A story from Monty Python’s John Cleese on how to use your tortoise mind to solve big problems and think creatively about marketing scenarios for your business.
Some of you may recall the wildly entertaining and witty troupe of actors and comedians, Monty Python. Building off a successful sketch comedy show on the BBC, the talented group went on to produce live shows, films, and a number of brilliant solo careers.
One of the members, John Cleese, tells a story from their early days, when they were still focused on creating skits for television.
He and another cast member, Graham Chapman, had a house near London they were staying at and spent all day talking through and scripting a new skit. If you’ve never caught a Monty Python skit, watch Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition on YouTube for a laugh. Their skits were known for combining ridiculous characters and situations with extremely clever dialogue.
Which meant a great deal of thought went into every sit. John and Graham spent hours thinking through the scenario they wanted to convey, the characters and costumes needed, and all of the dialogue each actor would say to leave their audience in stitches in the end.
The result was a notebook filled with scripts and direction.
The two men took a break for dinner. Later that evening, Graham asked John if he could go over the script, but there was a problem…
John couldn’t find it!
Somehow, someway… he’d lost the notebook.
Graham was furious, but there was nothing to be done for it. He stormed off in silence and left John to stew over the completely wasted day and effort.
The next morning, John still couldn’t find the notebook, but he was determined to set things right. He sat down with a new notebook and set about writing everything he could recall from the previous day’s effort.
After a little while, he felt like he’d come up with something presentable, and shared it with Graham. He went nuts! Graham said the new script was way better than the original.
Later, John attributed that difference, that improvement, to the work his subconscious mind was able to do when allowed to passively, slowly, think about the script. Cleese calls that our Tortoise Mind. He encourages us to take time regularly to be still and allow our minds to simply think.
Struggling with a big problem in marketing or business?
Go for a walk. Sit in a park. Give yourself a few minutes to let your mind settle and dismiss all the busy-ness that bubbles up, then really allow your tortoise brain to work its magic.
I hope you got something from today’s Marketing Minutes with Mike. But whether you did or didn’t, leave a comment and let me know. Just please be nice, my mom reads these too. Cheers!
