down on your true calling.”
“I have a theory that most people’s taste in music and literature, and maybe even art, is fixed and set in amber between the ages of thirteen and twenty-three. Those are the years when you are actually reading intently or listening with your whole being; and man, your favorite band is making the most important music in the world—too bad they (parent, teacher or old friend who is pushing thirty) just don’t get it. As folks age, they tend to get busy with work, marriage, kids, so there’s just no time or energy to read or get into new music. And they look back on those younger years with fondness. And they keep reliving those years. This explains Deadheads. The problem with this is that your ears, eyes and mind aren’t open to what’s happening right now. You start talking about the good ol’ days, and by the age of thirty you are locked into the past.
Another thing can happen at around thirty. You either completely give up on your dreams (to be a dancer, actor, musician, writer, designer, architect, director—you fill in the blank) to do something practical, something with health benefits, or you double down on your true calling. Among the humans I’ve known throughout my life, I’d say that at least 95 percent gave up on their true passions and just got jobs that eventually turned into what they do and identify with…”
As stated previously, we are born creative. I have a non-scientific hypothesis that the things you were interested in at age 6 are pretty much the things you are still interested in today. You just forgot. If you loved dancing at 6, you probably still do. If you loved drawing, you still do. If you loved performing, you still do.
And some of us try to make it in these arenas but most of us give up the rock and roll band aspirations or the dream of being a novelist or that brilliant startup idea by around age 28. Instead, we “grow up,” put aside “childish things,” get a proper job and settle in. We work, maybe fall in love, have children, all the while working like a maniac to get ahead. And then we are suddenly in our mid-life (commonly referred to as the mid-life crisis) and we realize that even though we’ve “made it,” we feel empty. Purposeless. Uncreative.
The pressures of growing up change us. Our families may not encourage our interests in music or art or computer programming. Society pushes girls and boys in different directions. Schools discourage non-linear thinking.
But it doesn’t have to be a choice of one thing or the other. I spoke to a young actor the other week who was giving up on his craft at the ripe age of 23 in order to get a real job, perhaps in tech and media, just to be near the creative fire. He asked for my guidance. I said that you can do both. Just because you are in a job or starting a company doesn’t mean you can’t write a stage play, rehearse it on Zoom, shoot it in parts, post a preview on Tik Tok and then post the entire thing on Vimeo or YouTube. Don’t create to make money. Create because it’s good for your human soul.
Anyone can do this by developing creative rituals – getting up earlier to work on a play or writing a book or sketching out a business plan, a life plan. Just an hour a day will do wonders. The power of compound interest works with creativity as well.
Invest in yourself as much as you invest in the workplace.
Humans can do two things: think and move.
AI will take over many jobs: taxi driving to airline check-ins to fast-food servers. So a lot of the more basic jobs will disappear. When self-driving cars take over entirely, there will be no more Ubers or Lyfts driven by humans.
So this leaves people with a lot more time to think. Creativity could, in fact, explode into a renaissance of solutions to address everything from social inequality to climate change, from art to science and philosophy. The bigger questions of one’s purpose during this time will come to the fore, especially with longer and longer lifespans.
There is no clear correlation between the rise of scientific, empirical thinking, technology and global religions. In fact, in this time of exponential technological advancement, humans may need belief systems more than ever and this can be seen in the current state of global affairs.
However, I hope that the rise in AI will allow for a new world culture of cooperation, understanding and travel (once we get through this pandemic). Instead of becoming even more mindless consumers of social media and things (more “stuff” as George Carlin says), we will focus on helping each other get through this thing called life.
However, we are all here for a short period of time. Meaning comes from being in the moment, fully.
As the Yuval Noah Harari wrote in 21 Lessons for the 21st Century:
“In itself, the universe is only a meaningless hodgepodge of atoms. Nothing is inherently beautiful, sacred, or sexy; human feelings make it so. It is only human feelings that make a red apple seductive and a piece of turd disgusting. Take away human feelings, and you are left with a bunch of molecules.”
Creativity, community, and family will be more important than ever.
AI will simultaneously reduce jobs but it will also be an extension of human potential. Human creativity working with AI will accelerate our individual and collective intelligence.
What becomes important will be what has always been important:
Family
Love
Philosophy, spirituality, and science
Art
Meaning in general
In other words, we may be able to finally have time to work out the self-actualization apex of Maslow’s hierarchy. We will be able to actualize our highest selves and take full advantage of this incredible, but short, journey called life.
John
What I’m watching:
Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars – I’ve always admired Eric Clapton’s musical prowess and especially his work in Cream as well as Derek and the Dominoes but my admiration increased after learning how he’s overcome his life challenges, from his cocaine habit to his alcoholism, and overcame tragedy (the loss of his child). He continues to be a champion of musicians through his Crossroads Festival, which benefits the Crossroads Center Antigua and has settled into the elder statesman of American blues. Check it out.
Project Power – Jamie Foxx shines in this high-concept film in which an illegal drug (that gives the user superpowers for five minutes) is on the streets of New Orleans and Foxx has to track down the source. It’s super popcorn fare but well-produced and written. A fun Saturday night flick.
What I’m reading:
The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything – by the late Sir Ken Robinson. I originally learned about Sir Robinson the way most of the world did via his famous TED speech “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” which was one of the most watched talks on the site (over 67 million views as of this writing). He died just last month. He did so much good, encouraging creative thinking in our teaching methods and reigniting the creative spark in adults. I’ve just started his book but I recommend anything that he’s written or spoken on. A truly enlightened person.
Leaves of Grass – the famous tome by Walt Whitman, which I’ve never actually ever had the pleasure of reading. Or rather, I’ve never made the time for it. I’ve read snippets of it over the years and one of my favorites is below:
“We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. So medicine, law, business, engineering... these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love... these are what we stay alive for.”
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