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PHIL COOKE ON CREATIVITY Phil Cooke on Creativity © 2016 by Phil Cooke Published by Insight Publishing Group contact@freshword.com www.freshword.com 918-493-1718 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author Websites are provided strictly as a resource and there is no assumption of liability for their use or guarantee of their accuracy E-Book ISBN: 978-1-943361-09-0 CONTENTS Chapter 1: The Foundry of Creativity —4— Chapter 2: How to Overcome the Barriers to Creation — 10 — Chapter 3: The Beauty and Curse of Distraction — 20 — Chapter 4: Don’t Bow at the Altar of Productivity — 29 — Chapter 5: The Art of Perseverance — 37 — Chapter 6: Unique — 47 — Chapter 7: Overcoming the Resistance — 56 — About Phil Cooke — 63 — CHAPTER THE FOUNDRY OF CREATIVITY Creativity inspires us When I was growing up, movies and TV shows stimulated my creativity—and modeled a higher standard I watched episodes of The Lone Ranger as re-runs, and it was one of my favorite shows As you may remember, the Lone Ranger lived by a code, and as a kid, I knew the code by heart Clayton Moore played the part of the Lone Ranger, and when the series originally aired on ABC from 1949-1957, it was the highest-rated television program on the network in the early 1950s and its first true “hit.” In honor of what would have been Clayton Moore’s onehundredth birthday, Dawn More, his daughter, said something remarkable: Years after my father’s passing, I continue to receive fan letters—not just from the United States, but from all over the world The letters come from policemen, firemen and teachers who P H I L C O O K E O N C R E AT I V I T Y say they chose a life of protecting others, wanting to emulate the example my father set— not just as an actor, but as a man What’s his legacy? That he inspired and continues to inspire the notion of offering assistance without seeking acknowledgement or fame To come to the aid of someone in need Pretty powerful stuff I find that incredibly compelling: more than half a century after it aired, this TV program continues to inspire people But this is far from the first time I have seen the connection of media and the lives it can change Just recently I spoke at the Long Beach Leadership Prayer Breakfast in Long Beach, California The audience of about 400 was filled with civic leaders, professionals, pastors, business and ministry leaders, and law enforcement officials After my talk, a senior police officer and I spent a few minutes together He said that he grew up in East L.A.—a place where cops weren’t welcome Growing up, he never heard anything good said about the police, and as a result distrusted them completely But he watched TV, and a favorite program was Adam 12 He wondered, “Why aren’t the cops around here like that?” He couldn’t get that thought out of his mind Then one day he attended a job fair and met an L.A police officer who talked with him and encouraged him to become a teenage volunteer on the force That was almost thirty years ago Today he’s a respected leader in the Long Beach Police Department, and he said his career all started watching Adam 12 on TV His story and many others make me wonder—with a current television schedule filled with vampires, corrupt cops, hypocritical politicians, fathers who act like buffoons, soft-core T H E F O U N D R Y O F C R E AT I V I T Y porn, growing levels of violence, and more—who’s producing programs that will for this generation the same thing that The Lone Ranger and Adam 12 did for the last? Sure, those old shows may be corny by our standards today, but that doesn’t mean the same vision, ideals, and principles couldn’t be celebrated with contemporary storytelling Television and movies are more powerful that we can imagine Creators, writers, and producers—in our efforts to be cutting edge, show reality, make a political statement, or push the boundaries—let’s not forget the impact we could have simply by creating an example There are a lot of kids out there watching and waiting, and as the creatives shaping modern media, I think we all have a calling to not only create but to inspire If They Can Do It… At the National Religious Broadcasters Convention I recently attended, I had the opportunity to meet Libby Stewart and Erika Filer Both young ladies are fourteen and in the eighth grade Unhappy with the focus they were seeing in magazines and social media, they decided to create their own account on Instagram for young teenage girls They’re called “TheChristianGirls,” and when I met them, they had a few thousand followers and were growing But that wasn’t enough They soon developed the account into a Christian teenage girl magazine on the Instagram platform they call “Girl Talk.” They design their own magazine covers for each issue, D.I.Y without any cover design app, and every other week they alternate writing the articles A signup sheet is posted on the P H I L C O O K E O N C R E AT I V I T Y account, and the articles are sent via direct message to all who subscribe The bottom line is that while the rest of us “creative” types are complaining that we don’t have big enough budgets, better equipment, or more qualified people, here are two fourteenyear-old girls who have launched a teen girl magazine by means of a social media platform I like to tell the creatives I work with to check them out and see what these motivated teenagers are doing while we’re sitting around waiting for our next big break I don’t know about you, but I’m keeping an eye out for Libby and Erika They’re going to something remarkable in the future, and that both challenges and inspires me It should serve as encouragement to all of us who create for a living If these two girls, with very limited resources and experience, can be bold enough to stand up for what they believe and create something they and others want to read, we who’ve made careers in this industry can certainly the same! The Foundry So why don’t we? Why don’t we boldly launch out and create the types of compelling, engaging materials that we, and others, want to read, watch, view, and enjoy? I believe that all too often, we’re waiting for everything to be perfect or for our circumstances to change One of my favorite lines in film is when Orson Welles improvised a scene while playing Harry Lime in The Third Man in 1949: In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but T H E F O U N D R Y O F C R E AT I V I T Y they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace—and what did that produce? The Cuckoo clock As creatives, we work hard trying to create a perfect world in which to work We want all the best tools and resources, the right team around us, and leaders who understand us We want people to be nice and supportive But the truth is, when you look at the pantheon of artistic work throughout the centuries, the greatest creativity was often expressed in the midst of war, economic uncertainty, fear—or through the haze of addiction, mental illness, or abuse Sure, great work has sometimes been done by rich people in cushy circumstances or by normal people having a pleasant life But when you compare that to the massive amount of creative work born from poverty, pain, frustration, and repression, it doesn’t really balance The lesson we should learn? W For a creative person, the difficult circumstances you’re going through right now may be the greatest gift you’ve ever received W So, work to make things better Rise up Do what you can to relieve the pain But the truth is, pain is often the foundry where great creative work is formed P H I L C O O K E O N C R E AT I V I T Y I know in my own life, times of fear, uncertainty, or pain were electric with possibilities I was forced to express myself because there was no alternative Creating with no safety net can be terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time English author Samuel Johnson said nothing focuses the mind like a hanging “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” When all the other options are gone, your creative horizon becomes very apparent It’s time for us to stop complaining and start creating Don’t celebrate the obstacles; embrace them Realize that you stand in a long line of creative men and women who broke through the barriers—no matter how challenging—and created something for the ages CHAPTER HOW TO OVERCOME THE BARRIERS TO CREATION Why creative people make excuses? Why we not live up to our own expectations? I believe there are many reasons But let’s delve into a few and talk about specific ways to overcome these creation barriers Far too often, I see creatives give up projects (and even careers) because they’re convinced they just don’t have the talent They say things like, “I wasn’t born with the gift of writing,” or, “I’m not a good public speaker and never will be,” or, “I’m not a born leader.” It makes me want to ask, “If innate ability wasn’t a factor, what could you accomplish? What amazing things would you add to the world if you simply possessed the talent?” Think about it for a minute The funny thing is, recent research has dramatically disproven the idea that talent is innate 10 P H I L C O O K E O N C R E AT I V I T Y Be Creative, Be Yourself I love creativity, and I think we should all be more creative Some people think they simply aren’t creative, but the truth is, we’re all born with fantastic imaginations Just put a group of toddlers in a room and you’ll see they’re all wildly creative! Everyone starts creative But something happens around elementary school that starts pushing that creativity to the back of the room So an important question is—considering the millions of writers, artists, inventors, and filmmakers that have gone before us—can we actually be creative or original in the sense of being true innovators? How often can we actually be the first to come up with an idea? Creativity is a wonderful thing, but can we really be original? How many times can we something that hasn’t been done before? Mark Twain said that Adam was the only person in history who knew he was the first to have said or done anything So true originality isn’t the real issue W The real issue is to think less about creativity and more about being yourself W Writing great stories, preaching powerful sermons, or making compelling films isn’t about being the first to say it— it’s about saying it in a way that is exclusive to you As I share in my book, Unique, when you bring your distinctive personality, your past, and your perspective to the table, it doesn’t 50 UNIQUE really matter if that story has been told before, because you’re about to say it in a fresh, new way Likewise, it doesn’t matter if you’re the first to tell the story if you’re not authentic in how you tell it What’s important in the artistic process is what you bring to the experience and how your unique gifts interpret it’s meaning In pursuit of being original, too many people tell wooden stories, or default to gimmicks Worry less that your next project is original or creative and focus more on being yourself The story may have been told before, but there’s never been another you No one has ever told it from your matchless perspective The Power of Unique, Original Thinking In an interview with Stefan Sagmeister, an Austrian graphic designer, he put words to a sentiment that I have held for years “I am very critical of the storytelling theme,” Sagmeister explains, “because these ‘storytellers’ are not storytellers “People who actually tell stories, meaning people who write novels and make feature films, not see themselves as storytellers… There is this fallacy out there… ‘I’ve seen a lot of films, so I must be able to one.’ And of course, this is the most stupid thought ever It’s like, ‘Oh, I’ve watched the philharmonic, that’s why I’m a virtuoso violin player.’” So what does it take to be a legitimate creative and not one of these who propose to be something they’re not? If you’re a writer, designer, artist, or creator of any kind, I can’t stress enough the importance of unique, original thinking For instance, there are literally thousands of books written by pastors today—but how many actually sell outside their 51 P H I L C O O K E O N C R E AT I V I T Y own church? Better yet—how many actually make the bestseller lists? Not many In the same vein, there are millions of screenplays, business books, novels, and more that get churned out every day I spoke at a national publisher’s conference recently, and one of the participants mentioned that two million different books will be printed in the next year alone While virtually all can find an online outlet, only a small fraction will show up at brick-and-mortar bookstores, and even fewer will actually find readers The truth is, if you want to get noticed, you can’t recycle old ideas You’ve got to start thinking original thoughts Now, that doesn’t mean you have to be a heretic or go way outside the bounds to be different You don’t have to invent a whole new theology or philosophy to stand out What I’m talking about is a unique approach, an original perspective, a new thought Study the great writers and great books They’re not halfbaked ideas or concepts everyone has already heard about They’re not re-edited or copied ideas from other writers or speakers And they may not even be entirely original, but they all possess a new way of looking at the issue that people find compelling and significant Does your writing that? Is it a truly original idea? Is it something nobody else has thought of before? To jump-start your writing or speaking career, here’s what I recommend: Read my book, Unique: Telling Your Story in the Age of Brands and Social Media It was primarily written for leaders of nonprofit and religious organizations, but the principles apply to you as well Think carefully about your unique story and the message that you and you alone were 52 UNIQUE created to bring into the world What message were you born to communicate? Read everything you can on that subject Get completely familiar with everything others have written, so you’ll know when you’re just restating what others have already written Otherwise, you’ll never recognize an original idea Then stop writing Don’t write a word until you’ve developed your unique, original approach to the issue Don’t get weird, just get innovative When I have a new writing project, I put it off as long as I can I want to read what others are saying, research, think about new possibilities, and let it all churn up inside my brain Then, when I can’t stand it anymore, I sit down and it starts flowing Don’t give people what they expect Give them what they never dreamed possible—you The Power of Knowing Who You Are You may have the greatest idea in the world for a book, movie, business, or nonprofit But when writing Unique, I discovered that today, living in the most cluttered culture in history, you also have to consider how to cut through all the competition and get noticed In any given year, traditional publishers produce hundreds of thousands of different new books, and another three million plus are self-published A thousand movies are made, countless numbers start social media feeds, and so on—it’s very 53 P H I L C O O K E O N C R E AT I V I T Y difficult to stand out The world is a confusion of faces, brands, and ideas Branding consultant Marty Neumeier calls today’s culture information-rich and time-poor In this environment, we must find easy ways to help us get to the real information we need to make decisions about life To the potential viewer, supporter, or customer, it’s ultimately about a person, church, or organization’s identity—helping people understand who they are and what they mean to a person’s life It’s about the story that surrounds who you are—a story that creates focus for your ministry In short, it’s about your “brand.” You must ask the question: What people think of when they think of you? The question you must answer, however, before you consider this is: Do you know who you are? Originality for A Greater Purpose Your challenge today is how to express your story in a media-dominated culture How to tell our story alongside the maddening swirl of media “clutter”—TV, radio, computer, digital music player, Internet, mobile phone, and other technologies competing for our attention How you get a message heard through the massive and growing wave of media static out there? It’s about telling your story and making that story connect with your audience There’s more at stake here than most people realize The culture wars about politics, faith, values, gender, and more are tearing this country—and many parts of the world—apart 54 UNIQUE Unless we can learn to tell our story more effectively, authentically, and originally, we will simply continue to be seen as out of touch and irrelevant A new voice in the public square needs to be worth listening to, and in a media-driven culture, it’s not just about content anymore If you feel the passion to be an artist, a creator of ideas, it is no longer enough to simply struggle for originality as a goal in its own right Your life has a mission, an assignment, and it is your job to find and define your unique voice in the deafening crowd 55 CHAPTER OVERCOMING THE RESISTANCE Why aren’t you writing your book, creating your film, starting your business, launching your ministry, and making your big idea happen? Probably because of what writer Steven Pressfield calls “resistance”—that urge to anything other than sit down and what you actually need to I’m working on my next book, and yet every morning I have an almost uncontrollable urge to something—anything— else: check my email, rearrange my closet, organize my desk, take a walk, or a million other things The idea of “resistance” is far more powerful than we think, and unless we learn to overcome it, we’ll fail every time In fact, in his recent book, The War of Art, Pressfield doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to how big an issue “resistance” really is: How many of us have become drunks and drug addicts, developed tumors and neuroses, succumbed to painkillers, gossip, and compulsive cell-phone use, simply because we don’t that thing that our hearts, our inner genius, is 56 P H I L C O O K E O N C R E AT I V I T Y calling us to do? Resistance defeats us If tomorrow morning by some stroke of magic every dazed and benighted soul woke up with the power to take the first step toward pursuing his or her dreams, every shrink in the directory would be out of business Prisons would stand empty The alcohol and tobacco industries would collapse, along with the junk food, cosmetic surgery, and infotainment businesses, not to mention pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and the medical profession from top to bottom Domestic abuse would become extinct, as would addiction, obesity, migraine headaches, road rage, and dandruff Look at your own heart Unless I’m crazy, right now a still small voice is piping up, reminding you, as it has ten thousand times before, about the calling that is yours and yours alone You know it No one has to tell you And unless I’m crazy, you’re no closer to taking action on it than you were yesterday or will be tomorrow You think resistance isn’t real? Resistance will bury you You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist At eighteen he took his inheritance, seven hundred kroner, and moved to Vienna to live and study He applied to the Academy of Fine Arts and later to the School of Architecture Ever see one of his paintings? Neither have I Resistance beat him Call it an overstatement, but I’ll say it anyway: it was easier for Hitler to start World War II than it was for him to face a blank square of canvas 57 O V E R C O M I N G T H E R E S I S TA N C E Over dramatized? Maybe But the question remains Isn’t it time to overcome the resistance in your life? Do the Work Nearly every week someone comes to me in frustration and says something like, “I need to write a book, but I can never find the time.” Or, “I have a screenplay I want to write, but I just have too much to during the day.” Honestly, in most cases, even if they had nothing else to do, most still wouldn’t actually get around to writing But just in case “finding the time” is a real problem for you, let me offer this suggestion: Get up and it Write, create, think First thing in the morning—before you check your email, before you post on social media, and before you make any calls This morning, I got up at 6:00 am, wrote an online feature story for a client, wrote two posts for my blog, and updated the copy on our company website—and it’s barely 8:00 am Two hours, and I knocked off three important writing projects that have been nagging at me for two weeks As I mentioned earlier, I actually wrote my first two books working just from 6:00-8:00 am But if I had been up at 6:00 am checking my email, responding to the twenty to thirty emails I typically have in the morning, reading everyone’s Facebook timeline, checking Twitter, then finding funny things to post on my social media pages, it would be 11:00 am, and I would have no writing to show for it Try it Like an addiction, email and social media pull hard In fact, it’s such a challenge there are numerous software apps out there that block your email, social media, and other distractions from your computer screen However, I can’t help 58 P H I L C O O K E O N C R E AT I V I T Y but think that if you really need that kind of help, you may not be a serious writer Because serious artists the work Do the work Be a serious writer or creator The Art of Handling Multiple Projects Writer’s block, boredom, hitting a wall—all are terms creative people use when they run out of ideas One of the best ways to overcome those moments of terror is to work on multiple projects at once (Not “multitasking” but having multiple projects to move to when necessary.) In fact, multiple projects may be the best remedy for creative block Plus, I’ve discovered that if you actually want to make a living with your creative profession, managing multiple projects becomes a necessity But if you struggle with managing simultaneous creative efforts, here are four keys that should help: ‘ Invest in better creative tools I’m always shocked at the number of writers, musicians, filmmakers, and other artists who skimp on apps and other resources For instance, my favorite writing tool is Scrivener, which makes it incredibly easy to work on multiple writing projects at the same time It leaves apps like Microsoft Word and Pages in the dust when it comes to productivity Here’s my challenge to you—if you want to be a professional, then act like one and start by investing in yourself Don’t let another day go by without getting your hands on the tools that will help you focus on ideas and stop struggling just to get those ideas captured ‘ Find natural places in the work to pause At any given moment I’m working on a couple books, a series of blog posts, and a handful of magazine articles—not to mention scripts for our Cooke Pictures clients But 59 O V E R C O M I N G T H E R E S I S TA N C E I’ve discovered that I need to find a bit of closure on one before I can switch gears to another project Get to the end of a section or chapter, complete a rough draft, or create an outline before you stop one project Finding that natural stopping place really makes a difference when you pick it up later ‘ Know what time of day you peak creatively When you understand how your internal clock works, then you can better prioritize your projects For instance, books and long form articles are the most challenging for me creatively, so I work on them in the morning when I’m at my creative best Short scripts or blog posts are a bit easier, so I can them in the afternoon or evenings From time to time, I’ll have an unexpected creative burst, but I never forget that real creativity isn’t about inspiration, it’s about routine ‘ Create a “parking lot” for your other ideas Managing multiple creative projects means that as you work on one, ideas for your other projects will suddenly pop into your head That alone scares some creatives and causes them to feel they have to stick to a single project at a time But the solution is simple—just create a document, whiteboard, or notebook to “park” those ideas into until you have the time to think about them This is another area where Scrivener works well I’ll create an idea file where wild, out of context, or unworkable ideas can quickly be recorded, so they’ll be handy to work with later Never forget that ideas are the most fragile things in the world If you don’t write them down, you’ll lose them forever Managing multiple projects isn’t as difficult as you think In fact, it could be one of your greatest creative techniques 60 P H I L C O O K E O N C R E AT I V I T Y (And by the way, the “parking lot” concept is fantastic for meetings Stop allowing your creative meetings to wander down rabbit trails When someone has a different idea, stop them, put it in the parking lot, and then you can address it at a later date That idea alone is a fantastic tool for keeping your meetings shorter and on track.) The First Step to the Rest of Your Life This entire book has been about creativity We’ve talked about the things that inspire us, and we’ve discussed the foundry where creative ideas are forged But for every creative effort, we face opposition—the resistance These barriers to creation are often only in our minds, but that doesn’t make the battle any less real To create art, we must fight a war—a war within ourselves and against the hindrances that would cause our dreams to die before ever seeing the light of day We all have a dream project It might be writing a book, launching a nonprofit, starting a business, producing a film, birthing a ministry, and much more The problem is WE’RE NOT DOING IT So we have a choice We can: Keep lying about our dream—telling people “you’re eventually going to it” and hope for the best Do it Simple That’s it Just it When you get to the end of your life, will you be OK with excuses like “I had a lot of email,” or, “My schedule was really busy,” or, “I never seemed to find the time.” I’m not sure about you, but I won’t, and I’ll bet you feel the same way So there’s only one choice: Start today Write one page of your screenplay, music score, or book Schedule actors 61 O V E R C O M I N G T H E R E S I S TA N C E for an audition Take a class File the legal papers for the business or nonprofit Create a business plan W Whatever your dream is, there’s always a first step W What’s yours? I can’t tell you what it is That’s your job The calling is within you—you are a creative mind, and your fulfillment will come from being true to yourself, embracing the hard work, and cultivating the discipline and routine necessary to make a difference To go from someone who had an unrealized dream to the person who has made a mark on society by finishing well The choice is up to you 62 ABOUT PHIL COOKE An internationally known media producer, writer, and speaker, Phil Cooke has actually produced programming in nearly 50 countries around the world In the process, he’s been shot at, survived two military coups, fallen out of a helicopter, and in Africa, been threatened with prison And during that time—through his company Cooke Pictures in Burbank, California—he’s helped some of the largest nonprofit organizations and leaders in the world use the media to tell their story in a changing, disrupted culture According to former CNN journalist Paula Zahn, Phil is rare—a working producer in Hollywood with a Ph.D in Theology He’s appeared on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and his work has been profiled in the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal His book Jolt!: Get the Jump on a World That’s Constantly Changing shares his secrets of making today’s culture of disruption and change work for you One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to Do helps you find the great purpose and calling for your life—and was named by The Washington Post as one of the Top Five Business Books for 2012 He’s also written Unique: Telling Your Story in the Age of Brands and Social Media which is changing the way nonprofit and religious organizations tell their story He’s lectured at universities like Yale, University of California at Berkeley, and UCLA In addition to writing his blog at philcooke.com, he also blogs for The Huffington Post, and is a contributor to Fast Company, Forbes.com, and FoxNews.com Phil has been a long time member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 63 To find out more about Phil Cooke, visit his blog at: philcooke.com To learn more about Cooke Pictures, the media production company founded by Phil and his wife Kathleen: cookepictures.com The Influence Lab is their nonprofit organization focused on teaching media principles on a global basis: influencelab.com 64