I Had a Profound Revelation...
How can creativity be unique?
While at Barnes and Noble on July 19, 2025, I had an eye-opening revelation. I cannot be like anyone else, only myself.
My Enlightenment
I was reading a book by Johann Eckermann called “Conversations with Goethe.” Some people, such as Nietzsche, say it’s the greatest book German ever written. It is a book detailing the deep conversations that Eckermann had with Johann Goethe towards the end of Goethe’s life. The subject matters covered in the book are all-encompassing. Johann Goethe (1749-1832), a poet, philosopher and businessman, is considered to be the smartest person to ever live.
In one conversation, Goethe was explaining the individual component in art. Goethe elaborated how art can touch the human soul as compared to generically made art.
Goethe said:
“I know it is difficult…but seeing what is special, and representing it, is the heart and soul of art. To put it another way: if you never get beyond generalities, anyone else can do what you do; but nobody can copy what is individual to you. And why is that? Because the others have not experienced what you have.” - Johann Goethe (1823)
It was here that I came to be enlightened. I realized that not only in my writing and creativity, but in all aspects of my life, my individual traits are what’s most important. That’s what makes me and what I do in life unique, significant, and different than everyone else.
Significance
Through understanding that are, I came to a few conclusions:
I have more confidence in being myself when I write and create.
I can write based upon what accentuates my style, rather than another writer’s style.
I can become a more authentic writer when I focus on my unique writing style and experiences.
References
Eckermann, Johann (1836). Conversations With Goethe. Translated (2022) Blunden, Allan. Penguin Classics.