The Creative Act
Book Chat with Kai Zheng
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Episode Notes (by minute):
2:00: “it expresses aspects of my life that don't often come up in normal, everyday conversation. And I feel understood when I read this book.” - Kai
5:00: How Kai sees that the book has 3 arcs: the individual, the practice, and collaboration
8:00: How starting and continuing the podcast helped David realize that he is creative
11:00: “Creativity is not a rare ability. It is not difficult to access. Creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human. It is our birthright. And it's for all of us.” - from the book
16:00: How having a forcing function and creative constraints has sparked ideas and action for David
21:00: How Kai thinks running his company is a creative act
22:00: ”the purpose of the work is to awaken something in you first, and allow something to be awakened in others” - from the book
24:00: How podcasting made David a different person
26:00: How a class in college had a profound impact on Kai
31:00: Suggestions on how to break the sameness: small steps, change the environment, change the stakes, invite an audience, change the context, alter the perspective, write for someone else, add imagery, limit the information.
37:00: Why Kai likes to “commit to the bit” for close friends
41:00: How David pursues her creative projects (e.g. podcasting and Podcast Mixers) as a way to make progress
44:00: How David gets ideas from surfing the internet/Twitter
46:00: How viewing art as something that captures a moment in time can take a lot of the pressure off of creating art
48:00: How one takeaway from the book is that creativity is about doing it for your itself first
51:00: Kai’s parting thoughts: to be open to that belief that there are a lot of amazing things.
(Note: these are quick notes and takeaways by David Nebinski. Please see the episode for more accurate information)
Published Date: 2/15/24