How to Generate Creative Ideas (Even If You’re Not Creative)

People always ask, "How do I come up with original ideas? " Well, the truth is, you don't. You steal them. In his book, Steal Like an Artist, Austin Cleon says it best. Nothing is original. Every new idea is really just a mix of older ones. All creative work builds on what came before. Even Shakespeare adapted most of his plots from existing stories. But here's the key. There's a difference between copying and stealing like an artist. When you copy, you're just reproducing something exactly as it is. When you steal like an artist, you're taking the essence, the idea, the technique, and then mixing it with other ideas to create something new. As they say, if you copy from one another, it's plagiarism. But many, it's research. Let me tell you a story that perfectly illustrates this concept. One morning, I was dropping my 4-year-old daughter off at kindergarten, and she was having one of those mornings, you know, the clingy ones. She was crying and didn't want me to leave. Through her tears, she grabbed my hand and said, "Please come play with me for just a little bit. Then you can go, okay? " I was late for a meeting, but you can't really say no to that, can you? So, I asked her teacher if it was okay, and she nodded with that understanding smile teachers have. We walked into the classroom together. I'm thinking, "Okay, I'll find some kids for her to join. She'll get distracted and then I will sneak out quietly. Perfect plan. " I spotted three little girls playing in the corner, so we headed over. When we got closer, I noticed that they were playing with Barbies, but all the Barbies were completely naked. I'm talking maybe 10 or 15 naked dolls just piled up on one side. And on the other side, there was another pile just clothes. All the Barbie dresses, shoes, accessories, everything mixed together. It was clear that they had undressed the Barbies on purpose. At first, I thought, "Oh no, what a mess is this, but then I watched what they were actually doing. " One girl would grab a random Barbie from the naked pile. Then she'd dig through the clothes pile and pull out whatever caught her eye. Maybe a sparkly dress, some boots, a tiny purse. She'd dress up the Barbie with this completely random combination. My daughter and I joined in. When we finished, I looked at what we had created and I was amazed. Our Barbie looked amazing. Not just ours. Every single Barbie those kids had dressed up looked incredibly creative and stylish in completely different ways. That's when it hit me. These kids had accidentally discovered the secret of creativity. They weren't trying to create the perfect Barbie outfit from scratch. They were taking existing pieces and combining them in new, unexpected ways without even knowing it. They were doing exactly what every creative person does to come up with breakthrough ideas. So, how can you apply this in your own life? Here's the process. First, figure out who to copy. Copy your heroes, the people you love, the ones who inspire you, the kind of people you want to be. And don't just steal from one hero, steal from many. Second, figure out what to copy. Don't just copy what you see. Copy how they think. If someone writes great stories, don't just copy their words. Figure out how they come up with ideas, how they structure their thoughts, and what makes their approach different. The goal is to understand their brain, not just their output. Third, add your own style. Mix all those elements in your own way. The magic isn't in creating something from nothing. The magic is in the combination, in seeing connections others don't see, and bringing together elements that haven't been mixed before. So, first lesson for you is this. Stop waiting for that completely original idea to strike. Instead, start collecting ideas worth stealing. Find your heroes. Understand how they think, then mix them in a new way. That's how you steal like an artist. That's how creativity really works. Lesson two, don't break the chain. The comedian Jerry Seinfeld shared his trick on how he managed to be creative in writing great jokes. He had a calendar on his wall. Each day he finished writing, he'd

mark a big fat X on that day. After a few days, he had a chain. He said, "Your only job is don't break the chain. " The truth is winning or finding great ideas often goes to the ones who simply stay in the game long enough. It's not always the smartest or the most talented. It's usually the one who keeps going. So, whatever your goal is, writing, coding, exercising, learning, create your chain, keep it going, don't break it. Lesson three, from copying to original. Kobe Bryant, the famous basketball player, said he used to watch tapes of all his heroes and try to copy their moves, but he couldn't do it exactly because his body was different. So, he adapted what he saw and turned it into his own style. And that's how he became Kobe. When we try to become our hero and fall short, that's when we start to find who we really are. So, copy your heroes. As you go, you'll notice parts that don't feel natural. That's not wrong. That's your voice showing up. Lesson four, set up two spaces. Austin doesn't use just one desk in his office. He uses two. One for analog and one for digital. At the analog desk, there's only paper, pens, pencils, index cards. No electronics allowed. This is where most of his ideas are born. Then there's the digital desk with his laptop, monitor, scanner, and tablet. That's where he edits and publishes. Austin says the computer is great for editing your ideas and publishing them out to the world, but it's not great for generating ideas. Why? Because there's a delete button. You can hit it anytime, even before you finish. But if you work with a sketchbook, for example, there's no delete key. You can keep doodling so your ideas can keep flowing. So here's what you do. If you've got a bigger desk, separate it into two. One part for digital and another part for analog. Grab some papers, markers, sticky notes. Then get messy. Scribble on paper, cut it up, and tape the pieces back together. Pin things on the walls and look for patterns. Let the creative juice flow. And make sure you stand up while you're working because when you stand and move, your brain gets going, too. Once you start getting your ideas, then you can move to your computer to execute and publish them. And when you start to lose steam, stay away from your computer and head back to the other part and play again. Lesson five, don't abandon your passions. When Austin was a teenager, he was obsessed with writing songs and playing in bands. But as he got older, he decided to focus only on writing. He quit music to take writing seriously. So no more playing music. Then after 5 years, he finally started playing music in a band again. And for the first time in a while, he finally felt alive. And here's the crazy part. Going back to his passion made his writing better. He said new synapses in his brain started firing. Ideas started flowing easily again. So nowadays he no longer abandons his passions. Every Sunday he gets together with his friends to play music for a couple of hours. They play just for fun. It recharges him. Austin says, "Don't abandon your passion. If you love different things, keep spending time with them. Let them talk to each other. something will start to happen. You might think you need to drop a passion to focus on your real work, but that passion might be the thing that keeps you alive, inspired, and growing. So, keep doing it just for fun. Don't try to make money or get famous from it. You just do it because it makes you happy. One day, when you look back, it'll all connect in a way you never expected. Lesson six, put constraints on your work. There's a famous children's book called The Cat in the Hat. What's interesting about this book is the author, Dr. Seuss, wrote it with only 236 different words. He put constraints on his work by limiting the number of words he could use to write the book. Now, here's another interesting story. His editor bet him that he couldn't write a book using just 50 different words. So, he took the challenge and wrote another book called Green Eggs and Ham. It turns out the book became one of the

bestelling children's books of all time. So, here's what you can learn from this story. You might think you need more to be creative, but Austin says you don't. Go make things with the time, space, and materials you have right now. Or better yet, put a constraint on it. For example, shoot a movie with your phone and a few friends. Start a business with no startup capital. Give yourself a limit and see the creativity that comes out of you. Lesson seven, write what you want to read. When Austin was 10, he watched Jurassic Park. He really loved it. The moment he walked out of the theater, he couldn't wait for the sequel. So the next day, he sat down at his old computer and wrote his own version of Jurassic Park 2 because why wait? Years later, when the real Jurassic Park 2 finally came out, it sucked. The version that he wrote was better. So what does this have to do with being creative? Austin says a lot of people ask, "What should I create or what should I write? " And the standard answer was write what you know. He says the best advice is not to write what you know, it's like. Write the kind of story you like best, the one you'd love to read. Think about your favorite work and your creative heroes. What did they miss? What didn't they make? What could have been better? If they were still alive, what would they be making today? If all your favorite creators got together and collaborated, what would they make with you leading the crew? Go make that stuff. Draw the art you want to see. Start the business you want to run. Play the music you want to hear. Write the books you want to read. Lesson eight. Keep a swipe file. Ever see a cool ad, a catchy headline, or a design so good you thought, I should save that, and then you forgot about it? That's why you need a swipe file. The more good stuff you collect, the more you can mix and match later. When you need fresh ideas, open up your swipe file. It's all there. Austin also suggests carrying a notebook and pen wherever you go. Jot down your thoughts and random ideas when they come. Write your favorite lines from books. When you hear someone say something cool or funny, jot that down, too. Lesson nine, don't wait to get started. When it comes to creative work, you don't find your voice before you start. You find it while you're doing the work. Austin says, "If I'd waited to know who I was before I started being creative, I'd still be sitting around. " Ask anybody doing creative work and they'll tell you the truth. They don't know where the good stuff comes from. They just show up to do their thing every day. You'll find your voice through consistent work. So don't wait to get started. Just start. Lesson 10. Leave home. You might not notice this, but your brain now gets too comfortable in the same surroundings. So you have to shake it up. Leave home. Spend time at different places. You got to leave at least once. And don't worry, you can always come back later. Travel makes the world look new. And when the world looks new, your brain starts working harder. And this doesn't mean you need to fly across the world. You can also go to different places just in your country. Just like Austin, he grew up in Ohio somewhere in the US. Now he lives in Texas, still in the US, but in a different state. And here's more. It helps to live around interesting people. and they don't have to do what you do. Austin says hanging out with writers and artists like him makes him feel stuck, like he's not growing. So, he spends time with filmmakers, musicians, and tech geeks. Different minds, different energy. It keeps things fresh. So, here's what you can do. Find a place that feeds you creatively, socially, and spiritually. Even if you've bought a home, leave it now and then. You can still connect with people close to you online. Lesson 11. Always be reading. Imagine walking into a library. You pick up one book. On the last page, you find a list of sources that leads you to another book. Then another, and another. That's how learning works. One thing leads to the next. There's a magic in reading. As I summarize books for this channel, I have to listen to a lot of audiobooks. And whenever I start listening, I get tons of new ideas. That's why I carry a notebook with me or take notes on my phone while listening to capture those ideas. Lesson 12. Keep

a praise file. Look, when you put your work online, you can't control how people react. Some might misinterpret what you do. Some might call you names. The trick is stay busy doing the work so that you don't have time to think about those negative comments. And here's more. Austin suggests keeping a praise file. When someone says something nice about your work, screenshot it and save it. There will be good days and bad days. And on those bad days when you feel like quitting or when you wonder why the heck you do what you do, check your praise file to keep you grounded. But don't get lost in past glory. Just keep it around for when you need the lift. Lesson 13. Take care of yourself and your finances. It sounds basic, but you still need to do it. Take a morning walk. Do some push-ups. Get plenty of sleep. Why? Because it takes a lot of energy to be creative. But there's more. Besides your body, Austin says you should also take care of your finances. Learn about money as soon as you can. Make a budget. Live within your means. Save as much as you can. Even if you're lucky enough to make money doing what you love, it'll probably take some time to get there. Until then, you'll need a day job that gives you money. So, if you've got a day job, figure out when you can make time for your art. Do your art every day, no matter what, and make sure your job leaves you enough energy to work on your art in your spare time. Lesson 14: Beor. Creative people need time to just sit around and do nothing. Austin says some of his best ideas come when he's bored. For example, ironing shirts is so boring. That's why he does it himself instead of sending them to the laundry. Boring tasks like that always spark ideas. But here's the problem. The phone. We're always connected now. So Austin forces boredom back into his life. Sometimes he rides the bus to work even though it's faster to drive. He uses that quiet time to drift off or he goes to a barber shop with no Wi-Fi, so he has to just sit and wait. So here's what you can do when you're out of ideas. Wash the dishes. Take a really long walk. Stare at a spot on the wall for as long as you can. Take time to mess around. Wander. Get lost. You never know where it's going to lead you. Creative ideas often come when you're not thinking about them. Lesson 15. Surround yourself with people better than you. So, here's the move. Online and offline. For online, follow the best people. The ones who are way smarter and better than you. The ones who are doing the interesting work. Pay attention to what they're talking about, what they're doing, and what they're linking to. And for offline, find the most talented person in the room. Go stand next to them, hang out with them, try to be helpful. But if you're the most talented person in the room, then you need to find another room. All right, let's do a quick recap of these 15 lessons. Number one, steal like an artist. Nothing is original, so collect ideas from multiple sources and combine them creatively. Like those kids mixing random Barbie clothes to create new looks. Number two, don't break the chain. Show up consistently every day. Mark X on your calendar like Jerry Seinfeld did every time he finished writing. Number three, from copying to original. Copy your heroes and turn it into your style. like Kobe Bryant studying basketball legends and then making it his own style because his body was different from his heroes. Number four, set up two spaces, analog and digital. Analog for creative work with your hands and digital for publishing. Number five, don't abandon your passions just to focus on your work. Keep doing what makes you feel alive, like Austin returning to his passion and it makes his writing better. Number six, put constraints on your work. Start doing work with whatever you have and see the creativity that comes out from it. Like Dr. Seuss wrote his book with only 50 different words and it became a bestseller. Number seven, write what you want to read. Create the stuff like how you want it to be. Like Austin wrote his own Jurassic Park sequel

because he couldn't wait for the real one. Number eight, keep a swipe file. Take screenshots of creative ideas and keep it under one folder. Number nine, don't wait to get started. You'll find your voice while doing the work, not before starting it. Number 10, leave home. Change your environment to stimulate new thinking, like Austin moving to a different state and hanging out with people from different fields. Number 11, always be reading. It sparks your brain with new ideas. Number 12, keep a praise file. When someone says something good about you, take a screenshot and save it. You need it during bad days. Number 13, take care of yourself and your finances. Exercise. Take a walk. Sleep early. To be creative, you need a lot of energy. Number 14, be bored. Ideas appear when you're not thinking. Austin chose riding the bus and he uses that quiet time to drift off. Number 15, surround yourself with people better than you. For online, follow people doing interesting work. For offline, hang out with the smartest people. Spend time with them. Out of these 15 lessons, I want to highlight lesson 13 where Austin says, "Take care of yourself and your finances. " He says, "Learn about money as soon as you can. " He says that because some people can only work on their creative passion after working hours, they have to keep the job they don't enjoy to get money. If you learn about money early on, you don't have to worry about money later. So, if you want to learn about money, check out this video. It's a compilation of 40 money lessons from the best finance books. Thanks for watching.