Ed Catmull on The Creative Process (and how it applies to life).

Don’t wait for things to be perfect before you share them with others. Show early and show often. It’ll be pretty when we get there, but it won’t be pretty along the way.
— Ed Catmull, Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Ed Catmull, the co-founder of Pixar, describes the creative process  in his book, Creativity Inc., as having two fundamental laws: story is king and trust the process. 

What he means is that you can shoot on really terrible devices like an iPhone and still tell a great story. And secondly, trusting the process is about having somatic faith in the work you are doing and knowing it will work out.

Beyond the binary business applications, these two laws of creativity are apt for life.

Law #1: Story is King

The story you tell yourself on a day-to-day basis will determine the quality of life. No matter what has happened to you or what will happen to you, just know, that life is always happening for you not to you (shot Mr Tony Robbins for that).

We are tribal beings. We think in stories. So it’s important that the story you tell yourself daily is one that has meaning.

Law #2: Trust the Process

Like creativity, trusting the process of life can be difficult. It requires you to not connect the dots going forward, as Steve Jobs famously said at his Stanford commencement speech, but only after the fact.

Trusting the process is a skill. Trusting the process is a mechanism to let the unseen forces of the universe elicit serendipity.

It may take years, but the process is the process, and trusting it will be one of the best things you do.

What story do you tell yourself moment-to-moment?

See you in the comments.

Much love, Josh.


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