Sean Everett argues that finding creative inspiration starts with identifying moments of genuine awe, what he calls "wow moments." By cataloguing these experiences and studying what made them work, you develop taste that guides your own creations. He walks through a practical loop: seek inspiration beyond the internet, connect with the creators behind things that move you, and use those interactions to sharpen your eye.
Chapters
Holy moly. Well, here we are again at good old Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. And, uh, we raced here to get here at sunrise, and I almost caught it for y'all. It's like just peeking up, just peeking up above the ocean, the beach. And I gotta tell you, every time I come here This is my 3rd or 4th time here. Every time I come here, it's completely unique. Like the last time it was a bit overcast. This time, like this great ball of fire in the sky, like, wow, unbelievable. Oh man. So today we're going to be talking about how to get inspiration from nothing when you feel like you can't quite grab it to create something new. Damn, take that in. This is wild. So there's more people out here today. We got like 5, 10 people out here. So, um, yeah, here's the thing, right? You, you maybe start off and you've got this energy and you're like, you have this feeling like, wow, I really, I want to create something. Um, and you don't quite know where to point it. And so it's like, uh, you look online, you do some stuff, you talk to some people, and you're not quite capturing it. And so it's like, what do I do then? Like, what do I even create? And the big thing, and the reason I'm out here today, is to help you get over that hump. Because I think really the secret in all of this is first you got to figure out like what your super duper attracted to. And not just attracted to and like, oh, it's a pull forward, but this sense of awe and wonder, almost like, wow, this is nuts. Like, I've almost never seen anything like this. That's the essence. That's why, like— and these feeble camera sensors, like, they don't do it justice. If you're here for real, Um, yeah, it's tough to get over, but like, wow. So I was surfing the net this morning and I got into this rabbit hole looking at this type of product, which I'm not going to give away right now, but, um, and tarnish the essence of this video. But yeah, there was— it was like, okay, I've sort of been meandering and wandering towards this ideal, and then I started to get locked onto something and And then I found the thing, right? And then it was like, oh, this element, this version of this thing, and like blew my hair back. And I was like, wow, this, this is, this is incredible. And similar sort of feeling to this. Granted, we can't, we can't ever— it's a lighthouse. We can't ever hope to create something like as exquisite as the natural beauty of this world we live in. Um, but we can get close, we can try. And so when you're creating something, I think you have to have this like essence of taste, right? Which is, okay, my taste is here, this thing I created is here. And you've heard this talked about before. And your goal is to keep getting closer and closer for the thing you make to your taste. And so you continue to build your taste and it gets higher and stronger and better and like more refined. And then like the thing you create can often get further away. And so you've got to just keep like leveling up. And someday, hopefully, maybe if you're in this thing long enough, you can make something that meets your essence of taste defined by whatever measure you define it by. But I think like the, the greatest, most successful product services of all time It just borrows that feeling of wonder, like, wow. I mean, it's not just like, hey, let's slap a silly logo or phrase on a t-shirt and throw it on an e-commerce shop. Like, of course you're not going to get any sales. Of course you're not going to get attention. Um, but stuff like this— they talk about wow moments in product and they overuse it too much in software. other things. But yeah, there is a scroll-stopping nature to nature itself. So that's the essence and intention for today. Um, go out there and like, what's the last thing you remember that stopped you in your tracks? What was it? Where was it? Why was it? And if you, if you can't remember anything, then I think step one is just go search, get your own search algo, like yourself, a bot, whatever, to just go out in the world, like beyond just the internet, go like experience stuff in the real world. Like, look for that thing where it's like, whoa, blows your hair back. And then when you find that thing, like, don't second-guess yourself, like buy it, reach out to the person who created it, like tell them like, man, this Or woman, this thing like was nuts. Like, I've never experienced anything like this. And, um, and then you're paying it forward, you know, you're paying it backwards, paying forward. And then at least you have an essence because you're like, hey, because then you can start to get into the nuance of product design and mechanics. It's like, what is the thing in this that like actually blew my hair back? And it's not about anybody else, right? Like First, you have to make something for you that you want, that you want to see improved in the world, not just for this like mythical, like other person. It's like, oh yeah, they might like it. Anyway, so that's the essence. I'm going to shut up now and we're going to take a look at this. I'm going to get out of frame. Enjoy this. Let's see if we can, uh, give you some extra angles here. Can you just imagine waking up to this every day? It's like magic. So that's the spirit. What's the last thing you remember? I know what mine is, and it certainly had a sense of character. Lived in, it was durable. The wabi-sabi, the vintage nature of it, faded. Through time and experienced the sun, the universe, and stories embedded in it, even if you don't know what they are. To live through things, sort of like life, right? Like those scars on the outside of your body, or maybe on the inside, it gives you depth, gives you character. So yeah, nobody wants to go through the ups and downs of the roller coaster That helps you paint a beautiful picture. The universe is life in that, in a way, everything in between and back and forth and on and on. The wave just keeps waving. So you gotta let go and ride the wave sometimes. After in the sky, comes to work every day. Never says a thing. Always shows up though. The most dependable things on the planet. And that's the other thing. No one gets worried because it's nighttime, because we know the sun's coming up tomorrow. So even if it's nighttime, like, just give it a minute. I had a good friend once— well, still a good friend— and his brother told him something that stuck with me. I've used it with other people in the past. It's helped them, and it's an interesting perspective. It's, uh, It's basically like no storm has enough energy to last forever. So regardless of what you're going through, it ain't gonna be forever. And, uh, things will improve. Things will get better. So sometimes you just gotta let go and ride the wave, move on. And you're still breathing in and out, blinking, still got energy, life left in you. Soak up the sun. Sun's free. Nature's free. Don't let humankind tell you otherwise. Universe is free. It's abundant. It's for everybody. All right, we're gonna wrap it up here. Got some calls and some coffee to get. Love this place. All right, y'all, love to y'all. Stay safe out there. Thank you.
