[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.63,0:00:20.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, how many of you\Nhave ever had a good idea?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.56,0:00:26.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the worst thing\Nthat ever happened, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.63,0:00:29.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I feel whenever I had a good idea,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.35,0:00:33.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's amazing, but it's also very scary,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.89,0:00:37.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I can't control when it happens.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.67,0:00:39.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I feel very --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.87,0:00:41.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every good idea I've ever had
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.56,0:00:46.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've been convinced\Nis the last good idea I'll ever have,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.17,0:00:48.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it feels like an actual miracle.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.33,0:00:52.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I find this a very stressful way to live.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.90,0:00:55.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't like just having to wait for it.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.63,0:01:00.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think with good ideas\Nyou can't just will them into existence,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.40,0:01:02.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they don't keep regular office hours,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.68,0:01:06.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can't just be like, "Today\Nis the day I find the idea."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.79,0:01:10.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As someone who has to do this\Nfor a living, it does drive me crazy;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.58,0:01:13.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I was trying to figure out\Nif there is a way
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.09,0:01:16.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that if you could make\Nthe process more systematic,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.72,0:01:18.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if there's any way to harness it.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.69,0:01:24.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't think there is a way to figure out\Nwhen the ideas will come,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.42,0:01:27.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but maybe you can figure out\Nwhere the ideas come from.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.65,0:01:34.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to start by telling you about\Nan idea that my friend Noel had in 2003.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.10,0:01:37.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was living in Virginia,\Nand he was working for an ad agency,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.88,0:01:41.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and everyone there wanted\Nto work on really flashy ads;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.03,0:01:43.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by Apple and Gatorade;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.18,0:01:49.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what was not flashy\Nat the time was insurance.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.40,0:01:51.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They definitely didn't want\Nto work on insurance.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.83,0:01:55.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was this company\Nthat no one heard of, called Geico,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.17,0:01:57.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that wanted to do these online.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.36,0:02:00.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wanted to do a campaign about how to show
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.06,0:02:02.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it was really easy\Nto sign up for their insurance.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.100,0:02:07.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All the copywriters feared this campaign,\Nand literally, would run away
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.41,0:02:09.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when they would see the clients and all,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.33,0:02:13.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Noel must have not run fast enough.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.09,0:02:17.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He got caught; he must have come out of\Nthe bathroom maybe, and seeing the client;
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.19,0:02:20.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Geico ad landed on his desk.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.66,0:02:24.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was totally bummed,\Nand he was stuck with this campaign.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.36,0:02:28.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, he and his team would get together,\Nand they would brainstorm
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.08,0:02:31.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about how to make insurance\Nnot boring somehow,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.41,0:02:35.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how to convey why it would be\Nso easy to sign up for this service,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.88,0:02:38.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and none of the ideas seemed right.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.50,0:02:42.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They had an idea where they could have\Na baby that wasn't potty trained
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.94,0:02:45.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but could still fill up\Nthe insurance forms;
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.39,0:02:49.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it seemed very messy and not streamlined.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.62,0:02:52.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were just like, brainstorm,\Nbrainstorm, brainstorm
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.24,0:02:53.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and nothing was coming to them.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.91,0:02:55.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then, when Noel got home --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.30,0:02:59.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was reading this book by the writer\NGeorge Saunders called "Pastoralia"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.88,0:03:01.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he really liked this.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.77,0:03:03.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This made him feel really good.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.33,0:03:07.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The title story is about\Nan amusement park;
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.57,0:03:10.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's set in no-time in this book.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.07,0:03:12.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The title story was in\Nthis amusement park,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.49,0:03:16.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there are different exhibits\Nto show how different people live.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.34,0:03:19.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is a wise mountain hermit\Nexhibit, and stuff like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.68,0:03:21.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the main exhibit is--
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.37,0:03:25.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- what the story focuses on -\Nis about cavemen;
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.10,0:03:27.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like a cave-husband and a cave-wife.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.26,0:03:29.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are played by two actors,\Nbut they live in there;
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.81,0:03:31.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they do everything; they never leave.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.63,0:03:35.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They eat, they sleep; their actual lives\Nare playing these cavemen,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.59,0:03:38.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the cave-wife and the cave-husband.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.10,0:03:41.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a really funny great story,\Nand Noel really liked it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.40,0:03:44.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then he would go back to work,\Nand he'd try to figure out this campaign.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.98,0:03:48.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everybody was just blocked;\Ntheir brains needed to rest.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.35,0:03:51.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When they broke for lunch,\NNoel sat down to eat,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.57,0:03:54.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and suddenly, it just came to him.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.50,0:03:56.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He thought of the cavemen,\Nand he said, "That's it!"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.98,0:03:59.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He thought, "It's so easy,\Na caveman can do it."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.28,0:04:02.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The whole slogan came to him fully formed,\Nand he knew that was the right one.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.97,0:04:05.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then that became the commercial
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.26,0:04:08.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you guys are probably all thinking of\Nin your head right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.47,0:04:10.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was like a good direct line
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.58,0:04:14.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from reading this story\Nto coming up with that campaign,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.12,0:04:15.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which I find amazing.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.28,0:04:18.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I felt, when I first saw that campaign,\NI never would have thought,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.58,0:04:21.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Oh, George Saunders was\Ninadvertently responsible for that."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.79,0:04:25.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was like, "So,\Nif George Saunders inspired that,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.93,0:04:28.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who is George Saunders inspired by?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.44,0:04:30.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What had inspired his inspiration?"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.20,0:04:34.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I called George Saunders up, to ask him,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.66,0:04:39.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he was really great,\Nand we talked a lot about inspiration.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.78,0:04:41.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He told me a story
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.25,0:04:44.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about how, when he was\Nfirst starting out as a writer,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.25,0:04:48.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he really only read dead authors.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.92,0:04:52.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He liked Hemingway,\Nhe liked Norman Mailer.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.12,0:04:57.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He would refuse to read\Nany contemporary fiction;
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.34,0:05:00.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anything that was written by someone alive\Nhe wasn't interested in.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.66,0:05:03.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was sure he was right,\Nand he could just dismiss that
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.54,0:05:05.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with never have a look at it.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.15,0:05:08.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But then, one day, he was like,\N"I guess, if I'm going to say
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.74,0:05:11.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it is all terrible,\NI should read some of it."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.70,0:05:14.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So he decided to--\Nhe had made this plan,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.60,0:05:17.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where he went to\Nthe Chicago Public Library.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.14,0:05:19.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he was living in Chicago,\Nhe went to the big library.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.76,0:05:23.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He took a stack of 15 journals.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.62,0:05:27.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,His plan was that he would read\Nall the journals, dismiss everything;
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.90,0:05:30.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everything would be bad,\Nand then he could go back
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.52,0:05:32.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wanting to write like Hemingway again.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.52,0:05:35.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He opened up the first journal,\Nand he read a story.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.03,0:05:36.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was bad, and he was really relieved.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.95,0:05:38.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was like, "Of course, I knew it."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.72,0:05:42.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then he turned on to another story,\Nand it was a story called, "Hot ice,"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.55,0:05:44.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by a writer named Stuart Dybek.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.40,0:05:46.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As soon as he started reading it,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.57,0:05:50.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,George Saunders started to sweat,\Nhis face turned red.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.52,0:05:53.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He got really panicky,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.01,0:05:57.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and by the time he was done,\Nsomething had changed.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.02,0:05:59.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That night, he went home\Nand started writing
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.45,0:06:02.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the style that George Saunders --\Nactually, his style.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.82,0:06:05.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He found his voice that night\Nafter reading this story.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.82,0:06:08.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said it was just like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.19,0:06:11.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was instinct connection,\Ndirect line to inspiration.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.38,0:06:13.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I found that amazing, and I was,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.58,0:06:17.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, I have to call Stuart Dybek then\Nto see how far it goes."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.82,0:06:24.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I called him up, and he was fishing\Nat that time, and he was like,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.15,0:06:27.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Yes, of course I have\Na moment of inspiration."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.38,0:06:32.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said he was really obsessed\Nwith writing like the realists.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.17,0:06:34.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He likedº Saul Bellow\Nand F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.99,0:06:38.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He writes these stories\Nthat are connected to reality,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.60,0:06:41.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they're also fantastical.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.58,0:06:43.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said that when he was 25
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.88,0:06:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- he always wrote \Nwhile listening to music -
Dialogue: 0,0:06:46.88,0:06:52.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when he was 25,\Nhe went to the same library in Chicago;
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.15,0:06:55.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,exact same one that George Saunders\Nwould later go to.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.29,0:07:00.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was really into these Hungarian\Ncomposers named Kodály and Bartók,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.09,0:07:05.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he checked out\Nthis recording they had done
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.61,0:07:09.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called, "Sonata for Unaccompanied Cello."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.62,0:07:11.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He took it home, and he put it on.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.92,0:07:14.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the minute the music played,\Nhe started writing furiously.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.96,0:07:17.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He filled three or four pages,\Nand he looked down,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.66,0:07:20.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he had written in a voice\Nhe didn't know he had,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.49,0:07:22.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a style he didn't know\Nhe knew how to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.77,0:07:25.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said the music instantly\Nopened up everything for him,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.66,0:07:27.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he became the writer that he became.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.92,0:07:30.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that was very inspiring to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.58,0:07:32.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would have called up more people,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:32.41,0:07:35.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but then, people started\Nto not be alive any more.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.64,0:07:40.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, I started to research\Nand dig up stuff,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.84,0:07:43.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not bodies, just stories of inspiration.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.58,0:07:47.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It turns out that Kodály and Bartók
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.13,0:07:50.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were really inspired by Debussy;
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.32,0:07:54.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the composer Debussy.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.66,0:07:58.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then, Debussy was really inspired\Nby the poet Baudelaire,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.91,0:08:03.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Baudelaire was\Nextremely inspired by Edgar Allen Poe.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.40,0:08:06.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Edgar Allen Poe actually--\N"The Raven," right?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.92,0:08:08.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The Raven" turns out to be inspired
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.96,0:08:12.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by a bird in a Dickens's story\Ncalled "Barnaby Rudge."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.59,0:08:15.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Poe hadn’t even liked it,\Nhe had panned it,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.71,0:08:18.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but he was super inspired by this bird.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.21,0:08:21.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That bird in that Dickens's story\Nwas actually inspired
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.97,0:08:27.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by Dickens's real-life pet raven\Nnamed Grip.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.98,0:08:31.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Grip sadly died\Nfrom eating paint chips,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.71,0:08:35.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before anyone could go on a record\Nwith what he was inspired by,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.08,0:08:37.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so it kind of ends there.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.91,0:08:42.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, Geico to Dickens.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.20,0:08:45.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I felt, when I learned all this,\Nthe bad news is--
Dialogue: 0,0:08:45.70,0:08:49.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I guess there is no getting around\Nthe waiting for the inspiration to come,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.64,0:08:55.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but even though it doesn't make the\Ncreative process more easier to control,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.10,0:08:57.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it does make it feel less lonely,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.16,0:09:00.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because all these ideas\Nare strung together through history.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.85,0:09:04.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it also makes you feel like,\N"I'm living in an action movie now."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.98,0:09:08.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, "Watch out!\NInspiration can strike at any second."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.03,0:09:13.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You just have to be ready\Nto act on it when it does.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.08,0:09:14.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)