Unlocking Creativity: Lava Lamps, Life Lessons, and Fresh Perspectives

Explore creativity, innovation, and unique insights from Derek Sivers, Cloudfare's encryption, Huberman’s creativity tips, and more.

A digital collage I prompted called “Lava Lamp”

Hey friends, hope you’re still keeping up with your new year’s resolutions. If not, let’s pretend like you never set one to begin with, and talk creativity and innovation instead.

Lava Lamp Encryption

The company Cloudfare, which offers website security and performance services, uses Lava Lamps for encryption?

Whaaaa?

When a computer generates random numbers, often they’re actually generating pseudorandom numbers—ones that appears to be random but are actually algorithmically generated based on a seed (usually derived from the system’s clock). Therefore, if a cunning hacker were to know what time it is, and the underlying algorithm used to generate the pseudorandom number, they could predict the number accurately.

If those numbers were being used for encrypting (or securing) sensitive data, that data encryption could be cracked and the data exploited.

In order to create truly random numbers for their encryption, Cloudfare points a camera at a wall of lava lamps and takes pictures at regular intervals. Those images are stored as a series of numbers on their computers with each pixel receiving its own unique number. As the lava lamps bubble and gurgle on, never once repeating the same path, each image is totally unique and its numerical equivalent offers a completely random string of characters to be used as a starting point for their encryption efforts.

Actual photo from Cloudfare’s website

Takeaway: Cloudfare could have taken pictures of any number of things to generate their encryption seed, but they chose something that told a great story. What are the little things in your creative work that could be elevated similarly?

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Palessi

In 2018, the discount shoe retailer Payless pulled a marketing stunt whereby they invited countless influencers to the grand opening of a luxury shoe store called Palessi. They stocked the shelves with the same practical footwear sold in Payless stores nationwide.

The result? Attendees fawned over the “designer” shoes, filmed content for their social media channels, and reportedly paid as much as 1,800% over MSRP. ABC filmed a segment on the stunt that you can watch below.

Of course, the cameras were there to capture the moment when it was revealed that they’d all been duped, but behind this clever marketing ploy is an important lesson around perceived value. By presenting themselves as luxury, to most that’s exactly what they became.

Takeaway: Don’t sell yourself short. Sometimes, reimagining how you present your work can transform it from overlooked to extraordinary.

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Huberman’s Creativity

I turn to the Huberman Lab podcast for science-backed advice on personal development. In a recent episode on optimizing learning and creativity, he shared this concise definition (around 19:20):

“Creativity is taking things we already know and rearranging them in ways that are novel.”

I really liked this simple explanation for several reasons.

1. It’s concise, capturing the essence of creativity.

2. It highlights how learning fuels creativity—the more you know, the more ideas you can rearrange.

3. It reframes creativity as an evolution of ideas, making it feel more attainable than a sudden “Aha” moment.

I’ve provided a link to the episode below.

Takeaway: Sometimes, hearing an intuitive idea put succinctly can transform it into action. Stay curious, keep learning, and let creativity follow.

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Pretty Much Everything

One of my favorite designers is a guy name Aaron Draplin. He’s best known for his bold, retro-inspired logo work, created in Adobe Illustrator, and for offering engaging design courses online. If you’re a Chris Stapleton fan, you may have seen the album cover he designed for him in 2023, a perfect example of his unique style.

Years ago, a student of mine turned me onto Draplin after stumbling upon a design challenge video produced by lynda.com (now LinkedIn learning). Each semester I show the video to my design students as it does an amazing job showcasing his creative process.

A few years back, he published a beautiful full color coffee table book that tells the story of his creative life through his work.

If the cover alone doesn’t make you want to pick up a copy, previewing the inside pages on Amazon certainly will. How he managed to keep nearly every project he has ever worked on in a format that allowed him to compile into this collection is beyond me, but I’m so glad he did. It is inspiring, gorgeous, and downright cool.

Takeaway: As you evolve, so too may your creative process. How cool would it be to look back on your life through your creative output? Do you have a system in place to archive and retrieve your past work?

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Other Ways of Thinking of This

Previously, I wrote about Derek Sivers’s “Hell Yeah, or No” framework, which I absolutely love and run most big decisions through. Today, I want to share a tip he talked about on the Modern Wisdom podcast (around 1:28:30).

The tip pertains to one way that he uses large language models, and like “Hell Yeah, or No,” it is simple yet profound.

When sparring with an idea, he asks the following:

What are other ways of thinking of this?

As large language models, like ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok have ingested much of the world’s known information (at least publicly known), they simply know more than you and are able to consider points of view outside your own.

Here’s a prompt I recently fed ChatGPT:

My oldest son gets upset when his younger brother enters his space. He seems to really dislike him, but what are some other ways of thinking of this?  

The Response?

It’s common for siblings to have tensions, especially when they feel their personal space or boundaries are being challenged. Your older son’s reactions could reflect deeper dynamics that go beyond simple dislike. Here are a few alternative ways to interpret and approach this situation:


BOUNDARIES AND AUTONOMY
Your older son might be seeking to assert his independence. His space could feel like the one area he can control, and when his younger brother enters it uninvited, he may feel his autonomy is being disrespected.

How to Address It: Help him set clear boundaries, such as creating a designated “no-entry” zone for certain activities, and teach his younger brother to respect those boundaries.


DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS
Younger siblings often want to emulate their older siblings, which can feel intrusive to the older child. Your older son might be struggling with the shift from being the sole focus of attention to sharing that with his sibling.

How to Address It: Offer one-on-one time with your older son to show he’s still valued and appreciated as an individual.

The response continued to offer six additional possible explanations, each with actionable steps I could take going forward.

I’m not saying ChatGPT should become your parenting coach, but it does offer a worthy opponent for sparring with ideas.

Takeaway: What’s something in your life that you are certain you know? It might be worth your time to challenge your own beliefs. At the very least you will confirm what you thought you knew. At best you may discover an entirely new perspective.

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One More Thing

Good things are better when shared. If you liked this, it would mean the world to me if you sent it to someone who might like it too.

I’ll see you in your inbox on Tuesday again for two quick hits of inspiration.

Until then,

-Mike