Absorb, Rinse, Contribute
Process experience through expression before shaping it to help other people.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 96%
will.i.am compares creativity to a sponge that absorbs material and must be rinsed before it can absorb more. In the first phase, take in experiences, emotions, observations, and information. In the second, release that accumulated material through a chosen form—music, painting, cooking, teaching, dance, film, or journaling—without making other people's approval the immediate goal. He describes this expression as personally useful because it helps the creator make sense of the world. Only after recognizing that personal effect does strategy enter: ask how the same work could help someone else, then shape the contribution accordingly. The cycle resumes as the creator returns to observation. This is a metaphorical creative process, not a clinical claim that artistic expression treats mental-health conditions.
Origin
Extracted from The Diary of a CEO
Core principles
- 01Creative work begins by absorbing experience and information.
- 02Expression releases and organizes what has accumulated.
- 03Early output does not need public approval to serve its first purpose.
- 04A creator can add strategy after understanding how the work helps personally.
- 05Contribution follows processing rather than replacing it.
How to run it
- 1
Absorb deliberately
Notice the experiences, ideas, emotions, and details accumulating in you. Capture enough of them that they remain available for later expression.
Pro tip Use short notes, recordings, sketches, or collected references rather than relying on memory.
Watch out Endless intake without expression can become passive consumption.
- 2
Rinse through expression
Release what you have absorbed through the medium that fits you. Let the first version serve understanding before asking it to impress an audience.
Pro tip Choose the fastest honest form when polished production would prevent release.
Watch out Private expression and public publication have different quality and safety requirements.
- 3
Find the personal progress
Review the output and name what it clarified, released, or helped you make sense of. Treat this as the first test of usefulness.
Pro tip Write one sentence beginning, ‘This helped me understand…’
Watch out A personally meaningful result does not automatically make every claim suitable for others.
- 4
Shape the contribution
Identify another person who could benefit, then adapt the expression so they can access its useful part. Add structure, context, and care without erasing the original insight.
Pro tip Define the audience and the progress you hope the work enables.
Watch out Do not promise that another person will experience the same effect you did.
- 5
Repeat the cycle
Return to the world with room to absorb new material. Let feedback become one input rather than the sole purpose of the next creation.
Pro tip Keep separate notes for useful feedback and approval-seeking reactions.
Watch out Optimizing every cycle for opinion can suppress honest exploration.
In the wild
A founder journals after a failed launch to understand the disappointment and the decisions that led there. Once the writing clarifies the pattern, the founder removes private details, checks the factual claims, and reshapes the lesson into an essay for other early-stage builders.
→ Private processing becomes a bounded contribution without pretending the lesson applies universally.
will.i.am says creative expression first helps the creator make sense of the world. After recognizing that effect, a musician can become strategic about arranging and presenting the song so its emotional or practical value reaches other people.
→ The work moves from personal processing to intentional contribution.
Common mistakes
Creating for judgment first
Making approval the initial goal can interrupt the honest release that will.i.am places at the center of creativity.
Never shaping the raw material
Expression can help its maker while still needing context, editing, or verification before it helps an audience.
Treating expression as treatment
The transcript presents a creative metaphor and personal benefit, not evidence that expression replaces professional mental-health care.
Is it for you?
Best for
Artists, writers, teachers, and other creators who absorb heavily and need a purpose for expression beyond audience judgment.
Not ideal for
Regulated or high-stakes communication that must be accurate and audience-ready before it is shared.
From the transcript
“a sponge absorbs and eventually you got to rinse it out so it can absorb more”
“first it has to help you”
“you would have absorbed the world and rinsed and contributed in some way”
From the episode
will.i.am Opens Up: “I Would Have Had Children 10 Years Ago!!!” Guilt, Shame, Depression, Creativity & ADHD!