How to find "creative flow" in life
👋 Welcome back to the newsletter!
Every week, I share a few things I think you'll like to keep you creatively inspired and successful in your artistic pursuits.
Let's jump in. 🚀
Personal Update: Thank you for the kind messages concerning my safety during the L.A. fires. I'm very grateful that beyond unhealthy air conditions, my wife and I have been safe, but we know many areas and people we love who have been impacted by this unprecedented disaster. If you've got the means to contribute and would like to help the relief to our community, you can use this GoFundMe campaign - anything helps at this time.
📚 Book I'm Reading: Flow by Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi
There’s nothing like the thrill of being totally immersed in your work.
In these moments, everything else falls away - what you were doing before, what you were planning after, whether you’re hungry, tired, or have to use the bathroom…
Nothing else matters except the task at hand.
And that’s what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls “flow”.
I picked up this classic book in an effort to understand what exactly creates the conditions for “flow state” to occur.
(For me, it happens most often when I’m creating - composing, writing, or cooking - but I never quite understood why.)
Mihaly delivers on the answer to that question and much, much more.
Now, as a disclaimer, this book is dense.
It covers decades of research, collecting data and interviews from individuals in numerous professions including artists and athletes, and serves as a thesis not only to “flow state”, but to answer one of life’s fundamental questions:
How can we live our lives with greater ease, enjoyment, and personal fulfillment?
I’m only a quarter of the way through so far, but it’s already given me lots to think about.
Here’s three of my favorite quotes from the book so far:
- “There is no inherent problem in our desire to escalate our goals, as long as we enjoy the struggle along the way. The problem arises when people are so fixated on what they want to achieve that they cease to derive pleasure from the present.”
- “The best moments of our lies are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… the best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”
- “When we choose a goal and invest ourselves in it to the limit of our concentration, whatever we do will be enjoyable. And once we have tasted this joy, we will redouble our efforts to taste it again.”
If you’re interested in reading it with me, click here to grab it for yourself.
🎙️ Interview w/ Stephen Spielberg & Tom Cruise
Found this great chat, with lots of deep insights from these two collaborators and creators:
My personal favorite section is around 11:36, when Cruise and Spielberg discuss academic knowledge versus creative experience and finding one's artistic voice.
(My Pro Group clients and I chat on this stuff regularly, so it's interesting to see that the topics are relevant across other art forms as well.)
Here's two of my favorite lines from Spielberg:
- “I'm more interested in the storyteller that doesn't know anything about where to put the camera than someone who knows everything about the camera but nothing about the story process.”
- “There's nothing wrong with learning your craft by being derivative, but at some point you're going to need to find your natural voice and find a way to give voice to who you are.”
✍️ Journal Reflections: Remember Your Inner Child
(Taken from 11/05/24, sitting on a park bench near my apartment.)
I love being outdoors and listening to the world in stillness.
When I was a kid, sitting in silence came easy.
I could do things for hours upon hours undisturbed and undistracted - like riding my bike up and down our tiny dead-end street until my parents called me in for dinner.
They always said that I was easily able to keep myself entertained.
Back then, curiosity and imagination were my "true North" for the compass of my attention.
But as I grew up, I felt judged for who I was - and in turn began to judge myself, too.
- Imagination turned into childishness.
- Boredom turned into laziness.
- Curiosity turned into nosiness.
But no more.
I've done work to expose and unlearn those limiting beliefs within myself, to unshackle my inner child and experience the Source of inspiration that lives within and around me.
Yet I know that the work's only just begun.
For now, I'll sit in stillness.
Because it's not an answer I'm searching for when I feel lost.
It's a feeling I rediscover in myself when I forget.
👋 Ready to work together?
Here's how to get started:
- 🎥 My YouTube. If you want to see me in action and learn some useful tips/tricks along the way, you'll find 300+ free videos here.
- 🎻 My Mockup Course. Learn how to perform and program realistic orchestral mockups in minutes in this no fluff, 3-hour crash course.
- 🎬 My 6-Week Bootcamp. In 2022, I made $80k composing for film, animation, and games. My Composing Career Bootcamp teaches you exactly how to land your first gigs, build your network, and market yourself online - no secrets. (100+ students, 5 stars)
- 🚀 Join the Pro Group. I work closely with a handpicked group of composers seeking deeper confidence in their work and personal alignment in their careers. If you're interested, book a call and let's chat.
That's all for now!
Hit reply to share thoughts or say hi.
Otherwise, happy music-making and see you next time. 🙂
- Zach
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