John Botha

Writer and actuary obsessed with the creative process. Author of MEGA CREATIVITY🪁. Sharing new ideas on Substack every Monday. links at

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

MEGA Creativity is live on Amazon!

Thanks to everyone who showed interest in the book :)

After extensive research, using examples from Darwin to Djokovic to Bob Dylan, this is the most comprehensive view of creativity I could muster. I wrote the book I wanted to read: wide-ranging, practical, and (hopefully) inspiring. I'm very glad it's out in the world and the ideas are connecting with people.

Amazon link: https://t.co/BNOFnIzGk8

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@weltszzn @biigrem This is my best trait😂 I often leave the house to do just this..

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@RohdeAli @vineettiruvadi Working differently. we need to lose the obsession about "hard". Does hard mean working long hours, attempting difficult things, doing things not aligned to interests!?

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@booksoftitans Nice :)

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

I think Norm Macdonald understood this better than anyone.

[Er. Mansoor @MANSOORNABI12]

Sometimes the smartest move is letting a fool think they’re smarter than you.

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

For breaking anxiety and self-awareness loops:

Creative action
Connect with people
Read good books, esp fiction
Good habits and routines
Get out into the world
Have kids! :)

[Visa is doing marketing consults (see pinned!) @visakanv]

i have had conversations with thousands of people at this point over the last 20 years about this particular problem, and observed how it played out for many of them. the answer to 'excess self-awareness' is to redirect your awareness beyond yourself. help people. volunteer. etc

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@marshallpriddy @pensandpoison In my book, I have a whole chapter about "quality from quantity" 👍

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@Rajjath24 I need to read this book. On my list for 2026.

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@dylanwiliam @dperkinsed @LifespanDevelop Absolutely, and allow kids a much wider net of acceptable explorations

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

I find it helpful to look at creativity expansively with different phases : motivation (problem finding) + exploration (data gathering, incl skills) + generation (new ideas) + amelioration (selecting and refining)

https://t.co/RjwTP2Yqua

With this view, AI can do some parts of the creative process and not others, particularly not full-stack orchestration

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

I find it helpful to look at creativity expansively with different phases : motivation (problem finding) + exploration (data gathering, incl skills) + generation (new ideas) + amelioration (selecting and refining)

https://t.co/RjwTP2Yqua

With this view, AI can do some parts of the creative process and not others, particularly not full-stack orchestration

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

This is a great conversation.

Creativity is mysterious, in that we don't understand it fully (in the same way we cannot properly code our complex brains) .

But creativity is not mysterious in that it is accessible to every human through replicable processes and practices.

Also true that "style" must be a recognizable pattern. And it acts as authentic communication vehicle for surprising ideas and discoveries.

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@TheTechProfe Very powerful to bring this expanded conception of creativity into classrooms!

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@erickoester @TheTechProfe I start my book by explaining why we should Be Weird. Embrace our unique preferences and proclivities.

Being authentic sets the right direction for your creative work.

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@rajshamani "Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work"
- Gustave Flaubert

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@G_S_Bhogal For me creativity is curiosity + imagination + implementation, the bottleneck is creative action. AI amplifies the actively creative.

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@G_S_Bhogal For me creativity is curiosity + imagination + implementation, the bottleneck is creative action. AI amplifies the actively creative.

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

Creativity aimed at some part of the human experience is what we care about

Whether that is art (making meaning), science (understanding reality), business (serving each other) or just living with agency; creativity underpins all

[Rook @Cpt_Rook]

“Creativity has got to start with humanity and when you’re a human being, you feel, you suffer.”

- Marilyn Monroe

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@Cpt_Rook Yes! Great quote
Creativity aimed at some part of the human experience is what we care about.

Whether that is art (making meaning), science (understanding reality), business (serving each other) or just living with agency; creativity underpins all

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@daily_book24311 I love and hate this quote.
Because it's true in the long run. The more you live a creative life, the more you will engage in creative projects.
But on any particular day, you can use creativity up, because it needs time and space and energy, and these resources are finite!

[John Botha @MEGA_Creativity]

@6looted Yup, you see people's values in their behaviour not their words.