Inspiration & Vision: Models & Theories
- personal995
- Jun 15, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Dec 29, 2025
Index
Purpose
Inspiration & Vision: Models & Theories is a section of Inspiration & Vision.
This page and section exists to provide useful tools for understanding, exploring, and curating your Inspiration & Vision for building your Mastery.
The more useful Models & Theories you have in your mental toolkit, the more prepared you will be to make quality decisions amongst complexity.
Introduction
Models & Theories are essential tools for understanding, exploring, and interacting with the world around us. They help us unlock the mysteries of nature, solve practical problems, and drive progress and innovation in various fields of human endeavor.
With that in mind, first we want to align this with what we are trying to achieve. Ultimately we want to grow and achieve our Goals. The Models & Theories then, need to help us to formulate strategic plans that can do just so.
The thing with strategic plans is they are more often than not dealing with systems of chaos (human nature, environments, economies, complex adaptive systems etc), and as such can not be completely fixed. They need to be adaptable.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the American military officer and statesman, once said, "In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."
There are very few perfect models or theories that suit every situation. Every individual's unique goals have specific requirements to successfully execute them.
However, there are often general, timeless, adaptable or customisable Models & Theories that can be utilised to begin building momentum, or which are suitable to create from, a unique and flexible strategic plan.
These Models & Theories are selected and continually curated with this aim in mind.
Get creative. Use the Models & Theories verbatim, if they serve you in that form. If not, use them purely as idea generators, as partials to build upon or as starting points to adapt and customise.
If none specifically suit, move on to the Self Review, Lessons and Case Studies and create your own working model.
Process
With your Values and Goals front of mind, what is it you are aiming to do or achieve? Once you have that clear for yourself:
Review all the Models & Theories below. Do any appear to provide the beginnings of a structure you can use as a strategic plan?
If so, start working through the steps and build momentum, adapting as it suits for your specific situation.
If not, do some partial aspects or a sum of parts approach to help you customise a strategic plan?
If still not, move on to the Self Review, Lessons and Case Studies and create your own working model.
Models & Theories
1. On Studying the Creative Process
Summary: Studying the creative process as observed in various artists and creatives can offer valuable insights and strategies to assist individuals in living well and doing their best work.
Here's a brief overview of the steps involved:
Observation and Immersion: Begin by immersing yourself in the creative works of artists and creatives across different disciplines. Study their techniques, styles, and approaches to creativity. Pay attention to how they observe the world around them, gather inspiration, and translate their ideas into artistic expressions.
Exploration and Experimentation: Encourage a spirit of exploration and experimentation in your own creative endeavors. Embrace curiosity and a willingness to try new things, even if they seem unconventional or outside your comfort zone. Allow yourself the freedom to play with ideas, materials, and techniques without judgment or expectation.
Reflection and Iteration: Regularly reflect on your creative process and outcomes. What worked well? What could be improved? Take time to analyze your successes and failures, and use this feedback to iterate and refine your approach. Embrace the iterative nature of creativity, recognizing that each iteration brings you closer to your vision.
Risk-Taking and Vulnerability: Embrace risk-taking and vulnerability as integral parts of the creative process. Allow yourself to take bold leaps, challenge conventions, and express your authentic self. Be willing to embrace uncertainty and discomfort, knowing that growth often occurs on the edge of your comfort zone.
Collaboration and Community: Engage with a diverse community of fellow creatives for support, inspiration, and feedback. Collaborate on projects, share ideas, and learn from each other's perspectives. Surround yourself with people who uplift and challenge you, fostering a culture of mutual encouragement and growth.
Resilience and Persistence: Cultivate resilience and persistence in the face of setbacks and obstacles. Understand that creative endeavors often involve setbacks, rejection, and periods of uncertainty. Embrace these challenges as opportunities for learning and growth, and remain committed to your vision despite temporary setbacks.
Authenticity and Integrity: Stay true to your authentic voice and values in your creative work. Resist the temptation to conform to external expectations or trends, and instead prioritize integrity and authenticity in your creative expression. Trust your intuition and inner wisdom, and allow your unique perspective to shine through in your work.
Conclusion: By studying the creative process as exemplified by various artists and creatives, individuals can gain valuable insights and strategies to live well and do their best work. By embracing curiosity, experimentation, resilience, and authenticity, individuals can unlock their creative potential and make meaningful contributions to the world around them.
2. On Design Thinking
Summary: Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that emphasizes empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing. Here's an overview of how you can apply design thinking principles to gain inspiration in the creative process and do your best work:
Empathize: Begin by deeply understanding the needs, desires, and challenges of the people you're designing for. Practice empathy by immersing yourself in their experiences, observing their behaviors, and listening to their stories. By empathizing with others, you can gain valuable insights and inspiration for creating solutions that truly address their needs and aspirations.
Define: Use the insights gathered during the empathy phase to define the specific problem or opportunity you're addressing. Frame the challenge in a way that is clear, concise, and actionable. By defining the problem statement effectively, you can focus your creative efforts and ensure that your solutions are relevant and impactful.
Ideate: Generate a wide range of creative ideas and possibilities for solving the defined problem. Encourage brainstorming and divergent thinking, welcoming all ideas without judgment or criticism. Explore different perspectives, approaches, and combinations to inspire innovative solutions. The goal is to generate a diverse set of ideas that can serve as inspiration for further exploration.
Prototype: Quickly and iteratively create prototypes or low-fidelity representations of your ideas. These prototypes can take various forms, such as sketches, models, or mock-ups, depending on the nature of your project. By prototyping early and often, you can bring your ideas to life, test them with stakeholders, and gather feedback to refine and improve your concepts.
Test: Gather feedback from users and stakeholders by testing your prototypes in real-world settings. Observe how people interact with your solutions, listen to their feedback, and iterate based on their insights. Testing allows you to validate assumptions, uncover unforeseen challenges, and refine your designs to better meet the needs of your audience.
Iterate: Continuously refine and iterate on your ideas based on the insights gained through testing and feedback. Embrace a mindset of experimentation and learning, recognizing that iteration is a natural and necessary part of the creative process. By iterating systematically, you can refine your solutions, address any remaining issues, and optimize their effectiveness and usability.
Collaborate: Embrace collaboration and interdisciplinary teamwork throughout the design process. Work closely with colleagues, stakeholders, and users to leverage diverse perspectives, expertise, and insights. By collaborating effectively, you can harness the collective creativity and wisdom of your team, inspiring fresh ideas and innovative solutions.
Stay Human-Centered: Throughout the design process, remain committed to the principles of human-centered design. Keep the needs, desires, and experiences of the people you're designing for at the forefront of your mind. By staying human-centered, you can create solutions that are meaningful, intuitive, and impactful, ultimately contributing to the well-being and satisfaction of your users.
Conclusion: By applying design thinking principles to your creative process, you can gain inspiration, foster innovation, and create solutions that resonate deeply with your audience. Whether you're designing products, services, experiences, or systems, design thinking offers a powerful framework for generating ideas, solving problems, and doing your best work.
3. On The Study of Role Models
Summary: Studying personal role models involves examining the lives, achievements, and characteristics of individuals who inspire and motivate you.
Here's an overview of how you can study personal role models to gain inspiration in the creative process and do your best work:
Identify Role Models: Begin by identifying individuals who inspire you in various aspects of life, including creativity, leadership, resilience, and integrity. These role models can be historical figures, contemporary leaders, mentors, or people in your personal or professional network.
Research Their Lives and Achievements: Conduct research to learn more about your chosen role models, including their backgrounds, experiences, accomplishments, and challenges they've overcome. Explore biographies, interviews, speeches, and other sources of information to gain insights into their journeys and contributions.
Identify Key Traits and Values: Identify the key traits, values, and qualities that you admire in your role models. These may include qualities such as creativity, perseverance, empathy, authenticity, and a commitment to excellence. Reflect on how these traits align with your own values and aspirations.
Analyze Their Creative Process: Study how your role models approach the creative process in their respective fields. Explore their methods, habits, and strategies for generating ideas, overcoming obstacles, and achieving success. Pay attention to their mindset, work ethic, and approach to collaboration and experimentation.
Emulate Their Best Practices: Identify specific practices, habits, or techniques employed by your role models that you can incorporate into your own creative process. This may involve adopting rituals for inspiration and focus, setting ambitious goals, seeking feedback and mentorship, or fostering a growth mindset.
Learn from Their Challenges and Failures: Acknowledge that even your role models have faced challenges, setbacks, and failures on their journey to success. Study how they navigated adversity, learned from their mistakes, and persisted in pursuing their goals. Extract lessons from their experiences to guide your own approach to resilience and perseverance.
Seek Inspiration Beyond Their Achievements: Look beyond your role models' professional achievements to gain inspiration from their personal values, ethical principles, and contributions to society. Consider how their actions and choices reflect their commitment to making a positive impact and leaving a meaningful legacy.
Apply Their Wisdom to Your Creative Work: Finally, apply the insights and inspiration gained from studying your role models to your own creative work. Integrate their wisdom, principles, and best practices into your creative process, adapting them to suit your unique talents, goals, and aspirations. Strive to embody the qualities and values that you admire in your role models as you pursue your creative endeavors.
Conclusion: By studying personal role models and drawing inspiration from their lives, achievements, and creative approaches, you can gain valuable insights and guidance to enhance your own creative process, live well, and do your best work.
4. On Biophilia Hypothesis & Biophilic Design
Summary: The Biophilia Hypothesis suggests that humans have an innate affinity for nature and living organisms. Biophilic Design seeks to integrate elements of nature into the built environment to enhance well-being, creativity, and productivity.
Here's an overview of how you can apply the Biophilia Hypothesis and Biophilic Design principles to gain inspiration in the creative process and do your best work:
Connect with Nature: Begin by immersing yourself in nature and observing its patterns, textures, colors, and forms. Spend time outdoors, explore natural environments, and engage your senses to deepen your connection with the natural world. By reconnecting with nature, you can tap into its beauty, diversity, and vitality for inspiration.
Biophilic Design Principles: Familiarize yourself with the principles of Biophilic Design, which include incorporating natural light, vegetation, water features, natural materials, and views of nature into the built environment. Consider how you can integrate these elements into your workspace, home, or creative projects to create environments that evoke a sense of nature's presence and benefits.
Biophilic Patterns: Explore the various biophilic patterns identified by researchers, such as prospect and refuge, biomorphic forms, natural analogues, and fractal geometry. These patterns mimic features found in natural environments and can be applied in architectural design, interior design, and urban planning to create environments that feel natural and nurturing.
Inspiration from Nature: Draw inspiration from the beauty, complexity, and resilience of the natural world in your creative work. Observe how nature solves problems, adapts to change, and sustains life through innovative strategies and systems. Explore biomimicry, which involves emulating nature's designs and processes to inspire creative solutions to human challenges.
Biophilic Elements in Design: Integrate biophilic elements into your creative projects, whether it's through incorporating natural materials, introducing plants and greenery, or designing spaces that promote daylighting and views of nature. Consider how these elements can enhance the aesthetic appeal, functionality, and emotional connection of your designs.
Wellness and Productivity: Recognize the potential benefits of biophilic design for enhancing wellness, productivity, and creativity. Studies have shown that exposure to nature and biophilic elements can reduce stress, improve cognitive function, boost creativity, and increase overall well-being. By prioritizing biophilic design principles, you can create environments that support optimal performance and satisfaction.
Sustainable Practices: Embrace sustainable practices in your creative endeavors by prioritizing materials, processes, and technologies that minimize environmental impact and promote ecological stewardship. Consider the lifecycle of your designs, from sourcing materials to end-of-life disposal, and strive to minimize resource consumption, waste generation, and carbon footprint.
Mindful Engagement with Nature: Cultivate a mindful and reverent attitude toward nature in your creative process. Practice mindfulness techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, or nature walks to cultivate a sense of presence, gratitude, and connection with the natural world. By fostering a deep appreciation for nature's beauty and wisdom, you can infuse your creative work with authenticity, harmony, and purpose.
Conclusion: By incorporating Biophilia Hypothesis and Biophilic Design principles into your creative process, you can gain inspiration from nature's beauty, wisdom, and resilience, creating environments and experiences that foster well-being, creativity, and connection with the world around you.
By reviewing these models and theories above you can pick and choose what may work best for you and your own unique situation, try, test and refine your process to suit. To the point where you begin to see improvements and compound your results moving forward.
Output Checklist
Completed Strategic Review Worksheet from The Workbook for approaching any Inspiration & Vision related opportunities or challenges, guided by all key learnings from this section.
Next Steps
If you feel you have key learnings to takeaway, return to Inspiration & Vision: Main to integrate into your Output Checklist.
To continue to learn more, move on to Inspiration & Vision: Self Review.
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