00:00:15
first there was
00:00:17
nothing and then there was
00:00:24
something out of sheerest emptiness
00:00:28
creativity emerged
00:00:39
what you need to remember is that
00:00:41
creativity is not a separate faculty
00:00:44
that some people have and others don't
00:00:46
uhh the truth is we all have different
00:00:49
creative capabilities because you see
00:00:51
creativity is a function of
00:00:54
intelligence and so creativity is
00:00:56
possible in any activity which actively
00:00:59
engages human intelligence W human bad
00:01:04
choice of words well that's okay it's a
00:01:06
species thing I'm used to it but look
00:01:08
sir kin you know I I really appreciate
00:01:10
this pep talk and all but I'm just not
00:01:12
sure I'm ready to give a talk at Ted of
00:01:15
course you are but they want me to talk
00:01:17
about creativity and that's your field
00:01:19
you're the expert and me well I'm Just
00:01:22
Your Average everyday talking frog kit
00:01:26
no listen to me a Ted each speaker
00:01:30
brings their own experience they do
00:01:32
their own unique idea worth sharing so
00:01:34
you are going to Ted I am and you are
00:01:37
going to do a fantastic job you think
00:01:40
yes you are and do you know why because
00:01:44
being creative is who you are it's the
00:01:46
thing that keeps you going well yeah I
00:01:49
guess it is and if that plane to Ted
00:01:52
leaves the ground and you're not on it
00:01:55
you'll regret it maybe not today M maybe
00:01:58
not tomorrow M but soon and for the rest
00:02:01
of your life oh you know I think you're
00:02:04
absolutely right yes watch out Ted here
00:02:08
I
00:02:09
come oh uh hang on a minute was that
00:02:11
last thing you said from Casablanca uh
00:02:13
yes you know Sir Ken I think this is the
00:02:16
beginning of a beautiful
00:02:19
friendship thank you thank you uh please
00:02:23
welcome my dear friend and the most
00:02:25
cretive amphibian I have ever met and
00:02:28
actually I've met quite a few
00:02:30
ladies and gentlemen kmit the
00:02:33
Frog all right thank you thank you all
00:02:38
oh thank you so much wow you know I have
00:02:41
to tell you guys it is great to be back
00:02:43
in Mississippi yes it is yes it is we
00:02:47
are there and I got to tell you you know
00:02:50
I have Deep Roots here uh or as we frogs
00:02:52
like to say uh need Deep Roots see
00:02:54
that's a frog joke uh okay uh note to
00:02:58
fuzzy bear opening joke did not work uh
00:03:02
anyway listen you know I grew up in a
00:03:04
swamp not far from the Capri theater
00:03:06
here uh which back in those days had a
00:03:08
surprising number of amphibian films uh
00:03:11
like Star
00:03:13
warts and Lawrence of
00:03:16
amphibia and this one who's Afraid of
00:03:19
Virginia
00:03:21
ham yes you know in fact when I was at
00:03:24
Tad pole it was in this very theater
00:03:26
that I lost my uh my tail you yeah and
00:03:31
I'm betting I'm not the only one here
00:03:32
today who lost his tail in a movie
00:03:33
theater
00:03:34
either yeah yeah I'm pretty sure that's
00:03:37
why they call that little place down the
00:03:38
street the pig and pint um a pig a pint
00:03:44
and the rest is
00:03:45
history yep lots of life-changing events
00:03:48
happen here at the Capri anyhow anyhow
00:03:51
before before we explore all the
00:03:53
important creative insights you would
00:03:55
expect to hear from a talking frog I
00:03:57
want to say a very special uh thank you
00:03:59
to cirin Robinson for being such a good
00:04:01
friend and creative Mentor um yeah and
00:04:03
of course by creative Mentor I mean that
00:04:05
for today's presentation uh I have
00:04:08
borrowed as many of his ideas as
00:04:09
possible without getting sued for
00:04:11
plagurism
00:04:11
so uh thank you sir Ken uh and now it's
00:04:16
time to address the most fundamental of
00:04:18
all questions why are we here now I I
00:04:23
mean I know some of us are here because
00:04:24
somebody paid for our flight and our
00:04:25
ticket um and and to those people I say
00:04:28
good for you but I'm talking about about
00:04:29
the big picture why are we as humans and
00:04:33
non-humans here on this planet and um
00:04:36
what are we supposed to do until it's
00:04:38
time to I don't know move on to the
00:04:40
fertile ground or whatever lies Beyond
00:04:42
this
00:04:43
realm well I got to tell you folks to
00:04:46
tell you the truth I don't know why
00:04:47
we're here but a friend of mine who also
00:04:50
grew up around here said that his
00:04:52
ambition was to be one of the people who
00:04:54
made a difference in this world and to
00:04:56
lead this world a little better for his
00:04:58
having been here friend that was a guy
00:05:01
named Jim
00:05:08
Henson and if I say so myself he
00:05:11
certainly did leave this a better place
00:05:12
for having been here you know because
00:05:14
for Jim creativity was all about making
00:05:17
us take a a fresh look at the World by
00:05:20
showing us from you know like some
00:05:22
unusual perspective you know I mean for
00:05:25
instance think about it what's happening
00:05:26
right now you're you're all sitting here
00:05:28
listening to Mia talking amphib
00:05:30
uh that alone is a rather radical Act of
00:05:33
creativity it's what I like to call a
00:05:36
conspiracy of
00:05:38
craziness yep that's it folks we've all
00:05:41
decided to accept the premise suspend
00:05:43
our disbelief and just enjoy the ride to
00:05:46
me that conspiracy of craziness and that
00:05:48
freedom of thought well that's what
00:05:51
being creative is all about and um it's
00:05:53
a pretty neat thing this creativity
00:05:55
thing uh you don't have to be a
00:05:57
Hollywood frog or uh even data a pig to
00:06:00
make it happen lucky you um you know and
00:06:04
the best part is anyone can be creative
00:06:06
and uh matter of fact we all create
00:06:09
every single day and um I I actually
00:06:12
mean that literally you know uh we we
00:06:14
literally create every single day for
00:06:16
ourselves through our cultural
00:06:18
perspectives and our belief systems by
00:06:20
manifesting our particular view of the
00:06:23
world we actually create our world with
00:06:25
every thought now now don't take my word
00:06:27
for this as Sir kin said
00:06:30
creativity is possible in any activity
00:06:32
which actively engages human or uh
00:06:35
nonhuman intelligent and I'm you know I
00:06:38
I just want you to know that I am not a
00:06:40
newcomer to this creative thinking stuff
00:06:42
uh here's some footage we Unearthed of
00:06:44
me with an Associate oh uh oh yikes
00:06:47
wrong footage uh oh my goodness uh yeah
00:06:51
that would be the other footage that we
00:06:52
Unearthed of me with an Associate at one
00:06:54
of the early Ted conferences let me see
00:06:56
if I can oh there we go it says here
00:06:59
that
00:07:02
x
00:07:05
h
00:07:06
five H hey what are you doing oh I'm
00:07:10
taking a course in visual thinking it
00:07:12
teaches you how to visualize your
00:07:13
thoughts watch Q see that man you're
00:07:17
just a beginner I'm an old hand at this
00:07:19
stuff watch hey a real watch with moving
00:07:22
Parts no
00:07:24
less yeah the guy with the glasses uh
00:07:26
you people probably don't know this but
00:07:27
that's actually Ted
00:07:30
yeah capital T capital e capital D but
00:07:33
you know I got to tell you if you think
00:07:34
it's not easy being green try being
00:07:36
black and white sucks the Rainbow
00:07:38
Connection right out of you um but you
00:07:41
know even in those early days I was
00:07:44
fascinated by the creative impulse and
00:07:46
how to get started and uh I realized
00:07:48
that being creative is a lot like living
00:07:50
in the swamp uh first and foremost
00:07:53
you've got to stay alive you need to
00:07:56
avoid being eaten by alligators or
00:07:58
attacked by snakes or even pigs in other
00:08:01
words you need to make a living and you
00:08:03
got to feed and clothe yourself and your
00:08:05
family and whether you're in a
00:08:07
Mississippi swamp or I don't know maybe
00:08:09
Midtown Manhattan or Silicon Valley it
00:08:12
it can seem easier and safer to avoid
00:08:14
risk than to take creative chances and
00:08:16
let your mind run free we're all worried
00:08:19
about making a living and not getting
00:08:21
devoured by alligators or competitors
00:08:23
that we kind of start believing that
00:08:25
there's no time for being creative
00:08:27
creativity we think is for artists
00:08:30
imagination and inspiration well those
00:08:32
are just words we use around kids but
00:08:34
for grown-ups well those are just nice
00:08:36
words in some corporate mission
00:08:38
statement our real job is to make a
00:08:41
living well folks I am here to say that
00:08:43
is wrong or at least self-deceptive you
00:08:46
know because I believe creativity is an
00:08:49
inherent part of everyone uh to again
00:08:52
quote sir kin creativity is the true
00:08:54
engine of our economy it's the very
00:08:57
essence of invention and innovation and
00:08:59
I believe that's true and and when you
00:09:01
find that place in your life to be
00:09:03
creative you make the world a better
00:09:05
place to live in so now that I have
00:09:08
declared that everyone is in fact
00:09:10
creative where do you start to tap into
00:09:12
this creativity and the answer is
00:09:15
anywhere now Michelangelo for instance
00:09:18
started with a block of marble and he
00:09:20
famously said I saw the angel in the
00:09:23
marble and carved until I set it free
00:09:26
but you know some people start with test
00:09:27
tubes and beakers or or they come up
00:09:30
with a better way to mop the floor or or
00:09:32
a more effective way to achieve flight
00:09:34
even on a motorcycle some people work in
00:09:36
a kitchen some people work in politics
00:09:39
and others well they do as little as
00:09:41
possible and figure out a way to get
00:09:42
paid for it in other words there are as
00:09:45
many ways to be creative as there are
00:09:47
Muppets and believe you me there are a
00:09:49
lot of Muppets and um I don't know I got
00:09:52
to meet payroll every
00:09:54
week but to get started sometimes you
00:09:57
have to take a chance you know my
00:09:59
mangelo chipped away at a lot of stone
00:10:01
before he found his Angel and Albert
00:10:03
Einstein well he scribbled a lot of
00:10:05
numbers before he came up with his
00:10:07
theory of relativity and of course then
00:10:09
there's Ron popel he burned tons of
00:10:11
chickens before he could set it and
00:10:14
forget it with that Rotisserie Oven
00:10:15
right there
00:10:17
yes but all of those people had one
00:10:21
thing in common folks they didn't wait
00:10:23
to know where they were going before
00:10:24
they started their Journey they each had
00:10:27
what Jim Hinson liked to call ridiculous
00:10:30
optimism yep that's
00:10:36
right without that we would not even
00:10:38
have this amazing world we live in and
00:10:41
heck without that without ridiculous
00:10:42
optimism there's a good chance none of
00:10:44
us would be here today I mean let's face
00:10:46
it if our mothers weren't ridiculously
00:10:48
optimistic they probably wouldn't have
00:10:49
gone out on that second date with our
00:10:51
fathers as the saying goes if necessity
00:10:55
is the mother of invention then
00:10:56
creativity is the Father which means on
00:10:59
some Cosmic level we are all the
00:11:01
children of necessity and creativity ooh
00:11:06
ah oh that made my head hurt uh you guys
00:11:09
could just excuse me just a sec I
00:11:22
um love iced tea
00:11:33
a
00:11:35
nice excuse me wow that was really good
00:11:38
uh oh where were we um excuse me oh
00:11:41
right passion so passion uh let's see
00:11:44
here um uh oh not that kind of passion
00:11:47
no uh I mean uh I mean the passion to do
00:11:51
something creative because you can't not
00:11:53
do it that's the most important thing to
00:11:55
me not doing it is not an option
00:11:59
right can I get an amen thank you folks
00:12:03
that's fun oh that's fun now I know why
00:12:05
they do that U yeah I mean sure we all
00:12:10
have to learn a live earn a living but
00:12:12
but we also shouldn't be afraid to
00:12:13
wander off down the trail of creative
00:12:15
risk taking once in a while and explore
00:12:17
a whole different way of thinking and
00:12:19
living and doing now the great 20th
00:12:23
century surrealist Salvador Dolly uh who
00:12:26
incidentally looks a lot like a good
00:12:27
friend of mine boomerang fish or New
00:12:30
Zealand uh he said have no fear of
00:12:33
perfection you will never reach it so
00:12:36
the point of that is to never worry
00:12:38
about failure because it's going to
00:12:39
happen but that's okay go ahead and take
00:12:42
chances and you might just find that
00:12:44
what feels like failure isn't failure at
00:12:46
all it's what inspires you to dream even
00:12:48
bigger so be thankful for the good and
00:12:51
the not so good you know it's just part
00:12:53
of getting better at the things you do
00:12:55
and at being you I mean discipline and
00:12:58
focus is important
00:12:59
but so is controlled and inspired chaos
00:13:03
and we need to encourage each other to
00:13:04
take chances and sometimes fail and yes
00:13:08
our critics can be harsh and Relentless
00:13:10
that was terrible horrendous I'm
00:13:12
offended I'm AED yeah uhhuh but it's
00:13:16
chaos mixed with failure and and all
00:13:19
kinds of inspiration and perseverance
00:13:20
that raise me up out of this fertile
00:13:22
ground of Mississippi mud and made the
00:13:24
muppets possible now another one of my
00:13:26
favorite quotes is from the 19th centur
00:13:29
y French poet Charles
00:13:31
bodair who also kind of looked like New
00:13:33
Zealand um but anyway he said genius is
00:13:37
no more than childhood recaptured at
00:13:41
will now I got to tell you folks besides
00:13:44
Sir Ken Robinson uh there's this other
00:13:46
guy named Ken that I really like to pay
00:13:48
attention to and his name is Ken Wilbur
00:13:52
uh you might even say that when it comes
00:13:53
to humans I have a real kinship with
00:13:56
kins and uh then again you might not
00:14:00
send that note to fuzzy as
00:14:02
well but anyhow Ken Wilbur says that the
00:14:05
process of evolution is to transcend and
00:14:09
include now what that means is that as
00:14:11
we evolve we don't just become different
00:14:14
we transcend and go beyond who we
00:14:17
formerly were by evolving through stages
00:14:19
of growth and development while still
00:14:22
including all that we were before we
00:14:24
transcend but we include see what I mean
00:14:28
yeah it's all still in there so it turns
00:14:30
out that we can look back at the stages
00:14:32
of development we've already gone
00:14:33
through objectively sort of our our
00:14:35
former selves which means that that
00:14:38
sometimes elusive inner child is
00:14:40
actually always with us now that can
00:14:43
help us recapture childhood cause when
00:14:45
we use our ability to look back
00:14:47
objectively as uh oh I don't know the
00:14:49
the fertilizer to make our creative
00:14:51
ground even more fertile that's a good
00:14:53
thing and if you're expecting a
00:14:55
fertilizer joke uh not going to happen
00:14:58
all I hate for this thing to get bumped
00:14:59
off YouTube on a
00:15:01
technicality so let's take something
00:15:04
crazy like say Lou Zealand's boomerang
00:15:06
fish throwing I mean you know that may
00:15:08
sound absolutely baddy to a trained mind
00:15:11
but to the mind of a child it can sound
00:15:13
wonderful and inviting why because
00:15:16
without fixed ideas they're open to
00:15:18
silliness and crazy next steps the mind
00:15:21
of a child is a beginner's mind and for
00:15:25
them every idea is fresh and stimulating
00:15:27
and leads somewhere special and
00:15:29
surprising now I found out a lot more
00:15:32
about The Beginner's mind when I read
00:15:34
about something called
00:15:36
Shen now at first of course I thought
00:15:39
soen was some overpriced West Hollywood
00:15:41
sushi bar Miss Piggy wanted me to take
00:15:42
her to but that's true she did make me
00:15:46
take her to such a West Hollywood sushi
00:15:48
bar but it turns out that shosen is
00:15:50
actually a concept in Zen Buddhism
00:15:52
meaning beginner's mind and beginner's
00:15:55
mind is about having sort of an attitude
00:15:57
of of of of openness eagerness and a
00:15:59
lack of preconceptions when it comes to
00:16:01
studying a subject uh as zen teacher
00:16:04
shanu Suzuki wrote In The Beginner's
00:16:06
mind there are many possibilities in the
00:16:09
expert's mind there are few so by
00:16:12
approaching a subject the way a beginner
00:16:14
or a childhood we start to open up
00:16:17
possibilities and we leave ourselves
00:16:18
open to uh well who knows what right
00:16:23
yeah so now as you know I've been
00:16:25
working with kids for decades in fact
00:16:27
back in the day I'm not embarrassed to
00:16:30
say I used to run numbers on Sesame
00:16:32
Street and I think what Sir Ken said
00:16:34
about kids and creativity is so
00:16:36
brilliant well if he weren't already a
00:16:38
sir I'd KN him myself so uh here are a
00:16:41
few things I've learned from Sir Ken
00:16:42
Robinson and uh you can sort of think of
00:16:44
this as the complete amphibian guide to
00:16:46
Ken Robinson so here goes first we train
00:16:50
kids to follow the right way to solve a
00:16:52
problem now sure I want the guy who
00:16:55
designed the airplane I'm flying on to
00:16:57
have done things the right way but uh
00:16:59
you know there are so many areas of life
00:17:01
where there's room to explore and to
00:17:04
experiment and to make mistakes um I I
00:17:07
you know what you know what I don't
00:17:08
think I can say this any better than sir
00:17:09
Kin did so if you guys don't mind I'm
00:17:11
just going to go full Millie
00:17:13
vanilly we have to rethink the
00:17:15
fundamental principles on which we're
00:17:16
educating our children there you go
00:17:19
think I sound a lot like Michael C when
00:17:21
I do that uh oh who incidentally told me
00:17:24
on these set of them up at Christmas
00:17:25
Carol never get between the Pig and the
00:17:27
camera that's why the man has an
00:17:31
Oscar anyway listen I I think what Sir
00:17:33
Ken is saying through me is that we need
00:17:36
to Value all kinds of talent not just
00:17:38
what seems value to us right now you
00:17:40
know because because we need to
00:17:42
appreciate that things which seem like
00:17:43
mistakes today well those things could
00:17:47
turn out to be tomorrow's Innovations
00:17:49
yeah and second we need to help kids and
00:17:52
all of us trying to to connect with our
00:17:54
inner tadle to pursue our passion even
00:17:58
when the the going gets tough now for
00:18:00
grown-ups that just might mean folks you
00:18:03
got to have a day job cuz let's face it
00:18:06
it's easier to take creative chances
00:18:07
when it's not how you're trying to
00:18:08
support yourself that can be tough but
00:18:11
even when you're working whatever job
00:18:13
pays your bills and allows you to go to
00:18:15
those expensive sushi bars with a pick
00:18:17
of your choice you can always look for
00:18:19
ways to be creative whatever you're
00:18:22
doing think outside the box and uh if
00:18:26
you're like me you really hate boxes
00:18:28
especially when they forget to punch the
00:18:30
air holes in them I travel cargo uh
00:18:34
anyhow uh and once you've followed all
00:18:36
this advice about passion and
00:18:38
perseverance it's time to seek help and
00:18:41
trust me you're going to need it now um
00:18:43
just so you know I'm not suggesting that
00:18:45
any of you should see a shrink maybe you
00:18:48
should but uh what I'm saying is find a
00:18:51
mentor someone who is the perfect mix of
00:18:54
fan and critic you can learn to borrow
00:18:56
from them and you can observe not just
00:18:58
how they do what they do but what
00:19:00
they're thinking while they do it I
00:19:03
think that's very important to find out
00:19:04
that sort of thing to to learn about
00:19:06
their Unique Interior process and how
00:19:08
they go about it now sometimes a mentor
00:19:11
is someone who we meet at work or or we
00:19:13
might work with that person and um
00:19:16
sometimes that person is someone we
00:19:17
can't actually work with but we know by
00:19:19
their work we can read about them and
00:19:21
stuff like that like Einstein or Picasso
00:19:22
you know but they can still Inspire and
00:19:25
guide you and mentors can help us in
00:19:27
another great way they can can help us
00:19:29
to be aware of what's come before now to
00:19:31
be creative you don't always have to
00:19:33
reinvent the wheel sometimes you can
00:19:36
start with somebody else's wheel and put
00:19:37
your own spin on it you know being a
00:19:40
part of any creative discipline means
00:19:42
knowing what the rules are even if you
00:19:44
have every intention of breaking those
00:19:46
rules that's right finally there's one
00:19:50
other thing that I think every frog or
00:19:52
person needs to be creative and that is
00:19:55
friends for me I think the very best
00:19:59
part of creativity is collaborating with
00:20:01
friends and colleagues now um admittedly
00:20:04
mine happen to be bears and pigs and
00:20:06
rats and chickens and Penguins uh you
00:20:08
can go with whatever works for you but
00:20:10
let's face it none of us really achieves
00:20:12
anything absolutely
00:20:14
alone so as a matter of fact um just my
00:20:18
very being here today took a lot of
00:20:20
effort by a lot of folks uh why at this
00:20:23
very moment as I speak someone has a
00:20:25
hand in everything I'm doing up here no
00:20:29
and
00:20:30
yes yes it's
00:20:32
true absolutely true and I'll be the
00:20:35
first to admit it moves
00:20:39
me uh anyhow on collaboration I think
00:20:43
Ken Wilbur gets right to the heart of
00:20:44
the matter he's created something he
00:20:46
calls an integral approach and here's
00:20:49
what he says he says I have one major
00:20:52
rule everybody is right but more
00:20:55
specifically everybody has some
00:20:57
important pieces of the truth and and
00:20:58
all of those pieces need to be honored
00:21:01
and included they all need to have a
00:21:03
place at the table now that's a great
00:21:05
way to live and work and I know that
00:21:07
because it's the way the Muppets have
00:21:08
always worked uh that way of thinking
00:21:10
has taught me that as we go through life
00:21:12
we're sort of piling on deeper and
00:21:14
deeper layers of Consciousness which
00:21:16
leads to a greater capacity to take
00:21:20
multiple perspectives uh it's a little
00:21:22
bit like the Min layers of dessert that
00:21:24
are pil of Miss Piggies plated and all
00:21:26
you can eat buffet um only with this
00:21:28
there's a lot less carbs and a lot more
00:21:30
nutrition I mean think about it for a
00:21:32
second everybody really think about this
00:21:34
if everybody potentially has some piece
00:21:37
of the puzzle to offer you doesn't it
00:21:39
make sense to be open-minded and to have
00:21:41
an integral approach I think it does and
00:21:44
whether you're creating some artistic
00:21:46
Masterpiece or just a better way to
00:21:48
organize your cubicle being open to many
00:21:51
perspective makes whatever you're doing
00:21:53
just more inclusive and whole and a
00:21:56
creative economy grows if all of share
00:21:59
what we know and seek out the wisdom of
00:22:01
others now the other Ken Sir Ken
00:22:04
Robinson put it this way he says
00:22:06
creativity prospers best under
00:22:08
particular conditions especially when
00:22:10
there is a flow of ideas between people
00:22:12
who have different sorts of expertise um
00:22:16
I actually sort of said something
00:22:17
similar at the end of the very first
00:22:19
Muppet movie the big difference was um I
00:22:22
was wearing cowboy boots I said I've got
00:22:25
a dream too and it's about singing and
00:22:27
dancing and making people happy that's
00:22:29
the kind of dream that gets better the
00:22:31
more people you share it with and well I
00:22:34
found a whole bunch of friends who have
00:22:35
the same dream and it kind of makes us a
00:22:38
family and so maybe that's the answer to
00:22:41
the first question I asked today why are
00:22:44
we here maybe we're here to encourage
00:22:46
each other to share our dreams and to
00:22:48
become the best version of ourselves we
00:22:51
can possibly be and maybe we're also
00:22:53
here in this universe for the very same
00:22:55
reason you know the great mathematician
00:22:57
and philosopher Alf North Whitehead who
00:22:59
by the way looks absolutely nothing like
00:23:01
New Zealand uh uh he said creativity is
00:23:05
an ultimate which means you have to have
00:23:08
it before you can have anything else
00:23:10
think about that for a while so maybe
00:23:12
the Big Bang was really just the first
00:23:14
big creative idea it got this whole
00:23:17
thing going and now it's our purpose to
00:23:19
keep it going to be ridiculously
00:23:21
optimistic about what the future can be
00:23:23
so don't just sit there find your Mentor
00:23:27
pay attention to the two K drop your
00:23:29
tail and let's get busy and thank you
00:23:31
for having me
00:23:35
here thank you all thanks
00:23:40
guys
00:23:42
a all right thank you thank you
