Creative people say No

A Hungarian psychology professor once wrote to famous creators asking them to be interviewed for a book he was writing.

What’s interesting isn’t who said yes. It’s how many said no.

Peter Drucker, the management writer:

“One of the secrets of productivity (in which I believe whereas I do not believe in creativity) is to have a VERY BIG waste paper basket to take care of ALL invitations such as yours - productivity in my experience consists of NOT doing anything that helps the work of other people but to spend all one’s time on the work the Good Lord has fitted one to do, and to do well.”

Saul Bellow’s secretary:

“Mr. Bellow informed me that he remains creative in the second half of life, at least in part, because he does not allow himself to be a part of other people’s ‘studies.’”

Richard Avedon: “Sorry — too little time left.”

György Ligeti’s secretary:

“He is creative and, because of this, totally overworked. Therefore, the very reason you wish to study his creative process is also the reason why he (unfortunately) does not have time to help you in this study. He would also like to add that he cannot answer your letter personally because he is trying desperately to finish a Violin Concerto which will be premiered in the Fall.”

The professor contacted 275 creative people. A third said no. Their reason was lack of time. A third said nothing. We can assume their reason for silence was the same and possibly the lack of a secretary.

Here’s what most people miss about creation.

They think it’s about talent. Inspiration. The right idea at the right moment.

It’s not.

Time is the raw material of creation. Wipe away the magic and myth and all that remains is work. The work of becoming expert through study and practice. The work of finding solutions to problems and then finding problems with those solutions. The work of trial and error. The work of thinking and perfecting.

That’s it. That’s what creating actually is.

It consumes everything. It is all day, every day. It knows neither weekends nor vacations. It is not when you feel like it. It is habit, compulsion, obsession, vocation.

The common thread that links creators is not what they think or how they feel. It’s how they spend their time. No matter what you read, no matter what they claim, nearly all creators spend nearly all their time on the work of creation.

There are few overnight successes and many up-all-night successes.

Here’s the part nobody wants to hear.

Saying “no” has more creative power than ideas, insights, and talent combined.

“No” guards time — the thread from which we weave our creations.

The math is simple: you have less than you think and need more than you know.

But you were never taught to say no. You were taught the opposite. “No” is rude. “No” is a rebuff, a rebuttal, a minor act of verbal violence. “No” is for drugs and strangers with candy.

So you keep saying yes. And you wonder why nothing gets made.

Creators don’t ask how much time something takes. They ask how much creation it costs.

This interview. This letter. This trip to the movies. This dinner with friends. This party. This last day of summer.

How much less will I create unless I say no? A sketch? A stanza? A paragraph? An experiment? Twenty lines of code?

The answer is always the same: yes makes less.

You do not have enough time as it is. There are groceries to buy, gas tanks to fill, families to love, and day jobs to survive.

People who create know this. They know the world is all strangers with candy. They know how to say no and they know how to suffer the consequences.

Charles Dickens, rejecting an invitation from a friend:

“’It is only half an hour’ — ‘It is only an afternoon’ — ‘It is only an evening,’ people say to me over and over again; but they don’t know that it is impossible to command one’s self sometimes to any stipulated and set disposal of five minutes — or that the mere consciousness of an engagement will sometimes worry a whole day… Whoever is devoted to an art must be content to deliver himself wholly up to it, and to find his recompense in it. I am grieved if you suspect me of not wanting to see you, but I can’t help it; I must go in my way whether or no.”

Read that line again. The mere consciousness of an engagement will worry a whole day.

It’s not just the hour you lose. It’s the mental real estate. The open loop running in the background. The fractured attention that makes depth impossible.

“No” will make you look aloof. Boring. Impolite. Unfriendly. Selfish. Anti-social. Uncaring. Lonely.

Let it.

“No” is the button that keeps you on.

- Abi