Johnny Cash is estimated to have written and co-written more than 1,000 songs during his lifetime.
He was one of the most prolific artists of all time.
In an interview in 1993, Cash talked about his process and how he’d increase the probability of being able to write a song:
“Songwriting is a very strange thing, as far as I’m concerned,” Cash said.
“It’s not something where I can say, ‘Next Tuesday morning, I’m gonna sit down and write a song.’
I can’t do that. No way.
But if I say, ‘Next Tuesday morning, I’m gonna go to the country and take a walk in the woods,’ then the probability is that next Tuesday night, I can write a song.
You know, creative people have to be fed from the divine source. I do. I have to get fed. I have to get filled up in order to pour out. I really have to.”
Takeaway 1:
During a live Q&A, the neuroscientist Andrew Huberman was asked,
What is the best way to foster creativity and inspiration in your life?
“The best way to foster creativity and inspiration,” Huberman replied, “is what is actually called Strummer’s Law.”
Strummer’s Law is named after the Clash’s Joe Strummer, who said,
“No input, no output.”
If you don’t fill up, as Cash put it, you can’t pour out.
Takeaway 2:
It’s important to point out that when Johnny Cash was in the act of trying to increase the probability of being able to write a song, to the outside observer, it would have looked like he wasn’t really doing anything.
Taking a walk in the woods, to the outside observer, doesn’t appear as productive as, for instance, sitting at a desk in front of a computer.
The fact that the best way to foster creativity and inspiration involves doing things that appear like doing nothing can be problematic.
Some people (myself included) feel anxious or lazy or that they are procrastinating when they are not visibly and actively working. Or, as Morgan Housel has written, “Tell your boss you found a trick that will make you more creative and productive, and they’ll ask what you’re waiting for. Tell them that your trick is taking a 90-minute walk in the middle of the day, and they’ll say no, you need to work.”
The most creative and prolific prioritize both. Like Cash, they carve out time to fill up (e.g. taking long walks) and to pour out (e.g. sitting down to write).
“Ultimately, the way to come up with new ideas is to collect the raw materials of experience, and then to give ourselves periods of doing nothing, which gives those raw materials the opportunity to marinate and combine and geyser up in whatever ways are unique to you.” — Andrew Huberman