On Creativity

John Cleese is a very clever man. Best known for his corporate training videos, he is also a fine comedic actor and writer who has starred in television and film for the last 50 years or so.

In this lecture on SoundCloud he is at his best, combining humour and corporate learning at the same time.

He tries to unpick what being creative means. He suggests that the human brain has basically two operating modes: open and closed. The closed, rational mind is very good at detail and focus but is not creative. The open, artistic mind is not good at deadlines or pressure and is a more relaxed, free-floating state of mind.

This would explain why people find it hard to do both things at the same time, if not impossible. Some people cannot do one or other state at all, ever, and certainly not on request.

What you quickly understand is that those who are famous for being creative have taught themselves how to switch from one mode to another on demand. This is essential. Because without the closed mode, your artist cannot meet the public or handle money in a positive way. And without the open mode there is no artist.

So those who are commercially successful are the ones who have discovered these secrets, and mastered the art (ha!) or flopping from one to the other. The good news is that you only need a few hours of creativity a week to be commercially successful in the creative arts.