Well, hello there,
Last month I left you on a day where I was about to head to a bookstore, book token in hand…Cliffhanger for all my fellow book nerds. 😊
Well, this is what I chose. (Not a pre-planned act. One based on fancy.)
It’s become a wonderful companion on my desk, the letters providing a specific kind of delight—that of hearing a human’s distinctive voice ringing through.
I opened to a random page, and this is a taste:
‘And you, I take it, are expecting your doctorate. I will have my verses, dedicatory, hortatory*, celebratory, ready. I was delighted to hear you had completed a first draft. In my own minor, off-hand and amateurish, sly fashion, I too have been tickling the arse of the monster research, completing some days ago the first chapter of a dissertation on the works of another potato-centred poet—Patrick Kavanagh.’
* Hortatory. That’s new to me. I like the rhythm of it.
And I love the way these words twist and stack in such a particular Heaney way. His voice.
QUEST-ions
…Which brings me to a question about creativity and AI. The question was:
Do you use AI in your Quests?
The short answer is no.
The longer answer is I’m not anti-AI. That would seem like a pretty futile stance to me, for many reasons.
What I do prize is intentionality. So, with Quests—mine and those of my Questful participants—I highly encourage starting with the marvels of our own brains. There is a multitude to unlock there, and it can be so fun to do so.
I guess I could have used AI to design my latest Quest game for participants? But I didn’t.
Or to write this letter to you? But I didn’t.
I didn’t, for so many reasons! Reasons I love.
And at the same time, I’m currently using AI to vibe code my first-ever app. Hyper intentionally. It will help me to share one of my resources for speakers, in a new way, and with more people.
What about you? How are you thinking about creativity and AI?
Questful Quotes
‘One of the most powerful ways to get knowledge about the world is to pay attention.’ – Tina Seelig (Stanford Uni educator, author, and expert in creativity)
‘Pay attention to your attention’ – Ira Glass (creator, producer and host of This American Life)
Attention. I think about this A LOT. And it’s at the heart of Quests and a Questful approach.
One of the biggest reasons that people are working with me on Quests right now is to rebuild their creativity, focus and attention. Whether it’s linked to reading, observing, listening or writing.
It doesn’t take an Einstein to guess at some of the things that have frazzled and fried it in the first place.
But once again, I am not anti-tech. Wind the clock back, and I would not be a woman with a laptop and a phone, able to meet and work with people all over the world!
I want to exist in a world where I get to benefit from tech. But where I remain intentional about my attention. And help others to do the same.
Place 37 from my 100 places, 300 pages Quest. I do love the combination of magic and jank.
It’s been awesome seeing how people are responding to their own 10 places, 30 pages Quest. If you’d like help with this, just give me a shout.
Gems:
I think Robert Rodriguez has an infectious level of creativity. His bio in Wikipedia describes him as a filmmaker, composer, actor, chef and visual effects supervisor.
In this short video, he says, ‘I do one thing, I live a creative life’. It’s an approach. Just as Questful is an approach. It’s a lens that you can apply to many things, in a way that makes life more vibrant.
For Rodriguez this includes enthusiasm, flow and embracing ‘failures’. Whether cooking dinner for a friend, making music or filming.
Prompt for you:
My prompt for you is… pay attention to your attention this week.
Where is it going?
Where would you like it to go?
What tickles it?
What holds it?
What steals it?
What might reward it, in a way that you love?
I’d love to know. You can find me here…
Until next time,
PS: Thanks for reading my Questful World letter. If you know someone who might enjoy this, please forward it to them. They can hit subscribe and join us.
