The Output #2

Hey Friend,

I’m currently in Seattle to help my Dad move. Today is the the second part. Of course it’s dreary with spritz of rain on the day he needs to move stuff. The past week has been sunny as we prepped his old place and organized things.

Spending time with my brother and Dad has been good overall, but it’s difficult seeing aging parents. It’s more difficult being a thousand miles away when he needs more help. But I think we have a plan going forward so we move on.

That’s what’s been on my mind the past few weeks. Creating plans, creating experiences, and creating connection with family. Which ties into this week’s idea.

This week’s big idea: Everyone is a creator.

Creativity doesn’t exclusively relate to making art. We all engage in this act on a daily basis. To create is to bring something into existence that wasn’t there before. It could be a conversation, the solution to a problem, a note to a friend, the rearrangement of furniture in a room, a new route home to avoid a traffic jam. - Rick Ruben, The Creative Act: A Way Of Being

This week for me was a reminder how we all can create. A month ago, my dad’s lease was terminated and my brother and I needed to scramble to find him his next place.

It a month’s time we found the place, made travel plans, organized his current spot, and figure out the logistics to move the stuff with different move-out and move-in dates. This creation is not a work of art like the Mona Lisa. But it’s meaningful to my Dad, my brother, and me.

This meaning led to me writing about it here, today.

It’s funny. I alway felt I was a creative person. I am curious, I like solving problems, and thinking about ridiculous ways to express or solve things.

But, I’ve had a long career in software that was pretty successful. My whole job was to create functionality by typing into a computer. It’s amazing to think about the millions of lines of code I created and got to do helpful things over my career. That’s still creative.

The label of being creative, or an artist isn’t helpful.

It’s more important to remember that everyday we create things. That’s enough.

Speaking of inputs — here's what's been feeding mine this week.

What I'm paying attention to:

The Claude + Notion System That Runs My Business -How Claude and Notion play well together. This caught my eye because I am experimenting with enhancing my workflows with both tools.

Not much due to traveling this past week.

Before you go:

What things did you create this week? What did you create and take for granted this week?

— Shawn

Reminder: You're getting this because you subscribed to what used to be Creators That Crush Weekly. Same thinking, better name. If this isn't for you, hit unsubcribe at the bottom of this email.