Cover photo

"Hanging with Virgil Abloh on the Wave"

Tapping into streams of creation

Les Greys

Les Greys

If you listen to Virgil's talk at Harvard, you hear "The Stream". The subtlety of his words, his free-flowing nature, and ability go entirely no script with such cohesive language and naming tension.

These are moments where I think he hits on the coming "stream".

@5:10 "let's see how many messages come through on the wave"

@5:27 "share random things on my laptop"

@5:38 "perpetual kid at school"

@6:00 "all these sort of short cuts"

@7:01 "flip through and showcase the things Instagram doesn't have the capability to show"

His slides are even minimal, to active the stream. His stream. Allowing the activation to bring forward visual images in his head, I imagine, that's kinda what I see and feel when activating my own stream

But the thing I wanted to get at most is this one line by Virgil, @8:43.

I basically work at a feverish pace in a self-serving way just to find my signature. What's my DNA?

I think this line holds the clues towards.

  1. How to tap into your stream, feverishly working.

  2. How to be your authentic self, self-serving.

  3. How to find your niche, signature / DNA.

Today I'm only going to address 1.

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The Stream.

Something I touch on in this cast via Warpcast.

And how it requires this feverish pace to tap into creative sprints, intersecting so many different lines of thinking, the thing you produce in mind is normally ahead of it's time.

You'll need to have a certain level trust in your own authenticity and credibility in your niche to believe it for yourself, but removing those two obstacles. Trust me, the stream produces raw value, holding water, especially if most other people don't see it.

The stream is information, the more you move through, in clear states of flow, the more you can pick and choose what you carry forward with you to the next creative act. For me, I write and cast to be "in stream". When I'm flowing hard, I start to dance. Music plays a part too.

If you don't know Virgil was a DJ, I now understand why, and how much this played into his creative process. He had a DJ set brought into his creative room when hired as Creative Director for LV.

But few people can do this. It's like electricity flowing through the body. Hence his words, "feverish". And I'll admit, it's been an amazing "privilege" to have had experienced this.

Virgil was the first person to put language to something I never understood about my own brain. I need more information, not less. Feverishly working through it all, and only when I have enough can I go into "Deep Work" sprints away from everything.

Using all that information up, like water in a glass, then refilling as necessary. After a certain point in time this feedback loop stretches to longer time intervals. Iterations can be accelerated but continously pushing on the stream(s).

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Virgil taught me his version of the Stream in this one talk, that honestly changed a lot of my thinking. Hence this slide.

I've read Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, and it all made sense to me but I could never do it the way it was described in this book.

This led me to think that the stream can be experienced in bi-modal states.

Precise or accurate.

Where maybe precise is the creation act of signature.

Precise is a very very narrow tunnel where you are flying headfirst and you can only see a thin strip in front of your retna, a thin red beam, printing your signature to material.

Where maybe accuracy is the creative act of authenticity.

Accurate is a inside the tunnel, sitting in a chair with everything passing you around and you are grabbing items as your authentic self desires.

And before you have a signature you must be true to your authenticate self. It all starts with you holding onto your Stream. It's a privilege you don't want to miss. Work feverishly through it.

tl:dr: a stream is about tapping into flow states in a future where information is coming at us through all sides -- focusing on pragmatism, design, and self to be creative and create.

This has also been written about in books like Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience .

add the chatGPT of what I say about things relating to him

If you want to explore Virgil Abloh through my stream here are somethings you can do.

  • check out Searchcaster.xyz and look at all things I've posted of him.

  • go to this ChatGPT bot that has all the things I have ever written privately about him.

  • etc...

  1. pull in the 2 streams I talk about before.

Anthony Avedissian
Anthony Avedissian
Commented 1 year ago

the chat gpt virgil abloh isn't hyperlink isn't correcly :(

sixFarcaster
six
Commented 7 months ago

Realized that improving your cognitive function/intelligence (and also your t*ste) both require consistently consuming new input sources. Even if you have really well curated inputs, if they stay the same then it plateaus in your brain and you don’t get exposed to new ideas that stretch it in the way that enhances your thinking

Chris CarellaFarcaster
Chris Carella
Commented 7 months ago

@les, six had discovered The Stream.

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 7 months ago

yes!! we need more of us in the Stream. shit I need to find the stream again i've lost it a few months back.

sixFarcaster
six
Commented 7 months ago

idk what yall are talking about but it sounds cool

kugusha 🦋Farcaster
kugusha 🦋
Commented 1 year ago

Fantastic lecture by Virgil talking through his creative processes - not limiting to 1 project, form, gerne - remixing & referencing - signs of work in progress - irony https://youtu.be/qie5VITX6eQ?si=hXjocO9AZJ3xj47I

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 1 year ago

Have you read my write up largely focused on this talk? https://paragraph.xyz/@lesgreys/virgil-abloh

kugusha 🦋Farcaster
kugusha 🦋
Commented 1 year ago

enjoyed following your thoughts about the stream. And Virgil was such a free spirit, I', re-visiting his talks now. A few years back he was a big inspo to me

kugusha 🦋Farcaster
kugusha 🦋
Commented 1 year ago

2500 $degen

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 1 year ago

Looking for honest and constructive criticism. I've been told, “your cast make me think”, “enjoy your writing”, “felt like I was with you”, “love your soulful casts” and more by friends to anons. What does my writing or cast invoke for you, if nothing, why? 1/2

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 1 year ago

If you provide feedback and have a mint on /zora, drop the link and I'll mint + tip $enjoy. If not, thoughtful feedback will receive thoughtful tips with $degen.

alexFarcaster
alex
Commented 1 year ago

my only constructive criticism is that I don't see your casts a lot outside of /grey and I rarely see your longer form writing. have to go seek it out but when I do, I really enjoy your perspective. you seem comfortable with ambiguity, adopting an idea, trying it on for size and casting it aside if it doesn't fit

_slow_crypto 🌅⏳🪁Farcaster
_slow_crypto 🌅⏳🪁
Commented 1 year ago

Refreshment in the feed. A change of pace. But it’s knowing you a bit that brings it that to life. I’m grateful for this place for helping strangers on the internet become less strange. And your active effort to that end.

Violet July Farcaster
Violet July
Commented 1 year ago

I’ve just discovered you! The few casts of yours I’ve read brought me hope that I can succeed with my art, and made me contemplate on how to achieve that. If you’re willing to share with me your favorite piece of writing and/or cast you’ve created, I’d love to absorb it and share my experience with you.

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 1 year ago

This one if my fave things I’ve written. A lot of my public work is unrefined so feel free to dig into any of it and DC me with questions. https://paragraph.xyz/@lesgreys/virgil-abloh

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 1 year ago

Some of you asked me what I meant by "The Stream" and how I see it ties into Virgil Abloh. Wrote some words in case it's useful. Now I'm off to be precise. https://paragraph.xyz/@lesgreys/virgil-abloh

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 1 year ago

cc those that asked. @brittkim.eth @azeem @blackdave

azeemFarcaster
azeem
Commented 1 year ago

Thank you! Let me take a read.

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 1 year ago

I’d add, I see this as the future of product development. Merkle team “taught” me the pragmatism version of shipping and the right deep streaming teams will ship the best designed products in the future. Don’t let your team be caught outside the stream.

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 1 year ago

I see these as related. (July is one the best, one day I’ll write about his influence like i do Virgil) https://warpcast.com/july/0xb93d9e50

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 1 year ago

Jumping into a new stream. https://warpcast.com/les/0x888e8956

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 1 year ago

Part of the process is finding the right medium for which message in coming through the stream. You know it’s it because flow vibrates higher freq.

jamFarcaster
jam
Commented 1 year ago

@aafren

Aafren (👻) Farcaster
Aafren (👻)
Commented 1 year ago

Great explanation to some of virgils thought processes

Les GreysFarcaster
Les Greys
Commented 1 year ago

thank you, glad you liked it.

"Hanging with Virgil Abloh on the Wave"