Six things I learned from Ben Schott
Ben Schott is a hard man to pin down. He's a writer, designer, former photographer, and collector of wonderfully obscure information. He's best known for Schott's Original Miscellany, a little book that started life as a Christmas gift and became a publishing sensation, selling millions of copies around the world. He's since written bestselling books, contributed to The New York Times, and built a remarkable career out of curiosity and doing things his own way.
We had a wide-ranging conversation on Inspiring Futures about creativity, curiosity, AI, and how ideas happen.
Six things stayed with me.
1. Only do what only you can do. Find your distinctive way of seeing the world. Look for the holes only you can fill.
2. Constraints set you free. Forget thinking outside the box. Start inside it. Limitations can be the greatest stimulus to creativity.
3. Pay attention to what catches your attention. The unexpected connection, the strange thought, the idea that won't go away.
4. Let people complete the idea. The best creativity leaves something for the audience to discover.
5. Learn the secret language. Every community has its own words, codes and expressions. Understand how people talk, and you'll get closer to understanding how they think.
6. Make things because you love making them. Ben's first Miscellany was created to amuse himself and his friends. It became an international bestseller.
Perhaps the thread connecting all six is this:
In a world increasingly obsessed with making tons of stuff, Ben reminds us of the value of noticing more.
