Phil Kaye's Blog

Where I’ve Been

Hey guys. It’s been a while. A long while. You have been wonderfully patient. And some of you have even reached out with really nice notes to make sure that everything is okay. Which made me feel great.  

I certainly haven’t forgotten about you, this blog or the TED talk. Really, my long silence has been an amalgamation of things. I went back to Japan to spend some time with my family, including my awesome grandmother (photo above). I’ve been on the road doing shows. And I’ve been working hard on the TED talk. The reason for the silence is that, in these final weeks, I’ve realized I needed my last ideas to stew around in my brain for a bit before I was ready to share them with the world. I know that might seem a hypocritical for a blog documenting the creative process, but, in some ways, that’s part of the experiment, right? To see how much I could share publicly while still feeling authentic. Because I never wanted to force it with you all. And I don’t feel like I have. Things are just coming along at their own pace. 

This isn’t to say that the experiment is over! Just a bit of a check-in since I’ve been a little MIA. But here’s to more posts, figuring this thing out together and finishing strong. 

p.s. A few of you have asked for other places to catch me. Here ya go! Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

Creativity is a Kind of  Hopefulness

I keep getting caught on the same nagging thought - everything I want to do has been done before. TED Talk about poetry in schools? Done. TED Talk about positive self expression? Done. TED Talk on creativity? Done and done and done. 

This same thought creeps up a lot when writing I’m writing poems. Its hard to feel that things are original. But I came to the realization today that part of the creative process is a kind of hope. A hope that, even though a topic might have been covered already, there is still more to be discovered. That there are still stones left to be unturned. And so I came up with this. Its currently on my desk, perking me up when I get a bit discouraged.

3 Weeks Left

Thanks for the question! 

I like the idea of Russian Dolls a lot. All these different versions of ourselves are part  of same person, yet slightly differently shaped. At the end of the night, all our versions fit into one, but during the day, our different versions serve different rolls. It's something I wrestle with all the time. My "stage" self isn't quite the same as my "regular" self - although its not a different person, just a heightened version of the original. Or even consider this - isn't how we talk to our parents different than how we talk to our best friend? It's not wrong, just different. But it really comes into play when you have to address an anonymous audience - say for example, I don't know, a TEDx crowd? ;) 

How do we stay vulnerable, honest and real in a room full of people we don't know? 

Thanks for the question! 

I like the idea of Russian Dolls a lot. All these different versions of ourselves are part  of same person, yet slightly differently shaped. At the end of the night, all our versions fit into one, but during the day, our different versions serve different rolls. It’s something I wrestle with all the time. My “stage” self isn’t quite the same as my “regular” self - although its not a different person, just a heightened version of the original. Or even consider this - isn’t how we talk to our parents different than how we talk to our best friend? It’s not wrong, just different. But it really comes into play when you have to address an anonymous audience - say for example, I don’t know, a TEDx crowd? ;) 

How do we stay vulnerable, honest and real in a room full of people we don’t know? 

3 Ways to Get Rid of Writer’s Block

Everything screeches to a halt. Nothing feels right. Your well of imagination is bone dry. We’ve all had it. I was struggling with it pretty devastatingly for the past week (and getting more and more nervous with the due date just 4 weeks away). I’ve been trying to pull out all the tricks I’ve learned to get past it, and finally had some luck. Here’s what I’ve learned. 

1. Stop thinking, just write. Most of writer’s block comes from an obsession with perfection. But writing doesn’t have to be perfect. I found that focusing less on whether it was “good” and more on just producing helped grease the gears. WE can make it perfect later. 

2. Talk to people. Writing doesn’t have to be completely solitary. Talking to friends about what I was trying to think through was hugely helpful. One enlightening conversation in particular helped spark a whole new train of thought I had never considered. 

3. Change your scenery. This is what actually got me over it this time. And it was by accident. I had a week long tour that took me across the country twice. Even though I was worried that traveling would put me behind, the time away let me reset a bit. Ah course, you certainly don’t have to leave the state to change it up. If I could have done it over again, I would have headed to a coffee shop on day 2 just to let my mind operate a bit differently. 

4 Weeks Left

*A big thanks and special shoutout to Matthias Vestergaard for helping me with my visual notes. Check out more about him at thnkclrly.com/

Planes, Balconies and Getting Unstuck

I’m sorry for the radio silence. Since I’ve started this experiment, this is the longest I’ve gone without letting you in. In part its been because I’ve been on the road all week. But it has also been because I’ve been stuck. The pressure has been starting to ware on me, and I’ve been daunted by the task I see ahead.

In the past six days, I’ve crossed the country twice and slept in five different cities: San Francisco, San Jose, Stanford, Boston and Providence. Its less glamorous than it sounds. I was worried that being away would put me behind on this project. I was worried I would lose momentum. What I didn’t realize was that I had already lost momentum. I had ground to halt. What I needed was a reset. And, even though I didn’t plan it to be, my time on the road was exactly that. Being on stage helped me remember why I do all this, working with folks helped me remember what I’m passionate about. Sometimes doing instead of thinking is the best thing I can do for myself. 

I sat on a balcony in San Francisco and had an incredible, simple conversation with a friend that helped put me back on track. I feel like I’m back in the game. But more on that in the next post ;) 

5 Weeks Left

When the Goin’ Gets Tough, the Tough Get Postcards

It’s been a difficult few days. I keep thinking myself in circles. I’m shooting down my own ideas. My writing confidence is low. So what I do I do? Take it a bit easy on myself. Try to just write and worry about edits later. And, if all else fails, take advantage of some generic printed confidence. I bought this postcard a few years ago at 826 Valencia in San Francisco, and pull it out when I need an extra boost. Thanks Postcard! You’ve always got my back. 

7 Weeks Left

Its Official! 

As of today, it is internet official. I’ll be speaking at TEDxFoggyBottom in Washington, DC. I’m incredibly excited to be alongside some amazing folks - check out tedxfoggybottom.net for the full bios of the first five announced speakers. The talk is on February 7th, 2014, although I’m planning on finishing the creative process (and this blog) by mid-December 2013. Only six weeks away!

Put together by Klaudia Tolman of TEDxWroclaw in Poland.