In my last post I discussed how and when to use your inspiration. In case you missed it, go check it out here.

By now you probably have a list of go to songs that inspire you. But this post is a brain dump of all non-music things that have inspired me to create. Inspiration is an ongoing thing so it never hurts to have more.

A key thing here is that I’m not really into what most people are into… I like weird, unusual, different, eccentric things. I also love the artform of hip hop so that makes my taste kind of quirky. If this sounds similar to you then this post will give you a boost of inspiration.

In here you’ll find some stuff that is tied to the act of creativity or tied to music but not actually songs.
I would suggest taking in one or two of these at most today or else you could slip into analysis paralysis. Use these as a spark to get you creating fire. You can bookmark this post and check out one or two more of these next time you need a little boost.

Movies

• Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus

  One of the most important parts of being a songwriter is imagination. This movie is dripping with imagination. The idea is people in this movie can enter the mind of a thousand year old sage. Throw in the devil, mini me, trippy visuals and surrealism and its a recipe for inspiration.
  Watch Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus Here

• Enter The Void

  Being able to write from different perspectives is super important to reaching your potential as a writer. This movie allows you to explore the perspective of the observer after death. It makes you question many things and gets the creative juices going when it comes to philosophy and spirituality.
  Watch Enter The Void Here

• The Science Of Sleep

  If you like blurring the lines between dreams and reality, then you should definitely check this movie out. Watching the artistry that’s involved in this movie definitely inspired me to make something unusual and out of the ordinary.
  Watch Science Of Sleep Here

• Requiem for a dream

  The way they used editing and closeups to make you feel like you’re there “partying” with the characters. This is what stuck out to me the most, I haven’t seen anything like this before and after this movie. This movie is a bit in the darker side but the creativity and imagination in this movie should trigger some ideas for your own craft.
  Watch Requiem For A Dream Here

• What dreams may come

  As you can probably tell I like dreams 😂 But ironically this isn’t about sleep or dreams. This movie literally “paints” an in depth picture of the afterlife. It gives you a different, more expansive perspective on life. This could inspire many song concepts, album concepts or even music videos, it depends on you.
  Watch What Dreams May Come Here

• Soul (Pixar)

  You’re probably starting to see a pattern in my interests, I like the weird, afterlife, dreams, anything that’s not “normal”. This movie is no different, a lot of the movie takes place in the afterlife and also ties in with other dimensions quite nicely. One of the main takeaways for me was presenting the idea of detachment to your purpose and not becoming an obsessed “monster” but also enjoying your life. If your a fan of music and spirituality then you’ll love this movie.
  Check out the “Soul” movie here.

Documentaries

• Jiro Dreams Of Sushi

  The reason this is on the list is because it’s inspiring to see the passion and dedication that one person can have towards their craft. This man takes dedication and attention to detail to an extreme level, and you can’t help but admire that.
  Watch Jiro Dreams Of Sushi Here
  

• What the Bleep Do We Know!?

  Have you ever felt someone looking at you? Then you experienced a form of Quantum Physics. This documentary is basically Quantum Physics for dummies. This might change the way you interact with your craft and beats and who knows what else. It might give you new perspectives and concepts for songwriting.
  WWatch “What The Bleep Do We Know” here
  

Books

• How To Rap The Art & Science of Hip Hop

  I know this isn’t the most unusual piece of inspiration but it was stll very helpful. But I guess learning from a book these days is unusual 🤣 In this book I found inspiration to improve the technical side of my craft. The things that I didn’t consciously realize and was just doing by feel it by ear, is explained thoroughly here. This book shines light on techniques and how the greats use them throughout their raps.
  Discover the techniques in “How to Rap” here.

  

• The War Of Art by Stephen Pressfield

  This book really highlights the importance of treating your craft like a PRO. Showing up everyday like it’s your job and you needing to be there. This book connects the dots between showing up everyday and how the gods/spirits are intermingled with this. Truly a life changing book, this book and one punch man completely changed the way I approach time management.
  Check out the book here.

  

• Shape Shifter: How to Transform Your Life in 1 Day

  This is the first “motivational” book I ever read. This book shows you that anything is possible, that the only thing standing between you and your dreams is fear. The main idea is our nature as humans is to shapeshift into whatever is in our mind. But the major key that burned itself into my memory was that, anyone with average ability and a strong desire can become a top amateur in any chosen field if they invest 3,000 hours into its study and practice. To become world class they would need to invest 10,000 hours.
  To go in depth into these gems check out the “Shapeshifter” book here.

  

• Russ – Its All In Your Head

  Look I’ma be honest, I’m not the biggest Russ fan, but I do admire his mentality and grind, after listening to the chomp series, I gave this a read. This book will make you want to do everything yourself but keep in mind that those 3,000 hours from above are per skill. So the more roles and skills you try to take on the longer it will take to become world class. But what I did take from this was the hustle, strategy and dedication to the craft.
  To go more in depth with this, check out the “It’s all in your head” book here.

  

• New Psycho-Cybernetics

  Ok imagine you can rewrite your self into the person that can accomplish your wildest goals and dreams.This book teaches you how to do exactly just that and how to use your subconscious to help you come up with solutions to your problems and ideas for you to use. The main idea is that your brain has a Cybernetic mechanism that is designed to get you towards your goal whether your goal is success or failure.
  <Read “Psycho Cybernetics” here

  

Shows

• One Piece

  This show is a masterclass on world building and character writing. Truly will push you to want to flesh out a concept album and push the limits of your creativity. Most importantly since this show has gone on for over 1000 episodes it’s a lesson in persistence paying off. This show really sold me at around “Arlong Park” from that point I was hooked. It also shifts the way you look at the world, and your place in it.
  Watch One Piece Here

• One Punch Man

  Watching this show was pretty cool at first, but the reason this made my list was the main characters training. There was an episode where this super hero’s training is revealed, he says that he did 4 exercises for 3 years without taking a break. This caused him to develop “god-like” strength, speed and invulnerability. I then thought about what would be the 4 things I could focus on without taking a break. This helped me develop my time management system.
  Watch One Punch Man Here

Interviews

• How This Indie Rapper Made $100,000 WITHOUT Going Viral 💎
  
• BE the BEST VERSION of Who YOU Are! – Lupe Fiasco Live Motivation
  

So going back to the beginning, use these as a spark to get you creating. You can bookmark this post and check out one or two more of these next time your not as inspired. Once you start binging inspiration instead of doing something with it, is where the trap is, you gotta make sure you don’t fall for it.

INSPIRED ACTION > ACTION > BINGE INSPIRATION.

Until Next Time