James Cameron has written & directed 3 of the top 4 highest-grossing movies of all time (Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Titanic). Before he made movies, Cameron was a truck driver. He didn't go to film school. Instead, on the weekends, he would go to the library and.. "I'd pull any thesis that [University of Southern California] graduate students had written [on] anything that related to film technology," Cameron explained. "And for the cost of xeroxing (photocopying), I [got] all these doctoral dissertations [and] build up these big binders on how everything was done." "So I literally gave myself a full graduate course on film technology for about $120. I didn’t have to enroll in school because it was all there in the library. I’d set it up to go in like I was on a tactical mission, find out what I needed to know, and take it all home." Takeaway 1: When asked what motivated him to read those big binders full of information on filmmaking, Cameron said he was just following what excited him. "People seek out the information and knowledge they need," he said. "It's like a divining rod." The mythologist Joseph Campbell similarly talked about how reading is like "a divining rod," a way to find what you are uniquely attracted to and meant to do. "You’ve got to read," Campbell said. "Find [what] excites you. And if it doesn’t excite you…It’s not yours.” Takeaway 2: Of course, at some point, Cameron had to put the binders down and pick up a camera. When he eventually attempted to make his first movie, Cameron said, “It was a bit like a doctor doing his first appendectomy after having only read about it." The bestselling author and learning expert, Scott Young, has a great article with a great title, "Do The Real Thing." "When you examine case studies of people who have had major accomplishments," Scott writes, "you expect there to be some trick or shortcut...More often, however, the strategy used is dead simple: doing the real thing." Takeaway 3: Leonardo da Vinci used to sign off his letters, “Leonardo da Vinci, disscepolo della sperientia” ("disciple of experience"). He used to believe that one learns best by solely "doing the real thing." Over time, however, he evolved out of this belief and, biographer Walter Isaacson writes, "became a disciple of both experience and received wisdom." When you examine case studies of people who have mastered their craft, you usually find they are "disciples of both experience and received wisdom." Like Cameron, they read the library and they do the real thing. - - - “Those who are in love with practice without theoretical knowledge are like the sailor who goes onto a ship without rudder or compass and who never can be certain whither he is going.” — Leonardo da Vinci Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!

Jerry Seinfeld was once thinking about golf announcers whispering. He then found something in his notebook about how people whisper when they talk about tipping. "Now we make what's called a charm bracelet," Seinfeld says in this 144-second masterclass on the creative process: When you notice a commonality between two or more things, Seinfeld explains, "You say, 'Oh there's something there.' And now we make what's called a charm bracelet: You take these things and you find a way to associate them." "So that's the process: I'm thinking about this [one] thing and then remember this [other] thing, and then you go, 'Oh there's something there—let me connect those 2 things.'" Takeaway 1: Whether it's in a notebook like Seinfeld, on notecards, in Apple Notes or a Notion database—many great artists have a habit of capturing the interesting thoughts or ideas they come across. The comedian George Carlin said his capture habit started because... “I had a boss in radio when I was 18 years old, and my boss told me to write down every idea I get even if I can’t use it at the time...and have a system for filing it away—because a good idea is of no use to you unless you can find it…" A lot of creativity, Carlin said, “is discovery. A lot of things are lying around waiting to be discovered and that’s our job is to just notice them and bring them to life.” That's what Seinfeld did: he noticed the various contexts in which people whisper and brought them to life. Takeaway 2: The great fantasy and science fiction writer Brandon Sanderson says, “The way that human creativity works is by combination. That’s what we’re really good at. We don’t come up with a completely new creature. We put a horn on a horse and go, ‘Look at that, that’s cool.’ That’s how we create on a fundamental level.” - - - “Creativity equals connecting previously unrelated experiences and insights that others don’t see.” — Steve Jobs Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!