notes #7: being creative is easy actually

Hi friends,

Recently I have been working on what many would consider ‘creative work’ like writing, creating videos and building cool stuff.

In my view, everyone is involved in some sort of creative work — and the most important one being this: designing our lives.

As a rather logical person, creative work used to scare me a lot and I would either create stuff I think no one would ever be interested, or spend an insane amount of time reworking something.

Anyway, I decided to better understand the creative mindset and got to reading two books in particular:

• Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon

• The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

And what I realised is that there are a lot of misconceptions about creativity that are often taken for granted.

On Originality

Being original is promoted as the most desirable state in creative work. But the reality is this: almost every work (of art) is copied and comes from somewhere i.e. there is a place of origin.

There’s a common fear that copying someone else’s work makes you less creative, but in reality, imitation is a natural and necessary part of the creative process. Every great artist, writer, or entrepreneur has been influenced by others before them. The key is to copy intelligently—not to plagiarize, but to study, deconstruct, and remix ideas in a way that makes them your own.

You don’t just take one person’s work and call it yours—you borrow ideas from multiple sources, mix them together, and inject your own perspective. Over time, this process helps you develop a unique voice and style.

On Focus

I’m not super sure about this. So there are two schools of thought here:

• Focus on one thing and drive that to success. Everything else is a distraction.

• Do all your side projects and hobbies. They will eventually connect and empower each other.

My takeaway is this: have one main thing — and do one or two things on the side for a different reason. So suppose your main thing is working for money, then those things on the side could be for fun, for meeting people, or for improving your health.

The idea is that you still spend majority of your time on what is most important, while creating space for new connections.

On Inspiration

Many people believe that inspiration strikes like lightning—randomly and unpredictably. But in reality, creativity is often more about routine and discipline than waiting for a sudden spark. Inspiration comes from engagement, not passivity. The most creative people cultivate habits that expose them to new ideas regularly, whether it’s through reading, observing, or experimenting. The act of showing up consistently—whether it’s writing, painting, or coding—creates the conditions for inspiration to appear.

A practical way to think about it is this: Instead of waiting for a great idea to arrive, work on generating a lot of ideas. Even if 90% of them don’t work, the process keeps your creativity flowing, and the best ones will emerge over time.

On Constraints

Many people think that having unlimited resources, time, and freedom leads to the best creative work. But counterintuitively, constraints can often fuel creativity rather than hinder it. When you have limitations—whether it’s a deadline, a small budget, or specific rules to follow—it forces you to think differently, adapt, and come up with innovative solutions.

A great example of this is the world of startups. Many groundbreaking companies began with minimal resources, which forced them to be scrappy, efficient, and highly innovative. The same applies to any creative pursuit—constraints push you to be resourceful and find unique ways to express your ideas.

And that’s it. The creative mindset is less scary and more fun than you think — and once you start to see the world from this perspective, you’ll start to make a lot of interesting connections that you wouldn’t have otherwise thought of.

Remember: you don’t have to be a ‘creative’ person or do ‘creative’ work to make use of the above ideas. There is a lot of space for creativity in our lives.

Thanks for reading — and let me know what you think by replying to this email.

Cheers,
Joesurf

💡 Inspiration of the Week

🧠 Weekly Notes

📖 Book [10/10] — Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon:

• Nothing is truly original: Creativity is about remixing, borrowing, and transforming ideas from different sources. The best artists steal wisely. ⭐

• Side projects matter: The things you do for fun or out of curiosity often feed into your main work in unexpected ways. Keep exploring.

• Use constraints to your advantage: Limitations—whether time, resources, or rules—can push creativity forward by forcing you to think differently.

📖 Book [9/10] — The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin:

• Inspiration comes from action, not waiting: The best ideas don’t arrive randomly—they emerge when you create regularly and stay engaged with the process. ⭐

• Embrace the unknown: The magic of creativity lies in uncertainty. The best works come from exploration, not knowing exactly where you’ll end up.

• See like an artist: Train yourself to notice details that others overlook. The world is full of inspiration if you’re open to it.