Feeling uncreative? It’s because of a deal people made in the industrial revolution

Creativity comes naturally to many.

Unfortunately I’m not one of them.

My creative journey came to an end when I was in third grade.

We were in art class and the teacher told us to draw a guy in a library.

And after 30 minutes of intense lip-biting focus and countless times erasing all the imperfections I was asked to present my drawing for the class.

I was proud of it and thought I’d have the best drawing of the day.

But when my class and teacher saw it.

…They bursted out laughing. Telling me I should stick to sports.

Perhaps they were right—a stick figure holding a box hardly screams ‘Da Vinci prodigy’. But maybe a colored version of the drawing could’ve made it to a modern art exhibition but it was stopped by a jealous teacher who was jealous of my creativity.

And do you know what was even worse?

when I wanted to major in architecture people reminded me of my 3rd grade drawing.

So that came to a halt as well.

It’s been just over 12 months since I picked up writing, and I’ve had to work hard in un-doing all the 14 years that I’ve avoided doing any creative work.

Turns out that the people who told me I’d never be creative were just the tip of the iceberg of a much deeper and bigger problem.

It goes back to the industrial revolution.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the main objective of educational institutions has been to pump out factory workers.

Because factories (businesses) they would sponsor those institutions.

It’s a deal they made long before you and I were born.

In the 1950s NASA did a study. They got 1,600 kids aged 3-5 in a school headstart program.

98% of them have ‘creative genius potential’.

But by adulthood, only 2% had it.

We’re told to follow the rules, tick boxes that don’t mean anything, and ask no questions.

That was 70 years ago, and with AI and automation are on the rise. Things got worse.

Now, the only way to become irreplaceable and secure your future is to be creative.

Because that’s something that AI and automations can’t do.

They can’t create something that they haven’t learned.

This leads me to the main point of today:

You must approach creativity with optimism.

For a long time, I told myself I wasn’t creative, and it was true until I changed my beliefs.

I realized that whatever you think of yourself (positive or negative), it eventually becomes true. Think you’re not creative, and you won’t be.

A truth most people won’t admit: You’ll be working hard for months (sometimes years) and see little to no reward.

Two tips to help.

First, you’ll have to realize that you’ll be in for a rough ride and that good things take time. No one gives a shit about you until you make it. Then they start paying attention to what you say.

Second, pick one creative outlet.

I used to think creativity is something you’re born with.

It’s either you have it or not. Black and white. No middle ground.

But creativity is more like a faucet that hasn’t been used for months. As soon as you turn it on you’ll get the rusty water but if you leave it running for a while, then you’ll start getting clean water.

Choose more than 1 and you’ll spread yourself too thin and won’t find any success with it.

For me, I chose writing as my creative outlet.

But it took me months to finally have the creative ideas following.

What was the missing link?

I needed a system that could help me to systemize my thinking.

So I tried almost every product, mentorship, and course that helps with creativity and creative blocks and almost all of them sucked.

Cuz here’s the truth:

You don’t find your creative genius.

You earn it.

You earn your creative genius by consistently picking up on the signals you get.

Signals are like sparks. It’s your job to turn that spark and turns it into a fire

And if you’re like me, you don’t have time to stare at numbers all day—you need a system.

That’s why I’m happy to promote my offer, 10x Your Creativity.

It’s a hybrid offer. My Notion system and 8 calls to make sure the ideas you’re writing about for your content are good.

But since I stopped doing mentorships, I’ll only be working with 3 people.

This is so I can make sure that I overdeliver for those who are serious about their creator business.

1 spot has already been taken.

So if you’re someone who’s constantly dealing with creative blocks, feeling uncertain about the content you’re posting, or want feedback on your writing.

https://10xyourcreativity.carrd.co/

Otherwise, I need to go contemplate my life choices (it’s 2 a.m. and I’m thinking of making a cup of coffee…)

Written with love,

— Hussain <3

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PS:

I was supposed to schedule this email, but I forgot.

…I had a wedding to attend.

How did it go?

Not as well as the writing session I had today :)

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the lesson of the email…

With the world turning to more fake and AI-generated content, the greatest leverage you have at your disposal is your creativity.

You get better at it by focusing on a single creative outlet.

If your outlet is writing but you’re still suffering from creative blocks. It’s not your fault.

You just need the right systems in place to help with that.

If this sounds something like you’d enjoy:

https://10xyourcreativity.carrd.co/