Chopra on the nine steps of creating.

Question: What inspires you?

Deepak Chopra: What inspires me? I think stories of healing inspire me. Examples of people who have faced major challenges and use their most creative opportunities inspire me. As a physician, I was always inspired by my extraordinary patients. And it is through them that I learned everything that I know.

Question:: Do you have a creative process?

Deepak Chopra: Yes, I have a creative process. It has nine steps: intended outcome, information gathering, information analysis, incubation, insight, inspiration, integration, implementation and incarnation. I could talk all week about it.

Through my own experiences, I came to realize that all creativity goes through these steps that I just mentioned. And that includes scientific creativity, creativity in art, of music, of storytelling; but also biological creativity, which is healing.

Question: Is there any person you look to for inspiration?

Deepak Chopra: Well I used to look up to a great Indian philosopher by the name of Jiddu Krishnamurti, who is not alive. I’m inspired by the lives of people like Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, John Kennedy and many others.

Recorded on: Aug 17, 2007