[0:07]Well, it all began for him as a hobby. But actually, it's left an estate worth in excess of 500 million. When he first started writing the stories, he actually told them to his children. But by the turn of the 20th century, it was adults who voted the Lord of the Rings, the greatest book of the century. When it was first published on the 29th of July, 1954, fantasy literature wasn't popular. And when this three volume set came out, it would cost you 30 times more than your average paperback. And yet, it is found a readership of over 100 million since then. Let alone when we think about the films and their impact, and when we think about the TV series, the the Rings of Power. What started out as something really quite small has had a huge global success. But actually I want to talk to you about how do you take Tolking to work and how do you do that when at the end of the day, this is fantasy literature, what on earth is it got to do with life and with work? To explain that, I want to talk about the primitive old days, you know, the days before we streamed music and we streamed video. When the absolute apex of entertainment was when you got hold of that special edition boxed DVD set. And when you opened that up, on the one side, there are all the discs and on the other side is the bonus material and the behind the scenes footage. And actually it's no wonder that Tolkien and the themes of the book have had a huge impact. So when you think about the discs on the one side and the story and the themes, what is it really all about? What was the Lord of the Rings all about? Well, it was about small people in a big world, feeling absolutely overwhelmed. And I don't think that's a feeling that is very far from a lot of us. It's about people facing circumstances they wish they'd never had to face. And again, there's the the kind of things that actually we might feel from time to time. It's about the dethronement of power. It's about giving away power, it's about the seduction of power. And actually hundreds of millions of readers have found that all of this really has resonated with them. And talking did something very clever because he was writing fantasy. But when C.S. Lewis, who I warn you was going to feature quite heavily in this whole story. When he first reviewed the books, he said that there was a veil of familiarity, some things that we we look at that we can't see clearly and so we're given a totally different vantage point. And talking chose myth and legend and fantasy to actually make some really big points about our lives and the world in which we live. But there's another dimension to this, and I want to explain it in in two ways and this is the sort of the other half of the box set DVD and all that behind the scenes footage. And to tell you something in the story of how this book came about and really the story of a of a group in in Oxford in the 1920s and 1930s who gathered around Tolkien and and and C.S. Lewis. But there's also a personal reason as well, and so let me proper introduce myself to you. So my name's Martin Downs. For the last five years, I have been gathering people for events where they've come up with creative ideas and solutions to largely social challenges that are facing us. Over those five years, we have gathered people to over 60 events, over 2,500 attendees. And I've drawn huge inspiration in thinking about creativity and thinking about innovation and thinking about how we collaborate together. From Tolkien and Lewis and that circle of friends known as the Inklings, who met in Oxford some 90 odd years ago. And what I want to do with you in the remainder of this talk is to share with you six lessons that I have learned and that I also want to pass on to you. And I hope it'll resonate with you and that you will find useful. And whether that sparks creativity or it makes you think about collaboration, makes you think about feedback, makes you think about how you support others. I hope you will find this a helpful way to do it.
[6:17]The first lesson is simply go deep. Uh Tolkien, when he returned to Oxford after the First World War, became professor of Anglo-Saxon. Here was a man steeped in language, in literature, uh and to become a world-renowned expert in all of these things. There's something to learn from somebody who has gone so deep into a subject that they know it exhaustively. But actually when we think about creativity and how creativity happens, um there are some really interesting uh lessons to learn on this. And probably five things about the creative process. Now, these five things don't always happen in sequence. But they're all important elements of how we come up with creative ideas. And the first one is immersion, and that was so true of Tolkien, he was immersed in this world of language and literature. And within that immersion, then you start incubating, you start thinking things through. So whatever the topic, whatever the subject, whatever the problem, whatever the challenge, you start incubating, and you start thinking through new ways and new approaches. And eventually you reach a point where you gain insight. And sometimes that happens as you're you're sat thinking, sometimes it happens when you're having a shower, walking the dog. But you have a moment of insight and clarity, and you found some answers, or you've you've been inspired to produce something. But after that, comes a very delicate moment where you've got to share those insights and you you share them with the world, and then somebody else evaluates them. And they'll either say, you didn't know what you're talking about, or they'll say, oh, this is brilliant, this is really helpful. But there comes that moment of risk and that moment of evaluation. And then eventually there comes elaboration, where the poem is published, the song is performed, the film is made, or the paper is written up and becomes an article. And I find that really helpful. I think I've really learned from looking at Tolkien and and Lewis, how important it is to immerse yourself. Whatever it is, whatever the challenge, whatever the subject, that you go fully in. There's a lovely story told about a child in Vienna who was taken, a child with real musical talent was adopted into the Wickenstein family, was taken to be tutored by Felix Mendelson the composer. And uh, the Heman Vickenstein, the the father of doctors, child, uh, went to, went to Mendelson and said, uh, I want you to teach him. Mendelson says, well, what do you want me to teach? And Vickenstein says, I want him to breathe the air that you breathe. And there's something quite lovely about that. There's something about actually leaning into somebody who has learned their craft, who knows the subject,
[11:00]who have done things to change the world. And I can look at them. I can remain myself, but it takes me out of myself.
[11:15]And it opens up new windows and opportunities to be creative.
[11:24]And that is how you take Tolkien to work.
