I enjoyed this video, in which John Cleese recounts how he discovered his creativity and explains his understanding of how it works.

He describes creativity as being like a tortoise, for whom — if you wish to entice him out of his hiding place — you must create a safe enclosure. To do this, Cleese tells us, you must create boundaries of time and space; set aside a certain amount of time, and find yourself somewhere where you will not be distracted or disturbed.

Cleese also has some ideas about the role, in creativity, of the unconscious mind (that I find sometimes dubious but nevertheless interesting), and some very weak jokes injected into his presentation seemingly with the intention of endearing himself to his Flemish audience (instead he comes off as patronizing, but I think he’s just too self-conscious).

(via FreshCreation)