WWPD - What Would A Producer Do?

Could we make our lives more interesting if we treated them like a show?

The Creativity Guild is a community of creative explorers looking to reignite our creative sparks.  This is the place to reconnect with your creativity, start the projects you’ve always wanted to work on and become the person you’ve always wanted to be.

Subscribe to get a free dose of creative inspiration delivered to your inbox every two weeks.

---

Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?

Mary Oliver, The Summer Day

Here is a provocative idea that literally came to me in a dream…

What if we all treated our lives as if they were shows? What if we pretended that we were not only the stars and lead characters in our shows but also the writers, directors, and producers? Would we all live more interesting and fulfilling lives if we considered our life decisions, big and small, through the lens of a producer?

***Please don’t be alarmed! I don’t mean literally turning your life into a reality show or recording and broadcasting your life.*** 

There is a common mindset in roles like writers, directors and producers - their jobs are to keep things interesting and to make sure things never get too boring. When these creative leaders make decisions, they opt for getting characters out of their comfort zones, giving them new challenges, and exposing them to new environments. They will rightfully raise a red flag when a character is playing it safe, with nothing at stake, doing the same thing over and over and over again.

Why? Because stasis is BORING. Nothing at stake is BORING. Routines are BORING. Average is BORING. And audiences don’t like boring. No one remembers boring. No one gets excited about boring. No one wants to spend time with boring.

Can you imagine if Mary Oliver’s poem instead read, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do, With your one average and predictable life?” Slightly less inspiring.

And yet, many of us play our lives pretty safe, reduce the stakes whenever we can, and more often than not… we do the same things over and over and over again. Our cultural obsession with habits and routines provides a lot of benefits - they keep us healthy, productive, and hopefully happier. However, what are the consequences if every day is filled with the same boxes being checked over and over again? (Meditate! Exercise! Go to work! Eat healthy! Go for a walk! Watch Netflix! Sleep!)

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts."
As You Like It, Shakespeare

I am not suggesting we put ourselves in a version of the Truman Show, but if audiences watched the story of our lives, would the reviews be “BORING!”? Imagine a film montage showing your day-to-day life and what it would look like. What kind of music would be set to the montage? In my head, I can hear a relentless, workmanlike droning that is somewhat dispiriting.

***Please don’t be alarmed! I’m not suggesting you create conflict with your loved ones, start a fight in a bar, or plan an elaborate heist.*** 

Consider the elements of a great story. The concept of “a life story” is very familiar, but we don’t often think about our lives as an actual story. What if we did? Writers, directors, and producers do this all the time with creative projects. Their jobs are to make every story compelling, memorable, and remarkable.

Would we not want our own life story to be compelling, memorable, and remarkable? If so, maybe we should all start asking ourselves, “WWPD?” - What Would a Producer Do?

“We’re here for a good time. Not a long time.
So have a good time. The sun can’t shine every day.”
Trooper

This may be our one and only life (depending on your belief system). So why not embrace the idea of producing your life? Of making your life story the best story it can possibly be?

When you have a decision to make, ask yourself WWPD? When you are contemplating sticking to a routine versus doing something new and unusual, ask yourself WWPD? When you catch yourself in a rut or Groundhog Day-type existence, ask yourself, WWPD? When you realize that you eat the same small number of meals on rotation, ask yourself WWPD? When you only see the same small number of friends, go the same small number of restaurants, listen to the same songs and artists, or wear the same clothes… ask yourself WWPD?

A producer would mix things up. A producer would create a situation where the character is forced out of their comfort zone, forced to change, and forced to experiment. A producer would force characters into curiosity. Into novelty. Into arenas where change and transformation and evolution are possible… and even likely.

Geoff Siskind

and I were talking last week, and we agreed vehemently that the Creativity Guild exists because creativity is a gateway to insights about life (and a path to living a better life). With this link between creativity and life in mind, the value of thinking like the writer, director, and producer of your life becomes even more clear - creative thinking about the story of your life will not just encourage and prompt you to think about your life differently, it actually has the potential to change your life for the better.

Some of my favourite memories of the last year have been doing experiments for the Creativity Guild. I ended up having a richer set of experiences because I “produced” them, and they ended up as fun and memorable stories.

So what am I going to do about it? I’m going to ask myself more regularly and actively, “WWPD?” Not because I want to be performative or create sensationalistic content but because I want to live a more interesting and adventurous life.

“Your time on Earth is limited.  Don’t try to “age with grace,” age with mischief, audacity and a good story to tell. “
Unknown

Creative Prompts

• What would the montage of your daily life look like currently?

• What would be the current soundtrack to your work week? To your weekends?

• If you hired a producer whose job was to transform your life into “a show,” what are the most likely things that a producer would immediately suggest?

• Where does it make sense to adopt the mindset of being the writer, director, and producer of your one and only life story?  And where does it not make sense at all?

---

Strombo’s Lit

My friend, former MuchMusic and CBC colleague, and recent recipient of the Order of Canada (!!!), George Stroumboulopoulos continues to amaze and inspire me with his energy and progressive thinking. He’s fully embracing digital channels and is bravely experimenting with new ideas in public, including Strombo’s Lit, a YouTube book club that he kicked off with Naomi Klein about her fantastic book, Doppelganger. Check it out:

---

Would You Be Happier If You Were More Creative?

Angela Duckworth and Mike Maughan did a fascinating episode of No Stupid Questions exploring whether or not there is a link between creativity and happiness.

---