LearnBytes episode #3 – Paul Hamilton: How to overcome your fear of judgement

Transcript:

Samantha 0:02
Hello there and welcome to LearnBytes, the show that delivers byte-sized pieces of wisdom so that you can learn how to increase your productivity and efficiency, embrace your natural creativity and lead with impact. I’m Samantha Garrett from Using Technology Better and joining me today is Paul Hamilton. Hi Paul

Paul Hamilton 0:23
Hey, Sam. Great to be here.

Samantha 0:25
Thank you. Thank you. And Paul is the Apple and Creativity Wizard here at Using Technology Better. So, great title, Paul.

Paul Hamilton 0:33
It is it is it’s good timing.

Samantha 0:35
It is. And as you may have suspected from that title, Paul is here today to share his wisdom on the topic of creativity. But before we jump into his eight questions in four minutes, Paul, I’d just love you to share a little bit about yourself and what you’re passionate about in life.

Paul Hamilton 0:52
Yeah. Thanks, Sam. So it’s great to be here. Thanks for the opportunity. So this is my first year out of teaching. So I’m finding that adjustment from education and being in a school through to a digital trainer or technology trainer as um, it’s been really good. Having a really supportive team around me, it’s been great. Um, but I’ve always kind of loved the multimedia aspect of education. I love my green screens and my 3D modeling and my digital storytelling. A couple of years ago, I released a children’s picture book that’s been really successful about a little mouse called Hazel, and her adventures. So that’s been something that has been close to my heart. I love storytelling. I always try and encourage my students and the teachers that I work with, to really push storytelling as a key ingredient to education because I think, whether you’re in business or you’re in education, that storytelling is so important in today’s world.

Samantha 1:48
That is so wonderful, Paul, because you know what, I had forgotten about your book until you just said it. I’m like, Oh my goodness, that’s right, Paul had this amazing book. So guys, I’m going to put that link in the notes for you below. So you can definitely check that out. I’m going to actually order a copy because I haven’t got one yet, so

Paul Hamilton 2:05
I’ve got a copy for you Sam that’s OK you don’t have to buy one.

Samantha 2:07
Oh thank you Paul. But you’re right, storytelling is how we connect as human beings. So I think it’s such a powerful thing.

Paul Hamilton 2:14
Yeah, it is. And when I was writing the book, I obviously had an idea about the story about Hazel but the other aspect is I’m pretty keen on coding and computational thinking. So I wanted to match up Hazel’s adventures to different coding concepts, like algorithms and repeats and loops and things. So I kind of tried to do two in the same story, which is interesting. Yeah,

Samantha 2:35
I would say that is creative.

Paul Hamilton 2:37
It could be considered creative. It could be.

Samantha 2:41
Well, we will find out because we now are going to jump into the questions. So Paul, as you know, this show is all about byte sized pieces of wisdom. So that is why I’m going to put on the timer for four minutes. I’m going to rapid fire eight questions at you and if you beat the clock, answer your questions within the four minutes, then you can ask me a question and I’ll do my best to answer. So, are you ready?

Paul Hamilton 3:05
I’m ready to go, Sam. Let’s do this.

Samantha 3:06
Awesome I’m going to click start on this timer, and we’re going to launch right into it.

Paul Hamilton 3:10
Okay.

Samantha 3:12
First mobile phone and current phone?

Unknown Speaker 3:15
I had the Nokia 3310, I think it was and I’ve now got an iPhone 10.

Samantha 3:21
How would you define creativity? And what do you think are the key dispositions that people display and develop when they’re creative?

Paul Hamilton 3:28
Yeah, super hard question. Because I think creativity is very much about thinking, I think it’s intrinsically linked to thinking, and it’s the generation of new ideas for me. It’s that if I can think of it when I was a kid, it was my ability to entertain myself to come up with an imagination and a story. And that’s why I think a lot of creative people get into creative industries because then they entertain others with their stories and their imagination. So that’s how I see creativity. Yeah.

Samantha 3:56
Interesting. So what do you think is the biggest myth about creativity then that you’ve come across?

Paul Hamilton 4:00
Definitely, um, that creativity is the same as having artistic skill. So my ability to draw and be a fantastic painter or drawer, for me doesn’t have anything to do with creativity. So if I had a, if I had a photographic memory, and I could reproduce some artwork of the a scene that I saw, for me, it’s not a new idea. It’s just a replica of it. So for me, creativity is about that generation of new ideas and new artwork and new expression.

Samantha 4:31
Interesting. Thank you, Paul. When, where and how do you express yourself most creatively?

Paul Hamilton 4:36
Well, obviously, I love my tech Sam, just like you. So I’m at the moment I’m kind of a little bit obsessed with virtual and augmented reality because I’m coming across these new tools every day, I came across this app today that allowed me to scan on my phone, my whole body, and then I can animate it. So now I’ve got a little mini me that I’m able to do action sequences and turn it into a figurine. So I love that when you find a tool, you’re able to connect it with something you already know. So it’s kind of linking the new thinking with something that you already have an understanding about.

Samantha 5:11
That’s cool. We totally going to have to put the link to that below because I’m intrigued.

Paul Hamilton 5:13
I will. I’ll put a link to it. Yeah.

Samantha 5:15
All right, your biggest barrier to creativity?

Paul Hamilton 5:18
I think. I think it’s been the fear of being judged, Sam. So when we come up with a new idea, not always new ideas are good. So it’s that fear factor of do I speak up? Do I actually share something on Twitter? If I think it’s okay, but someone might think that’s terrible. So I think the biggest, I guess hurdle for people showing their creativity is that fear of judgment that it’s no good or it doesn’t have worth and I think that’s the biggest problem.

Samantha 5:47
So then when you’re faced with that, like what strategies is what strategies have you used to try and overcome it?

Paul Hamilton 5:53
To have faith in yourself and to know that creativity is kind of like art as in in the eye of the beholder. So, you might say, Sam, I don’t really like that. I don’t see the point in it. I don’t see the why, I can’t see that the brilliance in it. But someone else sitting right next to you might say, oh, I’ve actually, I can connect with that. I actually went through something in the past that was similar or I’m getting an emotional response out of that, that the person next to you doesn’t. So creativity kind of appeals to different people. And I think that’s really important to say, right? It doesn’t matter if I think it’s no good. I’m going to put it out into the world and see who it resonates with.

Samantha 6:32
I like it. Now you’ve got 37 seconds and two questions. Book, video or podcast that you would recommend to others?

Paul Hamilton 6:39
Oh, definitely Dan Pink’s one of my favorite. So Dan Pink, especially for business and education. He is brilliant. His book ‘Drive’ has so much for all of us to get out of in regard to being creative, creative, but also external rewards and internal rewards and what drives creativity. I think that’s really important.

Samantha 6:59
OK last one, 10 seconds what creative project would you dedicate your time and energy to if you knew it was guaranteed to succeed?

Paul Hamilton 7:07
Generating creativity in others.

Samantha 7:10
Oooooh, I love it. And you just came in exactly on 4 minutes.

Paul Hamilton 7:14
On time, there you go.

Samantha 7:17
Like, I want to hear more about that but we’ve kinda hit the 4 minutes.

Paul Hamilton 7:22
No it’s great. It’s good fun.

Samantha 7:24
Anything you want to add? This is my my little like, maybe you want to expand on point 9?

Paul Hamilton 7:30
Yeah, look, if I could, if I could steal someone’s idea Shaun Tan, I’m not sure if people have heard of Shaun Tan, but he’s one of our famous picture book writers in Australia. He’s an absolute genius. And he talks about creativity, Sam, he talks about that if you were to be absolutely creative with a new book, it would be so in, you couldn’t comprehend what it was about because all narratives follow a certain structure. So sometimes creativity is not completely new, it’s just taking what’s already there and telling the story in a different way that connects with people. And I think sometimes we think that creativity has to be completely new. But sometimes it’s a new take on something that’s already there that we’ve observed as well.

Samantha 8:17
And that’s fascinating Paul. Because just thinking to your point before about people judging, what may connect with one person may not connect with someone else. Because you might just go Oh, well, they’ve already done that, but if you do it in a different way, it may connect with someone different.

Paul Hamilton 8:29
Yep.

Samantha 8:29
Which the first person couldn’t have done. So yeah, that’s really interesting to think about.

Paul Hamilton 8:33
It’s like in business Sam, because creativity is so linked with problem solving, that we’re looking for those people that have that skill of creativity that can see things that others can’t. And so if they can come up with an idea that’s built on something else, but the other person hasn’t got there yet, that’s still creativity because they’re building on those ideas going forward.

Samantha 8:54
Thank you so much Paul that’s really good food for though. I really appreciate you sharing your ideas on the topic.

Paul Hamilton 8:59
It’s a pleasure Sam.

Samantha 9:01
Before we wrap up, where could people reach out to you find more about your, your picture book, your work, all that kind of stuff?

Unknown Speaker 9:07
Yes. So my Twitter handle is @paulhamilton8. I don’t know why it’s eight, maybe seven was taken already, Sam I’m not sure. Um, but yeah, that’s where I kind of share all of my little, I try and be creative and post one thing a day that’s a little bit creative. Sometimes that’s difficult on busy days, but I try to put things out into the world and see how it resonates with others. So Twitter’s the main one, Sam. Yeah.

Samantha 9:31
Wonderful. Thank you Paul and we’ll pop that link below as well so people can connect with you. So thanks once again.

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