Moments of Conception 054 — The Finkle Scene from Ace Ventura

All creativity begins with the moment of conception.

That little piece of kindling that gets the fire going. That initial source of inspiration that takes on a life of its own. That single note from which the entire symphony grows. That single spark of life that signals an idea’s movement value, almost screaming to us, something wants to be built here.

And so, in this new blog series, I’m going to be deconstructing my favorite moments of conception from popular movies. Each post will contain a video clip from a different film, along with a series of lessons we can learn from the characters.

Today’s clip comes from the Finkle scene in Ace Ventura:

What can we learn?

Prolific thinkers are prodigious linkers. Ventura may have overdue rent, a battered clunker
of a car and an eccentric sense of style, but when it comes to the skill of bridging, he’s undeniable. The art of making connections and noticing natural relationships between seemingly unrelated ideas is what makes him successful as a
detective. And so, he executes every strategy in his playbook to solve the case.
Gazing out the window, replaying voicemail messages, staring at the clues,
jumping up and down, pacing around the room, talking out loud to himself, even having
conversations with his pets. Anything to get blood to the brain and get the
intuitive juices flowing. But as the night progresses, he’s still firing
blanks. And by the time morning breaks, he’s totally spent and on the verge of
tears. Of course, that’s precisely when the muse shows up. She makes herself
known at just the right time to give him just the right insight. Inspiration
is a tease like that. Only making herself known when
we’ve reach the end of our creative rope. Frustrating, but inevitable. How will you beguile inspiration?

We need you to be
you. Wiggles is the hero of the final act. Thanks to his dark haired floppy
ears, we get a vision of the killer in a transgender disguise. We realize that
the football player and the missing hiker are actually the same person. Finkle
is a man. Einhorn is a woman. It all makes sense now. This is the eureka moment
that changes everything. Coincidence? Not at all. The pet detective was simply
doing what he did best: Looking to
animals for answers. As he states early in the movie, he feels a kinship
with animals. He understands them. And if that makes him the laughing stock of
the police department, so be it. That’s how he’s wired, that’s how he works. And
so, it’s a gentle reminder to all the creators out there. We need you to be
you. To know your flow. To have an exquisite understanding of what sends you
into that accelerated, highly spiritual state of creative awareness when you do
what you do best. Are you currently
operating out of your passion?

Sounding board, sounding boredom. Ventura
is an independent contractor. A freelancer. An artist and entrepreneur who runs
his own business. And with the exception of his pets, jungle friends and other
four legged companions, the man is essentially an island. This an occupational hazard. Because no matter how adept you are at
problem solving, it’s hard to play basketball without a backboard. Solitude is a nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live
there. And so, in a time where loneliness has become the most common
ailment of the modern world, we ought to be careful to avoid prolonged
isolation. In fact, if I were starting my
business from scratch today, one of the first things I would do is secure a
desk at a coworking space. I was just reading a global study about how the
number of coworking facilities has more than doubled in the last two years.
Turns out, those people are actually more creative and productive and satisfied compared to working from home. It’s the energized environment
and added accountability of having people around. Artists and creators and
entrepreneurs are finally getting the message. It’s hard to be creative alone. What interactions give you confidence?

What’s your favorite movie moment of conception?