One of My Favorite TED2009 Talks
A question I’ve heard a lot in the last week is, “What was your favorite talk at TED?” Quite frankly, it’s a tough question. There were so many unbelievably fantastic talks for four days straight that it’s almost beyond difficult to think about them individually anymore. As well, the topics were so varied that it seems sort of unfair to have just one favorite talk. But, I think that without a doubt, there was one talk that spoke directly to me more than any other. One talk that has already changed my life a bit more than the rest, even if just a little bit. It was Elizabeth Gilbert’s talk on creativity.
Elizabeth Gilbert at TED2009 / James Duncan Davidson
Her speech got my attention from the very start as she describes her fears after writing a best selling book and the circumstance she finds her self in at this point in her career. As she says in her own words (at about 4:55 into the video), “it’s exceedingly likely that anything I write from this point forward is going to be judged by the world as the work that came after the freakish success of my last book.” She follows that statement up with the absolutely provocative statement, “It's exceedingly likely that my greatest success is behind me.”
Elizabeth Gilbert at TED2009 / James Duncan Davidson
When she said these words, I was in the process of ducking behind the curtain at the back of auditorium to change up angles for my shots. They hit me like a ton of bricks and just about took the breath out of me. I almost stopped for a moment in my tracks. You see, these statements are analogues of thoughts I’ve had rattling around in my head for the last decade. They are much the same thoughts that I imagine that anyone that had a creative success early on in their life has had.
At first, my reaction may seem like a bit of a reach, but bear with me. I wasn’t exactly a child prodigy. I was, however, very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time in the mid to late 1990s with the right skill set to make a couple of tools that are in use by hundreds of thousands of software engineers today. The products that those tools are used to build are used by millions of people all around the globe. The vast majority of those people don’t know about the work I did, nor do they need to know. To be sure, I don’t claim to be particularly unique. I worked with many other skilled and wonderful software engineers that have made awesome contributions to our technical world, most much more important than mine. I still have many friends that are involved in creating the technologies that we all use and marvel at every day, such as the iPhone, Twitter, Amazon’s services, and so much more. But, I know what I did and the impact it has had. I’m proud of what I accomplished then and even more proud that the tools I created continue to be used and updated.
Fast forward to the present. I write very little code these days. Instead, I have returned to a lifelong love and spend most of my time with it. I’m so happy that I’ve been able to make a go at it as a career. I’ll go so far as to say that I feel extremely fortunate to be at my current place in life. I’ve traded a fairly lucrative career as a software engineer in for a gets the bills paid career as a photographer. But, I’d be lying to you if I didn’t admit that I have a nagging fear that no matter how far I go with my photography, I won’t have the same success with it that I did with my work in the software industry. To paraphrase Elizabeth’s words: It is likely that the thing that I will be known for after I depart this planet is something that I did ten years ago. After all, it’s what is on my Wikipedia page as I write this. As cool as what I did was, it’s in my past. That’s not an easy thought to live with sometimes.
After admitting her fears in her talk, Elizabeth goes on to present a way of thinking about creativity that gets a bit metaphysical at times. She takes us on a journey through the ways that the ancient Greeks and Romans thought of creativity. If you can go with the flow and set aside your disbelief of the supernatural for a moment, she presents a very compelling mental model for a way that creative people to deal with the very emotional realities of their work.
Elizabeth Gilbert at TED2009 / James Duncan Davidson
I don’t believe in spirits that roam the Earth. I don’t believe in daemons. And, I haven’t even read Elizabeth’s books to know if her writing is great or not (though, I feel like I have to, now!) But, I totally agree with her that it doesn’t hurt at all to use the ancient way of viewing creativity as something that is on loan to you. Something that flows through you. After all, no matter how great a thing you might do at any particular point in time, you have to wake up the next morning and go on with the rest of your life. I really like the idea of viewing your accomplishments not as something created intrinsically by oneself, but instead view them as something that you were fortunate to be a conduit for.
Olé, Olé, Olé.
If you haven’t already, go watch the video of Elizabeth’s presentation. Maybe you can see what I’m talking about. Or, maybe you’ll think I’m being as nutty as some of the website commenters thought Elizabeth was. Regardless, this is my answer to the question of what one of my favorite TED talks was and the impact it had on me. I was given a grain of sanity here in the way I view my creative life and how I can choose to lead it, and I thank Elizabeth for being the conduit that brought it to me. Maybe, just maybe, if I keep doing my part of the job, the rest will take care of itself and my best work will turn out to be ahead of me.
7 Comments
Ha! Well, luckily this was the only TED talk I've watched online so far. Not that I have much to compare to, but it was my favorite as well. I'm don't feel I've already had that great success, but I like to believe someday I will, but I usually wonder, "Do I want to be known for THAT?" I often find myself thinking it, when I know I should be focusing on the task at hand and it hampers my focus and enjoyment of whatever I'm working on.
I too really liked the creativity conduit idea. It resonated with me somehow and helped me get past a few creative blocks I've been having lately.
It's just too easy to overload yourself with expectations and stress.
Reply to this comment
I really like the talk, and I love the first picture you have posted. The whole setting is tilted and she is using her hands to get it balanced again. Awesome shot.
Reply to this comment
Tom, watch out. The TED Talks are pretty addictive. They've replaced a lot of normal TV viewing for me. There's a lot of content there, and more on the way. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the video archives at their offices.
Now if I could just find my muse somewhere... :)
Reply to this comment
Ahsan, thanks! I like that first shot as well. It was a lot of fun playing with speakers and the screen behind them.
Reply to this comment
Yeah this was my all time favorite TED talk too!
It's hard to overstate just how well done this talk is both technically and content-wise.
Reply to this comment
Oh... I already have the problem of having too many favorite TED talks. Now I also have to watch this one. Very addictive indeed.
Warning: don't watch TED right before you have an interview for a another dull job.
Reply to this comment
I think you need to see "Sunday in the Park With George" for Steven Sondheim's take on this. Clearly it's what was on his mind. Although many really go for the first act the action for this artist is all in the 2nd. I think he wrote something like "Don't worry if your vision is new.//Let others make that decision, they usually do.//Move on..."
Reply to this comment
Leave a comment