June 15, 2014

What is Creativity?: 9 Talks on Creativity

Is creativity something you are born with, or something you can learn through practices? With this list of free audio & video resources, we ask “What is Creativity?” and present 9 talks from speakers dedicated to creative cultivation. Here you listen to Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert on how she fostered her own creative talent, and learn from Joy Luck Club author Amy Tan on her creative ups and downs. We also include titles exploring how people like Albert Einstein tended to their genius, and what Malcolm Gladwell found when he explored creative leadership. Find much more by clicking any of the links below:

1. Elizabeth Gilbert: A Different Way to Think About Creative Genius

Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert examines the way society looks at artists and the way artists look at themselves in this TED talk. She feels that the creative people should view their work as channeling God’s creative gift to them rather than as their own personal creative genius. And she hopes such a shift might prevent some of the madness and self-destruction that occurs in so many of our modern artists. This talk is available on streaming video and MP3 download from the TED.com website.

2. The Art of Original Thinking

Author Jan Phillips is currently offering her audio book The Art of Original Thinking: The Making of a Thought Leader for free on MP3 audio download directly through LearnOutLoud.com. This unabridged 6-hour audio book sets out to inspire new thought leaders for the new global paradigm we are entering. She provides many insights from her own life and quotes other unique thought leaders to aid us in creatively thinking outside of the box. She also explores the new thinking that is emerging in the areas of business, politics, religion, the environment, and more. Download this free audio book generously offered by author Jan Phillips and feel free to check out her website: www.janphillips.com.

3. Beyond Genre: Making Space for Greatness

Rick Rubin has produced an unbelievable number of hit records with talented artists ranging from LL Cool J and The Beastie Boys to Johnny Cash and Tom Petty. What’s his secret? Ken Wilber tries to get to the bottom of it in this interview from Integral Naked. Rubin provides some great insights into creativity that can be applied to artists in any medium. This title is being offered for free on MP3 download through our partnership with Integral Naked.

4. Malcolm Gladwell on Outliers

With the his bestselling book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell offers a compelling argument for why success happens to certain people and why more times than not, it isn’t due to talent. In this short series of interviews conducted through City Arts & Lectures in San Francisco, Gladwell discusses why people like the Beatles or Mozart have mythologized the idea that great talent arrives suddenly and fully formed. Using these examples of prodigious ability as a template, he illustrates that apart from talent, there is usually a period of many years where luck, training, discipline and timeliness all play a part in making one person stand out from the crowd. This talk is available on streaming video through FORA.tv.

5. Amy Tan on Creativity

In this TED Talk author Amy Tan probes into the roots of creativity or how “out of nothing comes something”. She examines her own life and the many influences that have fed into her novels. She also tells of the many fascinating coincidences that have happened to her over the years at key moments of creativity. It’s an intriguing and often humorous talk from a beloved author. This talk is available on streaming video and audio & video download.

6. Creativity, Leadership, and Divine Compensation

Marianne Williamson speaks with a purpose in this talk she recently delivered at Google headquarters. She talks about the need for the folks at Google and technologically-advanced people everywhere to shift their consciousness into a service-minded role when using technology. In our wealthy country of the United States, Marianne reminds us that there are more African Americans imprisoned today than there were slaves in 1850 and that one in every five children in the U.S. struggles with hunger. She speaks with urgency for the fortunate employees at Google (and the rest of us who are living comfortably) to take massive action towards alleviating suffering in our country and around the World. At the end of the talk she fields a number of good questions from Google employees. This talk is available on streaming video on YouTube.

7. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on Flow

Check out this TED talk from psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who authored the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Csikszentmihalyi talks about how he became interested in psychology after World War II when he heard a lecture by Carl Jung. Csikszentmihalyi eventually began his psychological study of how average people become extraordinary which he attributes to the idea of “flow” when one become completely involved in an activity for its own sake. Csikszentmihalyi provides many examples of individuals who have tapped into this “flow” state. This talk is available on streaming video and MP3 download from the TED.com website.

8. Tom and David Kelley on Creative Confidence

Authors Tom and David Kelley discuss their recent book Creative Confidence in this talk which they gave at Google. They describe ways to bring out creativity in organizations and individuals. Both Tom and David tell their own creative journeys and give suggestions as to how parents can foster creativity in their kids. They also talk about blocks to creativity and ways individuals can overcome their own fears of failure. Watch this enlightening talk about fostering creative confidence.

9. Einstein’s Creativity

Author Walter Isaacson summarizes the life of Albert Einstein in this 1-hour talk from the Aspen Ideas Festival. Isaacson’s book Einstein: His Life and Universe focuses on the creativity of Einstein which went far beyond the dry experiments we often associate with scientific practice. Isaacson attempts to present Einstein’s life and ideas in a way that is accessible to the layperson, and in this talk he comes very close to doing just that. It’s a great intro to Einstein. This talk is available on streaming video from FORA.tv.