Moments of Conception 081 - The Bar Scene from Into the Wild

August 22, 2014 11:06 AM

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 bar scene in Into the Wild:

What can we learn?

Use baitless hooks. Edison
famously built his own private fishing pier so he
could have a place to be alone with his thoughts each day. What’s interesting
his, he never used bait. Just a hook. That’s how process oriented he was.
That’s how detached from outcomes he was. To him, fishing wasn’t about reeling
in dinner, it was about reveling in the experience. Alex seeks a similar
existence. A life of single minded immersion.
His dream is to trade his traditional achievement orientation––working as
a means for achieving an ends––for his coveted adventure orientation, which is
living in the moment and being one with nature. And so, the question becomes,
can the modern artist live this way? Can the creator of ideas, a responsible
person who wants to make art but also wants to pay the bills, afford to fish
with baitless hooks? It’s hard to say. Because you can’t neglect your basic
needs. Everyone has to resolve the problem of livelihood. And that’s the
challenge with transcendentalism. It’s romantic and admirable and interesting,
but not always the most practical way to live. How do you balance your need for achievement with your desire for
adventure?

Love the work more than what it
produces. Making
an idea real takes consistent, persistent application of energy toward that
idea. And that takes time. Lots of it. And so, for the sake of our sanities, we
may as well discover the ecstasy within the process itself. We may as well
embrace the sublime joy of seeing things come together to produce an artistic
whole. Detaching from outcomes in this way help keep us focused on the creative
process, not what creativity produces. In fact, contemporary flow research shows that creators
and performers are actually motivated by the quality of the experience they
feel when they are involved with the activity, not the end result. They operate
from an autotelic mindset, meaning
they enjoy the process of creation for its own sake. Alex is an inspiring example of someone completely engrossed in
the moment. Someone who knows the journey is
the destination. I’m reminded of
something my mentor used to say. It’s not the book, it’s the person you become
by writing it. And the best part is, that principle applies to any creative
project. Because the medium we’re working with is ourselves. Is the present moment your friend or your
enemy?

A look back at all those times the world didn’t end. This movie stirs up boundary issues
for me. Alex reminds me to always wonder, is this an opportunity, or an
opportunity to be used? Is this going to bring me closer to success, or is this
everyone else’s agenda for my time? Boundaries, after all, determine how others
will treat us. They define what we are and are not responsible for. And if we
don’t set them for ourselves, others will set them for us. Most artists
struggle with this issue at one time or another. They’re terrified of
containing the access people have to them, depriving themselves of the many pulls
on their time an attention. But the thing about boundaries is, it’s not being
irresponsible to our work or our relationships, it’s being responsible to
ourselves. In my late twenties, I used to take mini sabbaticals. I’d spend a
few days in a cabin in the mountains, free from the burdens of technology,
completely cut off from the world. And it was
difficult. As someone who’s genetically wired for hard work, one of the hardest
things to do is nothing. Especially when that next email might be a paying
client. But what I realized is, my life doesn’t need to revolve around one pseudo digital
crisis after another. Most of the world is not sitting on the edge of
their seats, eagerly anticipating my every move. What would a radical level of self care look like for you?