The Creativity Manual

The pursuit of pure sensation—paragliding over the Himalayas at 19—set the stage for a decade-long exploration of what it means to live creatively. This chapter introduces the three pillars that weave through the book: psychology, travel, and creativity.

India smashed open a new way of thinking. The journey revealed latent abilities waiting to flourish—and showed that humans have such great potential when they step outside prescribed paths.

Why do humans create at all? This chapter explores the evolutionary origins of creativity through the lens of sexual selection and the handicap principle. From peacock plumage to bowerbird architecture, nature reveals that creativity is deeply wired into what we are.

The bowerbird creates elaborate structures purely to attract mates—an honest signal of good genes. Human creativity may have evolved for similar reasons, making art not a luxury but a fundamental drive.

Self-actualisation sits at the top of Maslow's hierarchy—the highest potential of humanity. This chapter explores how to begin the journey inward: understanding your primary sense (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic), your Myers-Briggs type, and the conditioning that shapes your reality.

Unlearning is more powerful than learning. Many filters placed on us by society serve only to restrict our highest potential. Recognising these programs is the first step to deleting them.

Arriving in Goa at dawn, following distant music to a beach valley painted in psychedelic colours—this was the beginning of de-conditioning. The road trip through India demolished old patterns and revealed that you hold the pen to your own story.

From learning to ride a motorcycle to an LSD experience overlooking a Kashmiri lake at sunset, these raw experiences upgraded the operating system and revealed states of perception that would later be accessed naturally.

A world-class photographer with a world-class camera will lose to an amateur with a disposable camera if the professional can't use one function: focus. Clarity channels energy like a magnifying glass harnesses the sun to create flame.

Finding your niche is key—just as evolution favours species that slot into specific niches. Facebook started as a Harvard-only communication tool before expanding. Niche first, broaden later.

Understanding the fourth letter in Myers-Briggs (J for Judger vs P for Perceiver) transformed relationships and self-awareness. Js plan carefully; Ps keep options open. Neither is wrong—but knowing your type helps you work with others and develop your weaker side.

Creating a character called "Maze"—a hip-hop artist from L.A.—and going out in Oxford as that persona revealed how stepping into another personality type unlocks new possibilities and deeper empathy.

The comfort zone is one of the greatest destroyers of creativity and success. Like Tyler Durden in Fight Club, we need experiences jarring enough to awaken us from consumer-based slumber. The key is activities that make you feel ALIVE.

Anchoring—taken from Pavlov's dogs—allows you to create triggers for confident states. Fire the anchor before moments when you need peak performance.

In Colombia, "Donnie" became "Donatello"—a visionary-avatar who was bolder, more extroverted, more liberated. Like Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G, this character creation technique catapults creative potential forward.

The alter-ego serves as a guide, not a crutch. The aim is to incorporate new behaviours back into your own personality—keeping what you like from your native culture while adding positives from the new territory you've explored.

The beauty of momentum: once gathered, it doesn't matter what's dragging what forward. On bad days, momentum carries you through. The fable of the goose and the golden eggs warns against sacrificing future potential for immediate gains.

Flow state—where challenge meets skill—is one of the great pleasures of creativity. When you're in flow, time disappears. The Pomodoro technique (25-minute focused bursts) is a practical tool for entering this state.

At a mountain rave in McCleod Ganj, a happy hippie stood out—pure joy, radiating energy. Asked if he was on drugs, he said no—he'd just completed a Vipassana meditation. That encounter planted a seed that grew into a six-day meditation retreat.

The meditation teacher, Ajay, described the mind as a road with passing taxis (thoughts). Most people hail every taxi. The aim: let them pass. This simple concept—combined with mindful eating and rooftop guitar sessions—showed that focus and relaxation can coexist.

Evolution gave us reward systems—happiness for behaviours that help our genes survive. But modern entertainment and narcotics hack this system, delivering rewards without achievement. The "pseudo-satisfaction" of junk food, social media, and cocaine all exploit our wiring.

Just as bees and flowers co-evolved mutual benefit, your creative practice should create win-win loops. Celebrate real wins. Build peer groups that pull everyone up. Model those who've succeeded.

Standing at the bow of a boat in the Galápagos, dolphins leaping alongside in golden ocean waters—this was the reward for years of exploration. Darwin's islands revealed evolution's secrets; they also revealed the joy of arriving somewhere earned.

Modelling—finding exactly how successful people perform—is the final key. Playing Afrobeat with Dele Sosimi, learning Spanish in Colombia, finishing this book: all followed patterns that could be reverse-engineered and taught.