In 1960, two men made a bet.
There was only $50 on the line, but millions of people would feel the impact of this little wager.
The first man, Bennett Cerf, was the founder of the publishing firm, Random House. The second man was named Theo Geisel, but you probably know him as Dr. Seuss. Cerf proposed the bet and challenged that Dr. Seuss would not be able to write an entertaining children’s book using only 50 different words.
Dr. Seuss took the bet and won. The result was a little book I read over and over as a child called Green Eggs and Ham. Since publication, Green Eggs and Ham has sold more than 200 million copies, making it the most popular of Seuss’s works and one of the best-selling children’s books in history.
At first glance, you might think this was a lucky fluke. A talented author plays a fun game with 50 words and ends up producing a hit. But there is actually more to this story and the lessons in it can help us become more creative.
What Dr. Seuss discovered through this little bet was the power of constraints. Here are 2 facts I have found to be true about constraints.
- Constraints inspire your creativity.
Limitations drive you to figure out solutions. Often the more you limit yourself, the more resourceful you will become.
- Constraints are not the enemy.
So often we spend time complaining about the things that are withheld from us.
“I don’t have enough time to work out.”
“I don’t have enough money to start a business.”
But constraints are not the enemy. Every artist has a limited set of tools to work with. Every athlete has a limited set of skills to train with. Every entrepreneur has a limited amount of resources to build with. Once you know your constraints, you can start figuring out how to work with them.
The Size of Your Canvas
Dr. Seuss was given 50 words. That was the size of his canvas. His job was to see what kind of picture he could paint with those words.
There are a lot of authors who would complain about writing a book with only 50 words. But there was one author who decided to take the tools he had available and make a work of art instead.
You and I are given similar constraints in our lives.
These limitations just determine the size of the canvas you have to work with. What you paint on it is up to you.
My thoughts are inspired by an article by James Clear on creativity.
