It’s my job as a marketer to come up with creative ideas.
However, original ideas don’t just appear before eliminating a lot of the poor ones.
So I began taking notes on my thoughts 2 years ago.
→ Highlighting my learnings.
→ Deconstructing topics.
→ And finding connections in between.
At first, it was a lot of bad drafts. The stuff no one is interested in.
Before better ones arrive.
Julian calls this the “creativity faucet” and explains:
“Visualize your creativity as a backed-up pipe of water. The first mile is packed with wastewater. This wastewater must be emptied before the clear water arrives.”
For example, composer Hans Zimmer painstakingly records each instrument note-by-note from world-class musicians and uploads them into his computer to find the best suited to create music.
It’s the process. Not the end result that needs attention.
Here are two ways that help:
A. The capturing process
Capture your thoughts and learnings.
B. The writing process
Turn thoughts into ideas.
I use Readwise (to capture) + Notion (to write).
Don’t begin with a blank page.
Instead, start with a poor draft of ideas.