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What makes a city? Is it the traffic or roadways? Is it mountains or skyscrapers?

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It’s been two years since I’ve walked the streets of Seattle. I remember how it felt to be there. The smells, the sounds, the busyness of the Market, the crisp breeze from the harbor. I remember the drive to and from the city each day. The drive out to the Olympic National Park and the quietness of a deserted beach.

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Cities don’t inherently make us more creative but the experience of a city can. Different cities feel different not necessarily because they’re different geographically but because the people, the communities, the experiences, are different. That’s why travel is such a big deal to us. Yes there are beautiful things to see along the way (and those are important) but getting to experience the way other places feel is indescribable and invaluable. That is where the true beauty of a city lies. Not in architecture or geography alone, but in the way it all comes together. The way it makes you feel.

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5 Ways To Explore A New City

1.) Drive
Seriously, Jen and I put about 1,300 miles on our rental car last time we were in Seattle. We drove all over. The trip to La Push beach to see the sea stacks was over 8 hours round trip. Don’t be afraid to really get out there and explore.

2.) Eat Where The Locals Eat
I love food. We always ask locals and look up recent lists for good places to eat in the city. Because it breaks my heart when people come to Nashville from out of town to eat at the Cheesecake Factory (though, I do love some cheesecake!) when there are so many great local places around. We know there’s good food around somewhere so we always look for it ahead of time.

3.) Talk to people
The people are a huge part of what makes the city. If you have friends in the city, ask them to come out and hang with you for a day. If not, talk to a stranger while you’re in line for coffee. You never know what kind of stories you might hear.

4.) See what’s near by
When we go somewhere new we always try and plan a day for exploring. We see what’s drivable in a day and make it happen. If it’s under 6 hours away, it’s close enough to drive. It might be exhausting but it will be worth it later. Trust me.

5.) Stay at least one night IN the city
If we don’t stay in the city the whole trip it’s usually because we’re trying to save money or someone has offered us a place to stay. But we always try to stay in the city at least one night to get the feeling of waking up and walking into the hustle. Walking to get a bagel and a coffee in the morning or walking to lunch. It’s so cool to wake up in a new place so we try make it happen every trip if possible.

Being in a new city: Trying the local food, driving the roads, being around the people, will feed your creativity. It’s good to be surrounded by newness. To feel the subtle difference in culture from place to place and to experience the natural beauty that surrounds it. All this adds up to an experience that you can draw from to do work. It will help you make more awesome stuff. So be present and soak it all in. Love it or hate it, it will fuel your creativity.

Happy Wednesday!

Question: What city or travel experiences have made you feel more creative?
What’s you’re favorite thing to do when you travel to enjoy the city?

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  • www.laurensapala.com - I lived in Seattle for five years and I really miss it. Loved this post!ReplyCancel

    • Chris Creed - Thanks Lauren! So cool that you lived there. Absolutely love the PNW.ReplyCancel

  • Amilia - I need someone to show me around Nashville! Ha! I feel like I don’t know this city at all. But I know Boston pretty well and love to explore, but I feel like Boston is much more accessible because of the public transportation.ReplyCancel

    • Chris Creed - Tis the curse of the hometown 🙂 awesome that you’re loving Boston! I’ve heard it’s incredible!ReplyCancel

Parks and Rec Quotes, Ron Swanson Quotes

What stories are you signing your name to?

Do people know what you stand for? What you believe?

This is about more than showing up and making things for a living. It’s about telling stories. It’s about telling stories we believe in and signing our name to them. Because when you believe in something, you tell people. This not just a cliche used to sell business and self improvement books. It’s the truth.

What story do you believe in so much that you’re willing to protect it and tell it, at all costs?

Don’t spend another second doing anything less than telling the story you were born to tell. Start telling it today.

Happy Tuesday!

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When we think of success we have a picture that comes to mind. Of someone we know who we believe to be successful. Or maybe we imagine ourselves as successful and look to a future version of us, as a model of success. Either way there’s something we don’t see. There’s something that happens everyday that remains invisible and so often gets left out of the formula we have set for success. That thing is: work.

Kevin Spacey, star of the hit show House of Cards on Netflix, was asked at the Oscars last night “What makes this night so special?” His response:

“Well, look, this is a night we all get to come together and congratulate each other on great performances and an incredible year in film, but this isn’t really what we do for a living. You know? We go to work everyday on sound stages and on location. And we work hard at would we do and we love it. It’s not glamorous. It’s not, you know, we don’t get to dress up like this [at work].”
Kevin Spacey

When you see some succeed don’t discount it by thinking they haven’t worked for it. They have. It’s all behind the scenes. It’s slow growth. It’s showing up everyday and doing WORK. There is no shortcut. There is only the wilderness, the void we have to face everyday and we have to work our way through it. No, you don’t see this work at the Oscars, with all the glitz and glam and red carpet. But if you look hard enough, it’s there.
The Oscars, Kevin Spacey, Work, Art, Creativity

Without work there is no reason for The Oscars. Without those artists- actors, directors, camera operators, composers, animators, writers– showing up everyday to make what only they can make, there is no film to celebrate. The work is there. It has to exist in order for art to happen. Winning awards is not what we do for a living. We work for a living.

Happy Monday, folks!

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Do something different today. As we approach a busy season, we’re discussing what we can start doing differently to engage our brains and prime them for work. Good work will not always be a product of what comes naturally. Sooner or later, the work will not be as good as you want it to be and you’ll have to do something about it. This is why being intentional about your creativity is so important.

Take a different way home.
Plan a trip somewhere awesome and plan to do some work while you’re there. (Yep, work. It’s gonna be ok.)
Change the radio station in your car to something you hate for a day. (or for a few minutes ;))
Read a fiction book.
Make a plan to intentionally fuel your creativity every week and write it down.

“Creative accidents, can be experienced more frequently if we are willing to structure our lives more purposefully by implementing practices that support the creative process.”
– Todd Henry

I know that if I’m not doing things on purpose to support myself creatively, I’ll experience less and less creative accidents. Creativity is not a magical infinite well that can always be drawn from. It’s a water bottle that we need to fill up before we go on a hike. Fill it up and fill up 10 more to put in your fridge for later.

Happy Friday!

Question: When do you find you experience more “Creative Accidents?” Is there something specific that works for you?

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  • Michael - New experiences always fuel my creativity. There are also many other fringe benefits with that too.ReplyCancel

    • Chris Creed - Yeah man! New perspectives from new experiences = awesome 🙂ReplyCancel

You know that feeling of having to do something but not knowing where to start? You’re staring at a problem and feel so overwhelmed with the mess and the potential hurtles that you just decide to put it off. The longer and longer you put it off the more stress it adds to your life until eventually you HAVE to do it by default.

Start. Do it now. The sooner you get going, the sooner you take step one, the less energy you waste on wondering what it will be like once you finally start. To be proactive in the work you have to get done today is to embrace the urgency of it. As Todd Henry says, you only have today to do today’s work. Better get to it. It’s due today!

I’ve been experimenting with creating this sense of urgency in my life. To try and have that feeling of “Get it done.” in my mind as I start the day. Every morning at 9am, I have a reminder that pops up on my phone that says: “Do it now!” I want to create urgency in myself because if I don’t, it will most definitely find a way to find me. Some days it works, other days I fail to see the benefits. Either way urgency finds a way to make me do the work. I would just rather be the one calling the shots.

Urgency is understanding the importance of getting things done now.  To reach your goals. To conquer your to-do list. Whatever it is. Now is all we have. Don’t let that feeling come at you from behind. Go after it with a club! Beat urgency at it’s own game.

Happy Wednesday!

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