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TED Talks Daily

Give yourself permission to be creative | Ethan Hawke (re-release)

with Ethan Hawke

Published October 25, 2025
View Show Notes

About This Episode

Host Elise Hu introduces an archive TED talk from 2020 in which actor, writer, and director Ethan Hawke explores why giving yourself permission to be creative is essential. Hawke argues that creativity is not a luxury but a vital way humans make sense of love, loss, and meaning, sharing stories from his own life and family to illustrate how following what you love reveals who you are and connects you to others. He encourages listeners to embrace feeling foolish, follow their genuine interests, and express themselves as a way to heal and help their communities.

Topics Covered

Art and creativity Creativity Personal Development Personal narrative Perspective shift Identity Grief and loss Relationships

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Quick Takeaways

  • Worrying about whether your work is considered good or important can block creativity, and the world is an unreliable critic of value.
  • People often turn to art and creativity in moments of intense grief or love to help make sense of their experiences.
  • Human creativity is described as nature manifesting through us, just as beauty appears in phenomena like the Aurora Borealis or a sunset.
  • Following what you genuinely love is a path to knowing yourself and expanding your sense of who you are.
  • Ethan Hawke's life in acting has shown him how much common humanity he shares with very different characters and people.
  • Seemingly small creative acts, like a relative sewing costumes or quilts, can hold deep personal significance and lasting power.
  • Creativity is not limited to the arts; Hawke views his stepbrother's military leadership and service as a powerful form of creativity.
  • Children's creativity is powerful because they lack habits and do not care if they are any good; they throw themselves fully into expression.
  • Hawke argues that creativity is vital because it is how we heal each other by sharing our stories and recognizing our common humanity.
  • He urges people to 'play the fool' by following their real interests, reading what they want, exploring new music, and talking to new people, even if it feels foolish.

Podcast Notes

Introduction by host and episode framing

Host identifies the show and her role

Elise Hu says the listener is tuned to TED Talks Daily, which brings new ideas to spark curiosity every day.[2:57]
She introduces herself by name as the host, Elise Hu.[3:01]

Context for the archive talk and its theme

Elise introduces the talk as an archive talk from 2020.[3:07]
She describes the speaker as actor, writer, and director Ethan Hawke.[3:09]
She summarizes that Hawke reflects on moments that have shaped his life and explains why he believes unabashed creativity is essential.[3:11]
• Elise notes that Hawke sees creativity as important regardless of profession.
• She highlights three outcomes of such creativity: connection, growth, and self-knowledge.

Ethan Hawke begins: the challenge of giving yourself permission to be creative

Opening thoughts on creativity and self-doubt

Hawke states his intention to talk about creativity.[3:27]
He observes that many people struggle to give themselves permission to be creative.[3:35]
He says this reluctance is reasonable because most people are a bit suspicious of their own talent.[3:39]

Story of Allen Ginsberg and playing the fool

Hawke recalls being very into poet Allen Ginsberg in his early 20s, reading his poetry and many interviews.[3:48]
He recounts that William F. Buckley had a television program called Firing Line.[3:57]
On that show, Ginsberg appeared and sang a Hare Krishna song while playing the harmonium.[4:00]
When Ginsberg returned to New York, his intelligentsia friends told him that everyone thought he was an idiot and that the whole country was making fun of him.[4:11]
Ginsberg responded that this was his job as a poet, saying he would play the fool.[4:17]
• Hawke relays Ginsberg's explanation: most people work all day, come home, argue with their spouse, eat, and turn on the television where someone tries to sell them something.
• Ginsberg said he disrupted that routine by going on TV to sing about Krishna, causing viewers in bed to wonder who this strange poet was and leaving them unable to sleep.
Hawke says he finds this idea very liberating.[4:41]

The enemy of creativity: desire to be important

Hawke believes most people want to offer the world something of quality that will be considered good or important.[4:45]
He argues that this desire is actually the enemy of creativity.[4:52]
He insists it is not up to us to decide whether what we create is any good.[4:57]
He claims that history shows the world is an extremely unreliable critic.[5:01]

Why human creativity matters, especially in moments of intense emotion

People ignore poetry until they need it

Hawke poses the question: do you think human creativity matters?[5:08]
He notes that most people do not spend much time thinking about poetry because they have lives to live.[5:16]
He says people are generally not concerned with Allen Ginsberg's poems or anyone's poems until something major happens.[5:22]
He lists examples: a father dies and there is a funeral, someone loses a child, or a person's heart is broken and they are no longer loved.[5:27]
In those moments, people become desperate to make sense of life and ask if anyone has ever felt as bad before and how they emerged from that cloud.[5:35]
He also mentions the inverse: moments of great joy when you meet someone, your heart explodes with love, and you feel dizzy and unable to see straight.[5:46]
In such joyful extremes, people also wonder if anyone has felt like that and what is happening to them.[6:35]
Hawke states that at these times art is not a luxury but sustenance that people need.[6:00]

Human creativity as nature manifesting through us

Hawke suggests that human creativity is nature manifesting in human beings.[6:03]
He compares it to natural beauty like the Aurora Borealis.[6:08]
He recalls acting in the movie White Fang as a kid, shot in Alaska, where at night the sky rippled with purple, pink, and white.[6:14]
• He describes the sky there as the most beautiful thing he ever saw and says it looked like the sky was playing.
He mentions the Grand Canyon at sundown as another obvious example of beauty.[6:28]
He says we recognize such natural scenes as beautiful.[6:34]
He then compares this to falling in love and seeing a lover as beautiful.[6:34]
Hawke mentions his four children and how watching them play, pretend to be butterflies, or run around the house is so beautiful.[6:35]

Creativity, self-knowledge, and following what you love

Helping each other and the need to know ourselves

Hawke states his belief that humans are on this star in space to try to help one another.[6:46]
He says that first we have to survive, and then we have to thrive.[6:53]
To thrive, he argues, we need to express ourselves.[6:57]
He adds that in order to express ourselves, we must know ourselves.[6:57]
He poses the question: what do you love?[7:04]
He claims that when you get close to what you love, who you are is revealed and it expands.[7:04]

Hawke's early love of acting

Hawke says it was easy for him because he did his first professional play at 12 years old.[7:12]
The play was St. Joan by George Bernard Shaw at the McCarter Theater.[7:14]
He says that from that experience he immediately fell in love with the profession.[7:21]
Now almost 50, he notes the profession has never stopped giving back to him and that it gives back more and more.[7:27]
He says this return mostly comes, strangely, through the characters he has played.[7:33]

Characters as a window into shared humanity

Hawke lists different roles he has played: cops, criminals, priests, and sinners.[7:35]
Over about 30 years of acting, he has realized that his own experiences as Ethan are not as unique as he once thought.[7:48]
He sees that he has much in common with the different characters he plays and that they share something in common with him.[7:57]
This repeated experience leads him to see how connected people are.[8:00]

Family stories revealing the power of creative expression

Great-grandmother's biography and costumes for a play

Hawke talks about his great-grandmother, Della Hall Walker Green.[8:04]
On her deathbed, she wrote a short biography in the hospital, about 36 pages long.[8:11]
She devoted around five pages to the one time she did costumes for a play.[8:17]
Her first husband only received about a paragraph in the biography.[8:23]
Her 50 years of cotton farming were mentioned briefly.[8:23]
Hawke notes that she put disproportionate emphasis on the creative work of doing costumes.[8:31]
He mentions that his mother gave him one of his great-grandmother's quilts.[8:04]
Holding the quilt, he can feel that she was expressing herself through it.[8:38]
He insists that this kind of expression has a real power.[8:38]

Top Gun and two different callings

Hawke recalls going with his stepbrother to see the movie Top Gun at the mall.[8:48]
He remembers walking out into the blazing heat afterward.[8:48]
He and his stepbrother both felt the movie like a calling from God, but in completely different ways.[8:51]
Hawke wanted to be an actor and to create something that made people feel, wanting simply to be part of that experience.[9:00]
His stepbrother wanted to be in the military.[9:02]
As children, they had always played FBI, army men, and knights.[9:06]
Hawke says he would pose with his sword, while his stepbrother would build a working crossbow capable of shooting an arrow into a tree.[9:11]
His stepbrother eventually joined the army.[9:15]
Hawke explains that his stepbrother retired as a colonel in the Green Berets.[9:16]
He describes his stepbrother as a multi-decorated combat veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq.[9:20]
Hawke says his stepbrother now teaches a sail camp for children of fallen soldiers.[9:24]
He concludes that his stepbrother gave his life to his passion.[9:27]
Hawke characterizes his stepbrother's creativity as leadership and bravery in helping others.[9:29]

Time, habit, and the natural creativity of children

Using our short lives for what matters

Hawke points out that the time of our lives is very short.[9:40]
He asks whether we are spending that time doing what is important to us.[9:40]
He acknowledges that most people are not, because it is hard.[9:47]
He describes the pull of habit as huge.[9:49]

Why children are so creative

Hawke says that children are beautifully creative precisely because they do not have any habits.[9:55]
He notes that children do not care if they are any good at what they are doing.[9:55]
He offers an example: kids are not building sandcastles while thinking about becoming great sandcastle builders.[9:57]
Instead, they throw themselves into whatever project is in front of them, whether dancing, painting, or building something.[10:05]
Hawke says that kids use any opportunity to impress upon others their individuality.[10:12]
He calls this expression of individuality very beautiful.[10:18]

Creativity as vital, healing, and communal

Creativity is not just nice; it is vital

Hawke says he worries that when people talk about creativity, it can sound merely nice, warm, or pleasant.[10:19]
He insists that creativity is not just pleasant; it is vital.[10:28]
He calls creativity the way humans heal each other.[10:33]

Healing through sharing stories and songs

Hawke explains that by singing our song and telling our story, and inviting others to listen while we listen to them, we begin a dialogue.[10:36]
He says that when this dialogue happens, healing occurs.[10:46]
He describes how people come out of their separate corners and begin to witness each other's common humanity.[10:49]
He says that by asserting this common humanity, really good things happen.[10:57]

Practical encouragement to express yourself and play the fool

Expressing yourself to help others

Hawke asserts that if you want to help your community, family, or friends, you have to express yourself.[11:02]
He repeats that to express yourself, you must know yourself.[11:05]
He claims that this self-discovery is actually very easy if you follow your love.[11:11]
He says there is no predefined path; the path only exists once you walk it.[11:16]
He emphasizes that you have to be willing to play the fool.[11:19]

Concrete suggestions for following your love

Hawke advises not to read the book you think you should read, but the book you want to read.[11:25]
He suggests listening to the music you used to like.[11:27]
He also encourages taking time to listen to some new music.[11:30]
He recommends taking time to talk to someone you do not normally talk to.[11:32]
Hawke guarantees that if you do these things, you will feel foolish.[11:36]
He says that feeling foolish is the point and repeats the invitation to play the fool.[11:19]

Closing credits and production notes

Talk origin and TED curation mention

The host notes that the talk was Ethan Hawke speaking at TED 2020.[11:47]
She states that the talk was originally posted in July 2020.[11:49]
She mentions that listeners curious about TED's curation can find out more at TED's curation page online.[11:53]

Podcast production team and host sign-off

Elise Hu says that is it for the day and notes that TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective.[12:00]
She credits the TED Research Team with fact-checking the talk.[12:03]
She lists producers and editors Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, and Tansika Sungmarnivong.[12:08]
She notes that the episode was mixed by Lucy Little.[12:13]
She mentions additional support from Emma Taubner and Daniela Balarezo.[12:15]
Elise signs off by saying she will be back tomorrow with a fresh idea and thanks listeners for listening.[12:20]

Lessons Learned

Actionable insights and wisdom you can apply to your business, career, and personal life.

1

Trying to make something that the world will deem good or important can suffocate creativity, because value judgments are out of your control and the world is an unreliable critic; focus instead on honest expression and the work itself.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What creative effort in your life have you delayed or avoided because you feared it would not be considered 'good enough' by others?
  • • How might your approach change if you treated external praise or criticism as largely unreliable and focused only on whether the work feels honest to you?
  • • What is one small creative act you could do this week purely for its own sake, without showing it to anyone or seeking approval?
2

Following what you genuinely love is a practical way to get to know yourself and expand who you are, because your interests reveal your deeper identity and give your life energy.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Which activities, subjects, or experiences have consistently lit you up over the years, even when they did not seem practical?
  • • How could you rearrange a small part of your week to spend more time on something you truly love rather than what you feel you 'should' do?
  • • When you imagine fully committing to one of your real passions, what specific next step could you take in the coming month to move closer to it?
3

Being willing to 'play the fool'-to feel awkward, exposed, or out of your depth-is essential for genuine creativity and growth, because new paths only appear when you risk stepping onto them.

Reflection Questions:

  • • In what situations do you most fear looking foolish, and how has that fear limited your choices so far?
  • • How might your life be different if you treated the feeling of foolishness as a signal that you are learning rather than failing?
  • • What is one conversation, class, or experiment you could initiate this week that will probably feel a bit foolish but could open up new possibilities for you?
4

Creativity is not confined to the arts; it also shows up in how you lead, serve, and solve problems, so you can live creatively in any field by giving your unique gifts to others.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where in your current work or responsibilities do you already exercise creativity without labeling it as such (for example, in leadership, teaching, or organizing)?
  • • How could recognizing your existing forms of creativity change the way you value your own contribution to your team, family, or community?
  • • What is one domain of your life-professional or personal-where you could intentionally bring more imagination or initiative in the next two weeks?
5

Sharing your stories, feelings, and perspectives through any creative medium helps others feel less alone and reveals your shared humanity, making creativity a form of mutual healing.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Which difficult or powerful experiences in your life might help someone else if you found a way to express them honestly?
  • • How could you create more space in your relationships for exchanging personal stories, art, or ideas that matter to you both?
  • • What specific medium (writing, conversation, music, craft, or another form) could you use in the next month to share one meaningful story from your life with someone you trust?

Episode Summary - Notes by Peyton

Give yourself permission to be creative | Ethan Hawke (re-release)
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