12 Notes on Life & Creativity
Life Lessons from Quincy Jones
I used to be really creative when I was younger. I loved performing and had an inclination towards expressing myself in various artistic and inventive ways. In an effort to foster more of that creativity, I am committed to consuming more content that can inspire me, as well as take me out of my immediate interest zone.
That is how I found myself picking up Quincy Jones’ book and learning about his impressive 70+ year career as a music producer. His book “12 Notes: On Life & Creativity,” not only highlighted his amazing life, but went deep on the life lessons he learned.
Many inspirational quotes later, here is the advice that really stuck with me:
Channel life experiences into something greater than yourself
Make your purpose greater than your problems
Recycle pain into purpose; translate negativity into creativity
Victim mentality will stunt your growth
We can sit in the negativity of days gone by or we can use it to propel our creativity and life forward
Listen: that’s why we have 2 ears and 1 mouth
Everything we do is an extension of what came before us. And if we don’t realize it we’re in danger of repeating some of the same nonsense that came before. Reflect and learn rather than reject and repeat
If you don’t know who you are, you’ll lose yourself at best, and allow someone else to take charge at worst
Set up guideposts that remind you who you are. Affirmations are quite effective. Your success in any field is only as successful as the foundation you set for yourself
Good luck usually follows the collision of opportunity and preparation, so you have to be prepared
You have to know the rules in order to break them
The older you get the more society imposes barriers on you
Hyper classification prevents people from exploring their full potential because they get stuck in a routine of creating with bowling bumpers on. When you’re told so often to stay in your lane you don’t even think of exploring other facets.
If you try to do something just to get a reaction out of someone else, you will get stuck in a never ending cycle of mediocrity
Any time you teach, assume zero knowledge but infinite intelligence.
Learn to deal with the valleys because the hills take care of themselves. Hills are a metaphor for success. Valleys are where you find out what you’re made of. Know how to handle yourself whether at the top or the bottom
If you want to learn more about Quincy Jones, there is a really great Netflix documentary called “Quincy” that I highly recommend!
