Good morning my dear email subscriber.

It is I, Godfrey The Great.

And a little bird told me that most people don't think they’re creative.

Apparently, they say were born without the "creativity gene".

Well my dear reader, this truly upset me.

It breaks my heart to hear how helpless some people are.

To avoid you going through the same turmoil, let me tell you something radical:

Creativity does not come from your parents - it comes from pressure.

Allow me to explain.

First up, we need to look at one of the most prolific TV shows ever made:

South Park.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone have made:

• 328 episodes
• 26 seasons
• 7 specials
• 2 movies

And at their peak, they made one episode per week from scratch.

Despite having no scripts on Monday - they'd have a finished show by Saturday.

And they did this every single week.

Sure, their process is brutal.

But that brutal pressure is the thing that forces them to create.

Trey Parker admitted that the only way they were able to make South Park into the behemoth it became was through tight deadlines.

If it wasn't for them, he'd spend months trying to perfect one episode.

But with a hard deadline?

They can't waste time hesitating — they have to make something.

And that’s why South Park is still crushing it after almost 30 years on the air.

Now we need to look at my favourite band ever:

The Beatles.

From 1963–1969, The Beatles were on an absolute tear.

They released 12 albums, 7 of which are some of the greatest pieces of music ever recorded.

They were touring, recording, writing, rehearsing, and experimenting all at once.

They didn’t have time to wait for “the perfect idea.”

They just showed up and made art every day.

The Fab Four were constantly pushing each other, and the pressure from the people around them made sure that they wouldn't stop working.

In contrast, a contemporary musician I love, Tame Impala, has released just 4 albums in 10 years.

And unlike The Beatles, his albums haven't gotten better over time like theirs did.

(Just my opinion).

In short, creativity isn’t a lightning bolt from the sky.

It’s a discipline you cultivate and force into existence.

My dear reader, if you’ve been waiting for the “perfect time” to be creative, I’ve got bad news:

You might be too free.

You might have too much time and too little urgency.

No constraints forcing you to perform.

Maybe it's not your parents who are to blame.

Maybe it's not because you're not destined to be creative.

Perhaps it's just because you've not been forced into a corner.

The Beatles didn’t have time.

South Park didn’t have time.

James Cameron didn’t have time when he made Terminator.

But you know what they all had in common?

Pressure.

And as the saying goes:

"No pressure, no diamonds."

The fact of the matter is, every masterpiece you love — from Tarantino to Tolkien — was forged under some kind of limit:

• Risk
• Time
• Budget
• Responsibility

What you need to understand is:

Great ideas don’t matter; execution does.

So if you want to be more creative - put yourself in a cage.

(Not literally lol)

And not forever either.

Just long enough for you to build something worth escaping into.

Stop being a scaredy cat and set a strict deadline.

It needs to feel real.

From there, I promise you'll have 0 problems creating things.

Much love,

Godfrey

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