What makes highly creative people so good at what they do? What allows a writer to get into a groove and churn out page after page of their story while the beginner find themselves frustrated with writer’s block and second-guessing themselves?
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A lot of it comes down to feedback. Feedback is how we figure out if we’re moving closer to our goals. When we’re moving closer to our goals, we feel inspired to keep taking action. When we’re missing our goals, feedback invites us to correct course. Without feedback, we’re a boat sailing in the ocean without a compass or the stars to guide us. We have no idea if we’re going the right way. When you’re lost like this, taking action is difficult. What makes one decision better than another if you don’t even know where you are? If you’re driving in the middle of the ocean with no compass, why would you ever decide to turn right or left… or even push forward?
I love performing stand-up comedy. It provides instant feedback on your writing. Either the audience laughs or they don’t. While writing comedy can be incredibly tough work, it also provides instant gratification when you get it right. Every night, a comedian can get on stage and learn exactly where he stands, then use that information to correct course.
Most industries are not so kind though. When I develop training programs for comedians, it often takes me a few months to design the program before I can even test it out. There’s a very long time between generating my ideas and getting feedback on them. This is typical of most creative work.
So how do we get feedback when so often we have to work for weeks of months before we have anything we can show to others?
The most important type of feedback a creative person can get doesn’t come from others, it comes from themselves. This is why experts can get into a creative flow more easily than novices. The novice doesn’t understand an industry deeply enough to know whether their creation is good or bad. A brand new comedian who has never been on stage before can’t take accurate guesses about whether their jokes are funny until they figure out what works and what doesn’t. But the veteran comedian can. This expertise (that only comes from experience) is one of the main sources of their competitive advantage.
The expert can get into a long creative flow because they are providing themselves with feedback through the entire creative process, not just at the very end of it. It’s the expert who knows how good every word that they write really is. They know because they’ve experienced it in the past. They write something as beginners, get quality feedback on it from the world, then slowly piece together what it is that people are responding so well to. While each story a writer creates might be unique, the same characteristics are inside it. The story is both similar and unique at the same time.
This means that they can sit down at the computer and begin writing with confidence. Each good idea sparks new ideas and gives them a powerful boost to their motivation. They keep writing because they know it’s good.
The novice doesn’t have this benefit. To the unpublished writer, they’ll likely find themselves questioning every action they take. They can’t give themselves feedback because they lack the experience necessary to do it. The lesson here is that novices are screwed and there’s no way to win. Thanks for listening.
But, now that I think about it. There are ways novices can improve quickly. Facebook has always had a mantra: Fail fast. Judging from some of the stupid decisions they’ve made, they might also have the mantra “Fail hard.”
Fail fast is an amazing strategy for novices. Failure is an amazing teacher. The comedian that bombs a show or struggles on stage will learn far more than the comedian that got a lukewarm laughter from their audience.
So how do you apply this in your life? As your creating today, think about ways you can shorten the amount of time feedback takes. The longer you spend working without feedback, the more wasted effort there will be. If you get quality feedback every day, you really can’t stray too far off course. For many industries, this simply isn’t possible. But that shouldn’t stop us from looking for ways to get more feedback and higher quality feedback.
For example, an aspiring writer can focus more on short stories than writing a full novel. A novel might take an entire year to complete, but short stories can be written in a day or two. The lessons you learn can then be applied to a longer project, like a novel. However, this time, you’ll have a better understanding of what people actually respond to. You’ll have more experience based on real feedback. You can then stay motivated and creative for longer by providing yourself with feedback. This is how the expert do.
I’m going to heed my own words here and set up a way for you guys to provide feedback on the show. There are 2 ways to contact the show. You can email me using the form on this site or, better yet, you can visit our FB group at facebook.com/KaizenCreativity.
The FB group is going to become our community center. I’ll post each episode on the group and invite people to leave comments. It’s a place where you can teach me how to improve as well as communicate directly with other listeners. You can share your own experiences and learn from others. So here is this episode’s Kaizen Question for the FB group: Have you found any interesting ways to either get more feedback, get feedback quicker, or use feedback better in your industry? Remember, what might seem obvious to you might be unique for another. Each industry has different ways of getting feedback. While you’re comment might be obvious to people within your industry, it might be just what another listener needs to hear. And when you read comments, remember that you’re hearing diverse perspectives. While you might not be able to use the idea the same way they do, it can lead your thinking in a new direction that can uncover something valuable for you. You can leave your answer and read other listener’s answers at Facebook.com/KaizenCreativity.
I look forward to hearing your constructive feedback. This show is far from perfect. As we continue, pieces of the puzzle will continue falling into place.
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