Do you know what really upsets me?
(Apart from peanut butter.)
When I see one of my creatives wandering through their day with headphones on. Why are they cutting themselves off from the world?
Inspiration is all around us. All that we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell helps us to form new ideas, even if we don’t always realize it.
So why reduce the amount of inspiration reaching you?
Why wear headphones?
To be a successful creative person you have to be fascinated by the world and all its wonders, absurdities, failings, and mishaps. The world can be a constant source of inspiration but you must absorb it through all your senses before you can hope to channel it into fresh ideas.
Without inspiration, our creativity dries up and we start repeating ourselves.
The fashion designer Paul Smith told me a great story that demonstrates how you can find inspiration just about anywhere and when you least expect it.
He was in Milan and his flight back to the UK had been delayed. Instead of sitting down, plugging in his headphones, and unplugging his brain, he decided to go for a walk.
As he walked along, something caught his eye on the ground – a little lucky charm that had fallen off a bracelet. In a flash of inspiration, he thought it would make a great button for a shirt.
Some thirty thousand shirts later, that simple flash of inspiration proved to be right.
So take off your headphones and let the world in.
You’ll be amazed at how many free ideas are out there.