Episode 15: Creative Secrets – Behind the Magic "How to access your best ideas when you really need them"
Avsnittsöversikt
The world loves to tell us that creativity is a divine accident — a lightning bolt you can’t control. But in this episode, Karina Kampe and Maria Wronski-Ellis pull back the curtain to show you how creativity is not an accident at all. With stories of Sting, Picasso, Beyoncé, and Donald Glover, they reveal how reframing, play, and alter egos can unlock new perspectives. You’ll also get two hands-on exercises — Object Writing och The Alter Ego Effect — plus the latest science on how the brain sparks creativity. And of course, we share our own tiny experiments, laughs, and some poetic surprises along the way.
This is a practical, inspiring guide for anyone who wants to stop waiting for inspiration and start building the conditions where creativity thrives.
Ämnen som behandlas
- Sting’s two-year writer’s block and his breakthrough with The Last Ship
- Picasso’s “child mode” and the art of staying a beginner
- Beyoncé’s Sasha Fierce and Donald Glover’s Childish Gambino as alter egos
- Neuroscience of creativity (default mode network, constraints, and risk-taking)
- Object Writing: a 10-minute creative exercise
- Building and using your own Alter Ego for fearless creation
- Tiny Experiments check-in and new challenges
- How mindfulness and presence fuel creativity
- Celebrating the small wins and preparing for Season 2
Timeslots
- 00:00:07 – Hook: the “divine accident” myth
- 00:00:20 – “Creativity is not an accident” + we’re handing you the keys
- 00:00:39 – Accountability turns flashes into finished work; welcome + host intros
- 00:01:26 – “Witnessing” makes ideas real; why together > alone
- 00:01:52 – What today’s episode covers (blocks, stories, exercises)
- 00:02:31 – One small step: “It doesn’t have to be life-changing…”
- 00:02:50 – Story 1: Sting — blank page → The Last Ship
- 00:04:43 – Story 2:Beyoncé — Sasha Fierce and performing through fear
- 00:05:49 – Story 3: Picasso — “child mode” and staying a beginner
- 00:06:30 – The ultimate reframe: permission & wholeness
- 00:08:47 – ECtA: monthly free workshop + 3-month course info
- 00:09:36 – Science: brain “theater,” DMN + executive control; constraints ignite
- 00:11:59 – Exercise 1: Object Writing (how to, senses, by hand)
- 00:14:48 – Exercise 2:Alter Ego Effect (props, triggers, downloadable guide)
- 00:17:28 – Tiny Experiments check-in: “one-in, one-out” + phone-free evenings
- 00:21:35 – How to pick a tiny experiment (small enough to not fail)
- 00:22:35 – Mindfulness note (future episode)
- 00:25:00 – Closing reminder: celebrate tiny wins; sign-off & outro lines
Free Download - Alter Ego Exercise
What if you could create like Beyonce, Batman or with a bit more humor?
Try this exercise to find your own alter ego that can help you become who you really are.
Böcker, inspiration och kreativ visdom
Science & Research
Creative brain networks (DMN + ECN cooperate during creative thinking) — Beaty et al. review + PNAS paper. ScienceDirectpnas.org
PubMed summary of the same PNAS study (plain‑English abstract). PubMed
Accessible explainer (Harvard/MGH CLBB): Creative Cognition & Brain Network Dynamics. clbb.mgh.harvard.edu
Constraints & Creativity meta‑analysis (111 studies): constraints can enhance creativity when calibrated. Wiley Online Library
Stories We Cited
Sting’s The Last Ship: official site piece + study guide + background. Sting.comThe National Theatre FoundationWikipedia
Picasso quote context (“Every child is an artist…”). Stedelijk Studiesquoteinvestigator.com
Beyoncé’s alter ego & early shyness (teacher Darlette Johnson‑Bailey). The Irish Times
Donald Glover on the Childish Gambino persona. People.com
Exercises & Tools
Object Writing (Pat Pattison / Berklee) + John Mayer endorsement. college.berklee.edupatpattison+1
Alter Ego Effect (Todd Herman) — official site. The Alter Ego Effect™ by Todd Herman
Group Creativity technique: Brainwriting / Nominal Group Technique (overview & research). ScienceDirectCompass
Rapid Prototyping: Stanford d.school Bootleg / Process Guide. Stanford d.schoolStanford University
Design tiny experiments (Anne‑Laure Le Cunff / Ness Labs).
Object Write
In the episode we wrote about the topic RUST. – Listen to the episode for instructions!
Here is what Karina wrote:
RUST
It is squeaking back and forth. The old swing is full of patches of rust. And it’s quite dangerous. I’m weary of the cracks between the double swing and the holder. One tiny piece of skin then …aaaah. It hurts like hell.
Why is the sky always blue in the memory lane of childhood pieces? No, I remember rainy days, but mostly with puddles. Puddles to jump in.Squash and clash
Water in your wellingtons. But warm like that summer breeze on the swing.
The circus track when we used it as the center for the neighborhood “theater piece”. Mom probably got a heart attack coming home to a front yard full of neighbours. Neighbours and dogs. 50 Öre for a dog and 1 kr for a person. And we played clowns and sang from the swing set. I wonder how we got them to come?! Now we have trouble getting 10 people to show up online! For free! But there were something like 20 people watching the neighbours kids…. well, swing and play. We must have been really cute or very persistent! Either one.
Rust oxides with water. It can be pretty to watch. I have it on some garden “pretty things”. All brown and scrowly to touch. Like sandpaper. Nature’s sand paper. Is that what rust is?
Decomposed creativity. Pretty things gone to waste and back into earth. I know coca cola can take some of it away. I had some today. Zero though. Same effekt? I saw a YouTube clip of scissors that they put in coke and after a night or so it came out shiny as new. Cool. Those little tips you pick up.
Rusty Nails. Those are not nice. Been there too long. Can a relationship be rusty? Maybe full of rusty nails. We kept the nails in too long. We needed new ones to keep us together, but we forgot. Hm…. that’s a nice line. Rusty nails, maybe….
