Tyler Durden on innovation and creativity
So why do we find it so hard to break out of our rutines and do truly innovative things?
Tough question, but I came closer to the answer when I just stumbled upon these 8 interesting rules of innovation based on Tyler Durden from the novel/movie Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. For those of you living on a remote island, Fight Club is basically about living the life you truly want to live, and the hard path to getting there. Tyler helps the story’s protagonist in his search for enlightenment in the age of western consumerism.
The idea behind these 8 rules is that we can all learn something from the teachings of Tyler. The idea is that Tyler Durden says a lot of things that apply directly to innovative and creative action. Here are his 8 rules for creative people to live by… and please feel free to talk about them as much as you want to!
Tyler’s First Rule of Innovation:
“No fear. No distractions. The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide.”
This is the most important lesson, and it’s the one people struggle with and resist. Tim Ferriss advocates the 80/20 rule of productivity, where you focus relentlessly on the 20% of the actions that lead to 80% of the return. People see this as nice in theory, but not practical.
The 80/20 rule of productivity requires radical elimination, or letting that which does not matter to creative moves truly slide. Use that newfound time for creative thinking that leads to innovative action, and you will succeed, guaranteed.
Tyler’s Second Rule of Innovation:
“No fear! No distractions! The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide!”
Seriously. Don’t break the first two rules.
Tyler’s Third Rule of Innovation:
“I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let’s evolve, let the chips fall where they may.”
Let’s face it, when we break Tyler’s first two rules of innovation and distract ourselves with foolish productivity, it’s often because we’re afraid (which also violates Tyler’s first two rules). We’re afraid of failure, ridicule, risk, mediocrity, and perhaps even success itself.
If you’re going to evolve and grow as a creative person, you’re going to make mistakes. In fact, you should start making twice as many mistakes as soon as possible if you want to have an innovative breakthrough.
Make mistakes and let the chips fall where they may. You might like the landing.
Tyler’s Fourth Rule of Innovation:
“It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.”
Oh, yeah… don’t be afraid to make big mistakes. More importantly, don’t worry about everything going according to plan. In fact, if everything’s going according to plan, there’s a good chance nothing remarkable is getting done.
They say life is what happens while you’re making other plans. Innovation is what happens when you recognize when to change the plan and perhaps the entire game. Maybe your initial plan falls apart, or maybe you simply need to throw the current plan away.
Don’t let the plan restrict the freedom to have a game-changing idea, and act on it, at any time. Losing everything may be the best thing that ever happens to you.
Tyler’s Fifth Rule of Innovation:
“You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis.”
When we talk about fear, risk, mistakes, and losing it all, what are we really afraid of? Are we defined by the stuff we own, or would we prefer to be defined by what we accomplish and create for the world?
I’m not saying give all your stuff away or take foolish risks that harm your family or yourself. I’m saying don’t let the stuff you own start to own you to the point that you can’t live the life you want to live and do the things you want to do.
Tyler’s Sixth Rule of Innovation:
“People do it everyday, they talk to themselves… they see themselves as they’d like to be, they don’t have the courage you have, to just run with it.”
I bet you’ve got a great idea right now, bouncing around in your head. What are you going to do with it?
Be what you’d like to be, and do what you’d like to do… it really is that simple. Having the courage to just run with it is the difference between a fulfilling life and a life full of regret.
Tyler’s Seventh Rule of Innovation:
“Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken.”
On the other hand, wearing black hipster clothing and hanging in cafes smoking Gaulloises cigarettes does not make you creative. Buying a MacBook Pro and an iPhone doesn’t get it done either.
Creativity and innovation are mainly about hard work. It’s about constantly coming up with ideas and thinking through problems instead of vegging out. And it’s about taking action, plain and simple.
Tyler’s Eighth Rule of Innovation:
“This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.”
First, you have to know, not fear, know that someday you are going to die. Until you know that, you have no sense of urgency. You think you have all the time in the world to do amazing things, but you may not live to see that particular someday.
So quit reading articles for a bit and go do what really needs to be done today.
Tyler Durden on innovation and creativity | I’M THE INTERNET …: Tim Ferriss advocates the 80/20 rule of produc.. http://tinyurl.com/c6oful
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Trying to reverse those rules is funny.
This partially relates to Malcolm Gladwell’s books, and the idea of the NEED, (AND POTENTIAL ~ENORMOUS~ BENEFIT), of properly instructed meta cognition in the world (I have read the 2nd one but none of the others yet >.<) I have developed my own concepts,theory’s and ideas related to how the human psyche is not understood correctly before I even read malcom gladwell, – and almost every single one he brought up in blink.. with the exception of a few which I’m guessing he just didn’t realize. (that may sound arrogant, however I THINK we are undeservingly forced to be modest in our society, which I think consequently demotes ones true achievement – and deserved validation of confidence in their own ability’s) Our culture, at least in the united states, does not even realize there is so much more to humanity if they just knew how to mentally control certain process among other things… This just irritates me because so many different people could be helped,”normal”, mentally impaired,etc., with the problems that they face, when truthfully, life doesn’t have to be like that,you can control almost nearly all aspects of your own mental facilities if you are just given the right understanding of your own mind and how the mind physically and chemically works as well… but this is not discussed popularly in modern psychology, from what I know anyway, but then again I haven’t taken a psych class since my high school junior year of 07. Fuckkked up on xani’s so I wrote to much.peace.
Great adaptation!
“Don’t let the plan restrict the freedom to have a game-changing idea, and act on it, at any time.”
If you want to have a plan to change the game, go on http://www.zeitgeistmovement.com or see on the first time http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/add_french.htm
Thanks all and enjoy
I LOVE CHUCK PALAHNIUK http://www.imtheinternet.com/?p=236
Or as Brandy Alexandra, one operation away from being the perfect woman, says; enough of any drug will cure any disease.
-No matter how stupid the idea is, at some point we will all dance along. Now it might not be creative but it looks like it’s working for a lot of companies
any way, I strongly believe that every university should replace their books with the likes of Chuch Palahnuik, Don Delillo, Bukowsky, Michel Houllebecq, Douglas coupland, Tama Janowitz, Bret Easton Ellis, Tricia Warden etc…and I’m sure that we would learn alot more about how society, people, marketing, innovation, death, life works
or even better, if you really want to know about innovation studie the work of Chuck Close
First you have to know , not fear … that this is your life and it’s ending one minute at the time http://www.imtheinternet.com/?p=236
[...] (I’ll get you front row tickets to a game in the N1 league, of your choice). Check out his Tyler Durden on innovation and creativity piece which offers answeres to the question why “we find it so hard to break out of our [...]
Great post brother. Keep it up.
Sincerely,
Francesco Bellafante
http://iamrocky.org
@Julien
Zeitgeist?? Now there’s a waste of your preciously short life. A bunch of paranoid delusionals trying to cook up another episode of X-Files using falsified facts. They’re no better than the people they try to lynch – It’s all bullshit, you know. Why you encourage people to dance along with some other crackhead’s ramblings when we can make up our own bullshit just as easy…well, that’s beyond me.
Will to Power all the way
Tyler Durden (Fight club) on innovation and creativity: http://www.imtheinternet.com/?p=236
i just like it cos they quote tyler durden..haha – http://www.imtheinternet.com/?p=236