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From Uncertainty to Creativity: an Interview with Jonathan Fields

Jonathan Fields

Creativity is exciting, but it’s also scary.

Whenever you set out to do something new, you never know how it’s going to turn out – you can’t predict it, plan it, or control it. Creativity is inherently uncertain.

We all know this, but most of the time we don’t talk about uncertainty. We try to avoid it, ignore it, or fool ourselves we can eliminate it.

Jonathan Fields calls our bluff in his new book Uncertainty, inviting us to acknowledge and embrace the unknown, “turning fear and doubt into fuel for brilliance”.

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Just Work

Apple logo

Photo by Szilveszter Farkas

Once upon a time, I was frustrated on a daily basis by my computer.

It kept crashing, refusing to connect to the internet, and interrupting me with asinine pop-up messages.

It lost me hours of productivity every week.

I rang the computer supplier. They blamed the parts supplier. I rang the parts supplier, they blamed the computer supplier.

Then I bought a MacBook Pro.

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Is the Digital Nomad Lifestyle for You?

Laptop in the middle of a highway

Live, work, travel. The motto of modern nomads – professionals who, carrying a laptop and a mobile, are able to do their work from almost any place in the world.

Breathtaking nature sceneries… Tropical beaches… Hikes into the unknown… Exotic local cuisine… Strange cultures, people and languages… Huge vibrant cities…

Places the others only dream about are suddenly and practically within reach of mobile professionals. Most nomads use a computer for their work: graphic and web designers, developers, copywriters, translators, etc. So thanks to globalization, cheap flights and the internet they can move from one country to another and yet continue working for their clients at home.

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Free Ebook: 20 Creative Blocks (and How to Break Through Them)

This post is part of the Break Through Your Creative Blocks series.

Ebook cover: 20 Creative BlocksOut of all the blog series I’ve written over the past six years, I’ve never had so many requests for an ebook version as for the Creative Blocks series.

And your wish is my command. :-)

I’ve collected the entire series into an ebook: 20 Creative Blocks (and How to Break Through Them).

It’s yours to download and share. For free.

No opt-in, no product launch, no hoops or hooplah. Just 20 articles full of practical advice on achieving your creative ambitions.

Download your copy of 20 Creative Blocks (and How to Break Through Them).

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Is There a Template for Creativity?

Scissors cutting out paper template

We creatives love to think of ourselves as revolutionaries and rule-breakers, thinking outside the box, breaking free of convention and plucking inspiration out of thin air.

Formulas, rules and templates are for scientists, bean counters and corporate drones. What makes us special is our originality – our ability to come up with novel solutions and works of art stamped with our unique talent.

But is this really the whole truth? Could our creativity be more formulaic than we like to admit?

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