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- The fish will bite when they're ready
The fish will bite when they're ready
Jordan Schwarzenberger
August 11, 2025
Creativity is a lot like fishing.
The more you try to force it, the harder it becomes.
You can't force a fish to take the bait, so why are you trying to force ideas?
The best fishermen find a good spot, cast once, then sit back with a coffee and just... wait.
They've accepted that fish operate on fish time, not human time.
They're genuinely okay with the possibility that today might be a slow day.
And somehow, this way catches more fish than the frantic approach.
Which makes absolutely zero sense until you realise that desperation has a smell, and fish can sense it from miles away.
Same with creativity.
And by extension: content creators.
They sit down at their laptops with that manic "I MUST CREATE SOMETHING BRILLIANT RIGHT NOW" energy, staring at blank screens like they can intimidate ideas into existence through sheer force of will.
Then they get frustrated when nothing comes.
Then they try harder.
Then they get more frustrated.
But creativity doesn't respond to pressure - it responds to space.
Mental space. Physical space. Emotional space.
The kind of space you create when you stop trying so hard to make something happen and just let your brain do its thing without micromanaging every thought.
This is why some of my best ideas come from queuing at Tesco or waiting for the tube.
None of these moments involved sitting at my desk trying to "brainstorm."
They happened when I wasn't trying at all.
When my brain was just wandering around, picking up random observations and connecting dots I didn't even know existed.
What's funny about our relationship with creativity is we treat it like it's a vending machine.
Insert effort. Press buttons. Expect instant results.
When really it's more like, lets say, growing tomatoes.
You plant the seeds (consume interesting things, have conversations, notice patterns).
You water them occasionally (give yourself thinking time).
You wait (the hardest part).
Then one day you wake up and there are, hopefully, tomatoes everywhere.
You didn't make them appear through force of will.
You just created the right conditions and trusted the process.
Same with ideas.
You can't schedule inspiration for Tuesday at 2pm.
You can't force breakthroughs because you have a deadline.
You can't manufacture genius because your content calendar demands it.
But you can create the conditions where creativity is more likely to happen.
Fill your brain with interesting inputs.
Give yourself permission to be bored occasionally.
Stop checking your phone every 10 seconds.
Take walks without podcasts.
Have conversations with people who think differently than you do.
And then - and this is crucial - stop trying to control when the magic happens.
Trust that if you've done the groundwork, the ideas will come.
Maybe not today.
Maybe not when you want them to.
But they'll come.
The best fishermen know this instinctively.
They show up with good bait and patience.
Then they let the fish decide when it's time.
Your next brilliant thought is probably already on its way.
It's just waiting for you to stop chasing it long enough for it to catch up.
So maybe put down the creative pressure for a minute.
The fish will bite when they're ready.
And when they do, you'll be there with your net.
Remember, the creator mindset is all you need to grow 🌱
P.S. When you’re ready, here’s three ways I can help out 👇️
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