Inspiration tends to be elusive and fleeting - often when we need it the most for important projects. Wouldn't it be great to be able to have a reliable method to evoke and tap into creative inspiration at will to spur the process of ideation and production?

1. On-Demand
Inspiration
Denise R. Jacobs
Interlink Conference
Vancouver, BC
June 2011

2. For the internetz inspired:
I am:
@denisejacobs
We’re at:
@interlinkconf
I’m waxing philosophic about:
#inspirationon

3. Chief inspired one: Denise Jacobs
Author, Trainer &
Creativity Evangelist

4. On
Inspiration

5. Inspire
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English inspiren < Latin
inspīrāre to breathe upon or into,
equivalent to in- + spīrāre to breathe
Definition:
1. to fill with an animating, quickening, or
exalting influence
2. to give rise to, bring about, cause, etc.
3. to guide or control by divine influence.
4. Archaic: a. to infuse (breath, life, etc.) by
breathing. b. to breathe into or upon.

6. Not this

7. But this

8. Real world inspiration

9. Elusive when needed

10. Comes unheralded

11. Inspiration Arc

12. What gets you there

13. So you never run out

14. Externali
ze &
Invite
(externalize and
invite)

15. Helpful delusion
“Sometimes dabbling in mysticism
can be a fun way to understand
and solve a problem.”
- King, So you’re a Creative Genius,
Now What?

16. Externalize

17. “Creation does not have to be a
tormented process – it can be a
peculiar, wondrous, bizarre
conversation and collaboration
between you and the strange
external entity that is not quite
you.”
- Elizabeth Gilbert, Nuturing
Creativity TED talk

18. Genius

19. “Genius is being able to
understand the essence without
having all of the
information….Genius is the
ability to see through to the
essential.”

20. “Be” vs. “Have”
As opposed to being a genius,
consider that you have a genius –
a mystical spirit that accompanies
you and inspires and helps you to
create fantastic work.

21. Muses

22. Muses
Three original muses:
•Melete - practice or occasion
•Aoide – voice or song
•Mneme – memory
Muses were thought to be the true
speakers for whom an artist is
merely the mouthpiece. Muses
inspire people to do their best.

23. Spirit of the Idea
“The world is being circled by ideas and
creativity that wants to made manifest
and are looking for portals to come
through…”

24. “…If you don’t do it, it will find
someone else.”
- Elizabeth Gilbert

25. We are avatars

26. Invite

27. Ur Doin’ It Wrong
“My f*cking book won’t tell me
its name!”
“Well, if you’re going to talk to it
like that, it’s not going to tell
you anything.”

28. Be nice

29. Generate

30. Blocks

31. Destructivity
FEAR (“false evidence appearing
real” or “f*ck everything and run”)
causes unnecessary inhibitions
which obstruct the generation of
new ideas on a biochemical and
neurological level.

32. Inner critic

33. Comparing

34. Distractions

35. Expansion

36. Lower Filters

37. Wave management

38. Electric Flow

39. Walk

40. Water

41. Willingness

42. Gather

43. “We are shaped and fashioned by
what we love.”
- Goethe

44. Jump-off points

45. Collect & Curate

46. Tools
• Zootool.com
• Imgspark.com
• Scrnshots.com
• Vi.sualize.us
• Emberapp.com
• Evernote.com
• Diigo.com
• Delicious.com
• Flickr.com
• Little Snapper
(http://is.gd/z4IDyr)

47. Inspiration Sources

48. Biophilia

49. Serendipity
The term serendipity was
coined by Horace
Walpole, from the
Persian fairy tale "The
Three Princes of
Serendip," whose
heroes "were always
making discoveries,
by accidents and
sagacity, of things
they were not in quest
of.“
- Dictionary.com

50. Capture

51. Sketchnotes, etc.

52. Hands-on

53. Voice

54. Amplify

55. DIY

56. Habit fields

57. Pursue problems to solve

58. Suck at it (or be wrong)
“Being right keeps us in place.
Being wrong forces us to explore.”
– Steven Johnson, Where Good
Ideas Come From

59. Practice & Prototype
Try something. Get feedback.
Refine. Get more feedback.
Observe, suggest, tinker, review
feedback, reiterate

60. DIWO

61. Intellectual diversity

62. Slow vs. Fast
•Give ideas time to simmer, to
develop into hunches
•Ideas often have long incubation
periods: they fade into view over
time
•Share hunches with others – this
sets the stage for the aha/eureka
moment

63. Result: Slow hunches

64. “Chance favors the
connected mind.”
– Steven Johnson, Where
Good Ideas Come From

65. Teach and Learn

66. Open to Flow
•Clear: work area, time, head
•Goal: know what you want to
achieve and what it looks like
•Materials on hand
•No distractions
•Practice
•Allow it

67. DO

68. Enjoy the
show
(and be
amazed)

69. Watch what happens

70. Inspiration is all around you

71. “Intention guides serendipity,
which fuels inspired ideation.”
- Denise Jacobs, Inspiration: On-
demand

72. Be inspired

73. The CSS
Detective Guide
CSSDetectiveGuide.com
twitter.com/cssdetective
Get 35% off at
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discount code
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Shameless Self-Promotion #1

74. InterAct With
Web Standards:
A Holistic
Approach to Web
Design
InterActWithWebStandards.com
twitter.com/waspinteract
Shameless Self-Promotion #2

75. Thank you!
denisejacobs.com
denise@denisejacobs.com
twitter.com/denisejacobs
slideshare.net/denisejacobs