Vol. 8: Learning from our childhood selves.

A weekly newsletter on our modern Renaissance, the issues and ideas driving today's creative work.

You were born creative. Just ask your childhood self.

From my Substack,?Renaissance Plan.?Read the full article here.

George Land and Beth Jarman were asked in the 1960s by NASA to develop a test that could help identify the creative potential of candidates for the space program. The resulting test proved valuable for its intended purpose, but its secondary insights were even more profound for how we think about our own ability to be creative.

I’ve often mentioned this test, which was subsequently delivered to 1,600 children, in my own work. Land and Jarman concluded that 98% of children between four and five years old “fell in the genius category of imagination.” As the test was then applied to older adolescents and eventually adults, an almost linear decline in creative thinking ability was observed. The conclusion?

Creativity is an inherently human trait. We learn how not to be creative, not the other way around.

They say that youth is wasted on the young. And that may be true. As we gain the wisdom and perspective to live more full lives, our bodies age and our responsibilities pile up, preventing us from living free and enjoying all of the possibilities life affords us.

But what if creativity offered us a portal back to our youth? What if creativity opened neural pathways that helped us feel joy and wonder well beyond when society told us it was acceptable to do so? Creativity won’t make the mortgage go away, but it might give you a new lease on youthful thinking, behavior, and joy.

I, like many people I know, oscillate between pursuing creative fulfillment and career success. In the last three years I went from studying improvisational comedy at The Groundlings as a form of “grad school” to getting my MBA in Organizational Leadership, a more “adult” pursuit. The truth is, I spend a lot of time trying to figure out where to spend my time. I waste time worrying about wasted time, a vicious cycle that leaves me feeling older than I am. The cure, always, though I forget so often, is to live more creatively.

We are born creative beings, we are divergent thinkers, coloring outside of the lines almost by default until our elders tell us the sky has to be blue and mistakes are too costly. Still, even when we grow and learn to constrain our drawings to within the lines, we yearn for the freedom of expression that we had as kids.

In the hierarchy of needs, Maslow places physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, and esteem as the first four layers. At the very top after all of those are met Maslow places self-actualization. That is, “the realization of a person’s potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth, and peak experiences.” Notably, “creativity” sits in that top layer as well. The older we get, the more pressing our needs of safety, belonging, and physiological health become. And yet we are still inherently creative beings. I’ve never really agreed with Maslow on this hierarchy because to me self-actualization is more a wrapper around our entire lived experience. It’s not something we choose to pursue when every other need is satisfied, it is a burning need instilled in each of us from birth that must be satisfied lest we sacrifice our ability to express ourselves and our identities.

I’ve met and spoken to unhoused artists who have incredible abilities in painting and sculpture. Surely their physiological needs are not met so why do they still create? Because something compels them to do so.

I can’t tell you what you should create or how to activate that latent part of your soul. But I can tell you that you must do so, not because it will earn you a living or achieve some other material goal. You must create because it is the link back to your childhood self. The one who was unburdened by regret, or by adult responsibilities and worldly commitments. When we create, even in small ways, we dust off other parts of ourselves that may have been hidden. We rediscover the parts of ourselves that originally made us who we are. And we open a future of possibilities that is blind to age or stage of life. Creativity is the key.

Read the full article and subscribe?here.

Community thoughts.

More creativity for more people is a good thing.

As I think more about artificial intelligence and its growing role in how creative work is done, I can't help but continue to be more hopeful about the long-run possibilities that can come from technology like ChatGPT and DALL-E. This article from Wired explores how these tools can raise the bar on creative work, and with it, raise the consciousness on the value of creativity at large. The author also makes a bold prediction: "Generative AI will alter how we design just about everything. Oh, and not a single human artist will lose their job because of this new technology."

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Meet me in Chicago.

I've posted it before but our Monotype Brand Talks event is fast approaching on September 20th in the windy city. I'm really excited to be hosting the event which will feature talks from amazing creators like James Sommerville OBE and LaShun Tines , as well as networking with the city's design tastemakers. If you are available and interested, registration is now open but filling fast. I'd love to see you there!

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Happy Labor Day!

Made a national holiday back in 1894, Labor Day marks the unofficial end to summer for many of us. But the significance of the holiday goes much deeper, and is thrust into a brighter spotlight today under an ongoing discussion on the role of work in our lives, and a push for labor to increase its share of earnings after decades of increased productivity without much to show for it. The 纽约时报 penned this reflection on the holiday in today's issue which is worth a read.

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Wishing you a creative week ahead!