Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.

Twyla Tharp blows up the myth of creativity as magic. She shows it’s a muscle—you strengthen it through routine, discipline, and repetition.

Creativity Isn’t a Gift—It’s a Habit

Creativity loves structure. Tharp starts every day the same way—with a workout. Not because it’s glamorous, but because ritual triggers readiness. Your ritual is your creative ignition key.

Start with a Ritual

You need a space—physical or mental—where the clutter is cleared. Tharp calls it “the empty white room.” From emptiness, newness can emerge. But you have to show up.

The Blank White Room

Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.

Don’t wait for inspiration—go out and scratch for it. Read. Walk. Watch. Steal like an artist. The more curious you are, the more kindling you collect for that creative fire.

Scratch for Ideas

Tharp suggests collecting the tools that keep you sharp: notebooks, routines, favorite works, challenges you revisit. Creativity isn’t just flow—it’s scaffolding.

Build a Creative Toolbox

Self-doubt, perfectionism, fear of failure—they’re all part of the process. Tharp doesn’t sugarcoat it. She tells you to name your fears. Write them down. Then work anyway.

Face Your Fears

Every piece you create needs a “spine”—a clear, driving idea behind it. You may not see it at first, but once you do, everything else hangs off it. Find your spine, and the chaos starts to form shape.

The Spine of the Work

Tharp shows how limits can sharpen creativity. Deadlines. Budgets. Space. Rather than stifle you, they force creative choices. Freedom often hides within the frame.

Embrace Constraints

Some days you’ll feel flat. Some days you’ll hate your own work. That’s normal. The trick is to keep going. The habit of showing up beats the myth of genius.

Keep Showing Up

Tharp’s message: there is no “arriving” in creativity. You keep evolving. You get better by doing. And doing again. Creativity isn’t a moment. It’s a life.

Creative Growth is Lifelong

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.

One of the world’s leading creative artists, choreographers, and creator of the smash-hit Broadway show, Movin’ Out, shares her secrets for developing and honing your creative talents—at once prescriptive and inspirational, a book to stand alongside The Artist’s Way and Bird by Bird. All it takes to make creativity a part of your life is the willingness to make it a habit. It is the product of preparation and effort, and is within reach of everyone. Whether you are a painter, musician, businessperson, or simply an individual yearning to put your creativity to use, The Creative Habit provides you with thirty-two practical exercises based on the lessons Twyla Tharp has learned in her remarkable thirty-five-year career. In "Where's Your Pencil?" Tharp reminds you to observe the world -- and get it down on paper. In "Coins and Chaos," she gives you an easy way to restore order and peace. In "Do a Verb," she turns your mind and body into coworkers. In "Build a Bridge to the Next Day," she shows you how to clean the clutter from your mind overnight. Tharp leads you through the painful first steps of scratching for ideas, finding the spine of your work, and getting out of ruts and into productive grooves. The wide-open realm of possibilities can be energizing, and Twyla Tharp explains how to take a deep breath and begin...

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

habits

Habits

creativity

Creativity

books

Books

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Twyla Tharp

The Creative Habit

Every department operates with distinct priorities and success metrics. Engineers value elegant solutions, security teams focus on vulnerabilities, while business stakeholders prioritize revenue. These differences aren't obstacles, but opportunities to create stronger solutions through collaboration.

Diverse Priorities

Most resistance to change isn't arbitrary—it's rooted in legitimate concerns. When we label others as "resistant," we miss understanding their perspective. Security teams aren't blocking progress; they're protecting against threats that could devastate the company.

Legitimate Resistance

Mapping what each team is measured on—both official metrics and unspoken expectations—is crucial for alignment. Understanding deeper concerns, including personal risks like mortgages and family responsibilities, helps create solutions that address everyone's needs.

Metric Mapping

Effective change doesn't require perfect alignment—just enough overlap to create mutual benefit. The best change agents excel at finding these intersection points, demonstrating how their approach helps everyone advance their objectives simultaneously.

Mutual Benefit

Building effective coalitions requires a "dream team" from various departments who'll benefit from your changes. Include influential early adopters, contributors who helped shape the solution, and communication networks to prevent great ideas from dying due to information gaps.

Coalition Building

Technical professionals often get uncomfortable with relationship-building, but it's essential. The most effective alliances include both frontline workers and leaders, representatives from all affected departments, and a balance of visionaries and pragmatists.

Relationship Essentials

One-on-one conversations before group meetings create space to understand individual concerns and address objections privately. This approach helps identify potential advocates and build a comprehensive stakeholder map for future reference.

Private Conversations

Organizations most welcoming to innovation typically share characteristics: recent failure experiences, leadership that creates psychological safety, successful previous implementations, key influencers expressing dissatisfaction with current approaches, and external pressure creating urgency.

Innovation Readiness

Timing dramatically impacts change initiatives. I've seen identical proposals fail and then succeed months later because organizational readiness had shifted. Pay attention to leadership changes, competitor moves, performance shortfalls, and new strategic initiatives.

Timing Impact

Implementation approaches often become battlegrounds even after securing goal alignment. Create decision matrices that evaluate each approach against shared criteria to move conversations from emotional debates to objective analysis.

Decision Matrices

Looking for hybrid solutions that incorporate elements from multiple teams can resolve seemingly incompatible ideas.

Hybrid Solutions

Shifting discussions from "which approach is better" to "what specific trade-offs are we making" changes everything. This subtle reframing focuses on features and configurations rather than competing team solutions.

Trade-off Framing

Different teams operate with different risk tolerances and incentive structures. Security teams face penalties for breaches but rarely receive recognition for enabling innovation, while development teams are measured on delivery speed but not long-term maintenance costs.

Incentive Structures

When your changes directly threaten someone's established goals, acknowledge the reality of the conflict rather than pretending it doesn't exist. Investigate how to redefine success for status quo defenders—can they become heroes of the transition rather than victims?

Conflict Reality

Consider phased approaches that allow for gradual adaptation rather than abrupt displacement. Identify potential new opportunities for those most affected, such as new roles in maintaining automated solutions they previously performed manually.

Gradual Adaptation

Not all conflicts can be resolved through better communication. Sometimes organizational change creates winners and losers. In these situations, transparency and empathy become even more crucial for acceptance.

Unavoidable Losses

Escalation to higher authorities rarely works long-term. Those who feel bypassed rather than included will find countless ways to undermine changes they don't support, and future initiatives will be dismissed faster as groups learn from others' mistakes.

Escalation Limits

When working with resistant teams, look for hidden undercurrents. A financial services company's compliance team that seemed resistant was actually under regulatory pressure to modernize—positioning our initiative as helping them meet modernization goals removed all barriers.

Hidden Undercurrents

Organizational change happens through people, not PowerPoints. The time invested in building genuine relationships with potential allies pays dividends throughout your entire change journey.

People-Centered Change

Empathy in organizational change isn't just nice to have—it's a strategic imperative. The most successful transformations balance bold vision with pragmatic coalition-building and genuine concern for all stakeholders.

Strategic Empathy

For more inspiration, visit my blog at Caterpillar Garden | SubstackThis post in free version can be found here: https://blog.caterpillar.garden/p/rbm-p-performers-status-quo-what?r=eo5tk Paid extended version also available here: https://blog.caterpillar.garden/p/rbme-p-performers-status-quo-what?r=eo5tk

Caterpillar Garden

My new blog post from RAPID-based Modernization series is about dealing with the status quo and performers group that usually should be our supporters, but it's not reality: https://blog.caterpillar.garden/p/rbm-p-performers-status-quo-what

As a Recommender, you're often connected to the Performer's group.

remotework

Remote Work

corporateculture

Corporate Culture

business

Business

humanresources

Human Resources

[RBM] "P"​ - Performers'​ status quo: what should be done?

Traditional note-taking is broken and outdated. You highlight books, save articles, and jot down ideas. But when was the last time you used those notes? Probably never because it’s not efficient.

The Problem With Taking Notes

If you’re using a digital reader, you may have built small knowledge centers organized for each book. But you can’t decide how to organize those ideas. You are limited to the scope of the book. And that can become frustrating. Also, what about podcasts? You can’t take notes on Spotify or any other podcast app. At this rate, your mental notes will pile up, and you will forget most of them.

Tradition Note-Taking

I love the <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/the-second-brain-method">idea of a second brain </a>. I wrote about it. I shared my Notion template a few months ago and have used it since then. But building a second brain is not for everyone. You don’t always need that level of complexity. Sometimes, all you need is something simpler to store notes and ideas. A dynamic space that lets your ideas breathe, grow, and connect naturally.Are you ready to grow your garden? Here's how to do it step-by-step. But first, what is a digital garden?

The Second Brain Technique

You're reading an excerpt from <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/">The Challenge</a> — a weekly newsletter dedicated to self-improvement, goal-setting, habits, time management, and health tips.Every week, you'll receive:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">A life-enhancing challenge</li><li class="ql-align-justify">A custom infographic to track your progress</li></ul><a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/subscribe">Join 3700+ driven individuals</a> and take your first challenge.

The Challenge

Traditional note-taking is linear and static. You have a notebook or any other space and write everything there. But a digital garden isn’t organic. It’s interconnected and ever-evolving. And that’s why it works.Think of planting seeds (raw ideas), nurturing them (on the workbench), and harvesting valuable knowledge. If done right, a digital garden offers:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Organized, easily accessible thoughts. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">A dynamic system that grows with you. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Clearer, actionable insights that avoid overwhelm.</li></ul>Whatever your daily responsibilities, cultivating a digital garden can transform your productivity and creativity.

What Exactly Is a Digital Garden?

Creating a digital garden doesn’t need to be complicated. I will also give you a Notion template to start. But if you wish to update it or create your own, here’s what you may want to do.

How to Build a Digital Garden

Choose a tool that fits your style or that you already know. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, especially if you’re beginning.Popular options include Notion, Obsidian, Roam Research, or your website. I recommend Notion because it’s user-friendly and highly customizable. Also, if you’re already using my second brain template, it’s easier to integrate it into your existing workflow.

1 — Choose Your Platform

Your digital garden should follow whatever structure you want. It’s yours — organize it as you wish. But a clear structure will help it thrive if this is your first time. Here’s a proven setup.

2 — Set Up the Core Sections

Use this section to capture fleeting thoughts, inspirations, or interesting conversations. It may be the book you read or the podcast you listened to this morning.Collect here everything that catches your attention. Anything that has the potential to be helpful in the future.Example: Notes from books, conversations, articles, podcast extracts.

🌱 Seed Notes — Raw Ideas

In this section, you will keep all the polished ideas you’ve developed further.Some ideas will never make it to this section. Yet, you will upgrade the best ones. You will actively take and build them further. They will become more complex systems. And you can always get back to check them whenever you need it.Example: Personal lessons, frameworks, summaries.

🍃 Evergreen Notes — Refined Insights

The resource library is a fundamental piece of a second brain, so we will also integrate it here. In this section, you will keep all your favorite articles, books, videos, and podcasts organized for easy reference.You can easily retrieve the source if you need to check an incomplete note. Or maybe you want to consult a resource to get more ideas. Put here everything you consume.

📚 Resource Library — Curated Inspirations

You must work on your ideas if you build a digital garden. And sometimes you need a few days, or even months, to fully elaborate a concept — that’s why you need a workbench.Project, drafts, research notes — collect everything you’re working on in this section.Example: Draft blog posts, research notes, ongoing projects.

🛠️ Workbench — Ideas in Progress

Finally, you will have a central entry point with quick access to recent notes, favorites, and easy note-taking tools.

🏡 Dashboard — Central Hub

As for a real garden, a digital one will thrive only if you give it attention daily.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Make it a habit. Add one new note per day to keep ideas flowing.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Refine regularly. Review seed notes every month and turn them into evergreen content.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Delete old ideas. Some concepts remain frozen for so much time you don’t even remember why you wrote them. Delete them before your seed notes section becomes too crowded.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Connect ideas. Use internal links and tags to create meaningful connections.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Experiment with formats. Don’t limit yourself to text. You can build mind maps, lists, tables, or visual notes. </li></ul>

3 - Keep Your Digital Garden Growing

To get you gardening quickly, I've created a <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-building-a-digital-garden">comprehensive Notion template</a> you can use immediately (find the button below in the article).What’s Inside:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Pre-build sections: Seed Notes, Evergreen Notes, Resource Library, Workbench and Dashboard.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Tagging & filtering system for organizing ideas.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Example notes demonstrating how to use it.</li></ul>How to Use It:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Beginner user → Use it as it is for immediate productivity and creativity.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Advanced user → Customize with your categories and workflows.</li></ul>

The Digital Garden Notion Starter Kit

I started building a digital garden a few weeks ago, but it has changed my creativity.It transformed scattered thoughts into clear connections. Over time, this habit became more than just productivity — it enhanced my creativity and clarity and reduced stress.Download the Notion template and create your first three seed notes — ideas you've recently found intriguing, insights from something you read, or conversations that sparked your interest.Share screenshots or descriptions of your digital garden with our community. Let's inspire each other and celebrate these initial steps!

The Challenge of The Week

<a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/">Unlock exclusive content</a> and take your self-improvement to the next level with a premium subscription.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">✅ The Productivity Mastery Series – Proven productivity systems in Notion, ready for you to implement.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">📚 The Challenge Book Club – Actionable insights from the best personal growth books so you can apply their lessons without reading them all.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">🔥 Monthly Exclusive Content – The top 5 must-read articles, behind-the-scenes life updates, full archive, and more.</li></ul><a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/subscribe">Join 3700+ driven individuals</a> who are serious about growth. Upgrade now and invest in your future.

Next Steps

Stop losing ideas! Learn how to build a digital garden to organize, connect, and grow your knowledge — plus grab a free Notion template to get started!

productivity

Productivity

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

The Ultimate Guide to Building a Digital Garden (with a Free Notion Template!)

Allow your mind to wander to activate the brain's default mode network, which is essential for creativity and innovative thinking. Take walks without digital distractions.

1. Embrace Boredom

Use AI to explain new concepts at progressively advanced levels, testing your understanding at each stage before moving on.

2. Progressive Learning

When tackling complex problems, use AI to create structured outlines or visual maps of key considerations, but solve each component independently.

3. AI as a Scaffolding Tool

Challenge AI's outputs by asking for counterarguments and alternative viewpoints to refine your own ideas. Use AI as a "devil's advocate."

4. Collaborative Sparring

Designate times when you refrain from using AI, such as the first part of an intensive work session or during creative tasks, to preserve cognitive abilities.

5. Establish AI-Free Zones

Five ways to use AI without eroding your brain—keep your cognitive edge in the age of automation.

strategy

Strategy

education

Learning & Education

artificialintelligence

Artificial Intelligence

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

5 Ways To Use AI—Without Surrendering Your Brain

Writing is an invaluable tool for exercising our cognitive faculties. Extensive and diverse research has suggested links between writing and mental capacities in such domains as memory, critical thinking, creativity, verbal skills, and overall health.

How Is Writing Helpful?

Writing can help improve memory by creating deeper connections with the material at the neurological level. Research has shown that writing by hand correlates with a stronger memory than writing with an electronic or mechanical device.In a 2014 study done by scientists Mangen and Verlay, it was demonstrated that the sensory-motor activity of writing by hand relays information back to the brain, which assists in information recall.It may therefore be helpful to incorporate handwriting into tasks in order to improve memory.

Writing And Memory

Writing facilitates a deeper connection with the material being studied. Beyond the typical storage and retrieval of data, critical thinking requires analysis, reflection, creativity, and careful reasoning. Writing can assist with this by helping us review our own thoughts, reflect once again on the material, and repeat what was established before, ingraining the information into our brains even better. Free writing also sparks the curious and thoughtful parts of our brains, exercising our ability to think critically and improving our thinking as a whole.

Writing And Critical Thinking

Research suggests that writing can have an impact on creativity, according to a study comparing expert and non-expert writers.Lotze et al. (2014) found that expert writers showed higher brain activity and performance on creative indices, suggesting a link between writing and creativity. It is unclear if experts become creative through writing or if they write because they are creative, but engaging in creative activities can potentially enhance creativity.Expert writers show higher brain activity and performance on creative indices.Unclear if writing leads to creativity or vice versa.

Writing And Creativity

Writing expands our vocabulary . When we are challenged to express ideas more clearly or creatively, we push beyond the boundaries of our original vocabulary and explore new ways of communicating .One study (Wolsey, 2010) suggests that when we are challenged to write about complex topics , our vocabulary and manner of expression improve, leading to a growth in our verbal skills. These insights support the idea that through writing, we can expand our vocabulary and become stronger communicators.

Writing And Verbal Skills

Research has shown that writing can have a positive impact on health, reducing stress and aiding in coping with trauma.
Expressive writing or journaling has been recommended as a way to work through complex thoughts and improve mood, providing relief from anxiety and physical symptoms.
<ul>
<li>Writing can reduce stress and help cope with trauma.</li>
<li>Expressive writing or journaling can improve mood and reduce anxiety.</li>
<li>It can also lead to fewer adverse physical symptoms.</li>
</ul>

The Health Benefits of Writing

How writing can improve your critical thinking!

health

Health

problemsolving

Problem Solving

music

Music

Writing as a Thinking Tool

"Is it time for the next project because the clock or calendar says it's time, or because the work itself says it's time?"

The artist's job is never truly finished.This is because the artist's job is of two kinds:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">the work of doing</li><li class="ql-align-justify">the work of being</li></ul>Creativity is something you are, not only something you do.Staying in it means a commitment to remain open to what's around you.  What you see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.There is no telling where the next great story, painting, recipe, or business idea will come from.Be ever present.

24/7 (Staying In It)

How many times have we decided to just flip a coin to find out.Do I want option A or do I want option B.And how many times do we secretly hope that "heads" or "tails" will appear when we have set our parameters.What am I truly rooting for?This is the option you go with.  While the coin is spinning in the air, your heart has already decided which option it wants.Let the coin fall.Don't look at it.Go with what your heart desires.That's how you choose.

How to Choose

"What we say,what we sing,what we paint - we get to choose.......The art is the final word."

The mission is to be in the present moment with the work.Clean slate is our ability to see the work again like it was the first time.This may require time away from the work.Let is sit for a minute, a day, a week, a month.When you return with a clear perspective, you will more likely have the discernment to see what the project wants or needs.Time is where the learning occurs. ﻿

Clean Slate

What motivates us?What drive us to finish certain pieces and not others?This energy that comes from our work feels similar to another force of creation in the world:Love ❤️You catch yourself losing track of time, forgetting to eat, withdrawing from the outside world.It generates excitement in you.It commands your attention.The call of an artist is to follow the excitement.

The Energy (In the Work)

"The best work is the work you are excited about."

Art exists in the same circle of death and rebirth.When consumed with a single work to the point where we feel it is our life's mission, we leave no room for new art to be born.While the artist goal is greatness, it's also to keep moving forward.Every artists creates a living museum of finished works.  One work after another.Keep moving forward❗️

Ending to Start Anew (Regeneration)

"A work of art is not an end point in itself.It's a station on a journey.A chapter in our lives.We acknowledge these transactionsby documenting each of them."

Making art is a serious matter.The opposite is also true. Making art is pure play.Some of the best ideas come from a playful state.Stress reduces our creativity.  Reduces our resourcefulness.In play, there are no stakes. No boundaries. No right or wrong.Let your spirit be free❗️Embrace your inner child with a fresh new box of crayons.

Play

"Whether the work comes easily through playor with difficulty through struggle,the quality of the finished piece is unaffected."

We have stories about ourselves,and those are not who we are.We have stories about the work,and those are not what the work is.You are you.The work is the work.As artists, we're called to let go of these stories.We move forward in the energy of curiosity to see what transpires.Even if perceived chaos, there is order and pattern.The work is you.You are the work.

What We Tell Ourselves

"Being an artist meansto be continually asking,"How can it be better?"whatever it is.It may be your art,and it may be your life."

As I continue to share the books I read, I hope you follow me on this journey.Remember that all the Deepstash publications I do end up being a subject for my podcast "All About Books"<a href="https://www.brianmunroe.tv">www.BrianMunroe.TV</a>

Thank you❗️ I hope you follow me.

There are so many great insights in this book I decided to break this into 2 parts.  Here is part 2 - Enjoy‼️

mindfulness

Mindfulness

The Creative Act - Part 2

Be strong like the tree, flow like the water, and stay true to yourself. Grounded, adaptable, and always authentic. 🌲 (evergreen tree) - stability and consistency.🌳 (bare tree) - resilience and growth through challenges.🌴 (palm tree) - adaptability, strength, and thriving through adversity.💧 signifies fluidity and flexibility.

Be🌲🌳🌴, be 💧, be YOU

Be🌲🌳🌴, be 💧, be me.

Rooted in nature, flowing with life, and always staying true to who I am.

Be tree, be water 

Find 100+ Facts about Creativity - Curated by others from trusted sources like Books, Podcasts & Articles - Genuine Insights from like-minded Users like You!

The Creative Habit

[RBM] "P" - Performers' status quo: what should be done?

The Ultimate Guide to Building a Digital Garden (with a Free Notion Template!)

5 Ways To Use AI—Without Surrendering Your Brain

Writing as a Thinking Tool

The Creative Act - Part 2

Be tree, be water

The Creative Act

In the Blink of an Eye

In Pursuit of Inspiration

It's time to
Read like a Pro.

The Creative Habit

[RBM] "P"​ - Performers'​ status quo: what should be done?

The Ultimate Guide to Building a Digital Garden (with a Free Notion Template!)

5 Ways To Use AI—Without Surrendering Your Brain

Writing as a Thinking Tool

The Creative Act - Part 2

Be tree, be water

The Creative Act

In the Blink of an Eye

In Pursuit of Inspiration

It's time to Read like a Pro.

[RBM] "P" - Performers' status quo: what should be done?

It's time to
Read like a Pro.