I cried on stage in Berlin (and learned something about creativity)

Understand why the most profound creative breakthroughs often come from transforming others' ideas through the lens of our own experiences.

What you'll learn:

• How vulnerability in creation leads to deeper authentic expression

• Why "stealing" ideas is actually about adding your voice to a larger conversation

• The secret to turning inspiration into innovation while honoring its origins

Hey friend,

Today, I want to share something vulnerable with you. In the video below, you'll see me break down crying during a performance in Berlin. It wasn't planned – it just happened in the middle of the second verse of my song "Long Straight Line."

This moment captures something I've been thinking about lately: how our most personal creations often start with someone else's spark.

Here's the thing – this song began as someone else's idea. My friend Sean Magwire wrote a song with the same title, containing a line that stopped me in my tracks: "There's a long straight line between your heart and mine." When I first heard it, something clicked. Not just because it was beautiful, but because it opened up a world of possibility.

Did I steal his idea? Well, yes and no.

There's this quote that Steve Jobs loved, originally attributed to Picasso: "Good artists copy, great artists steal." For years, I struggled with what this really meant. But standing on that stage in Berlin, choking up while singing about my wife and our journey together, I finally understood.

You see, when I wrote my version of "Long Straight Line," something magical happened. Sean's metaphor of connection transformed into my story of life's long commitments. That single line became a lens through which I could explore my own experiences – flying over the Sierra Nevada mountains while contemplating career changes, the courage it takes to commit to love, the beauty of building something lasting.

The magic wasn't in taking the idea – it was in transforming it so completely that it became something new. Something uniquely mine. Something that could make me cry on stage because it touched a truth so personal I couldn't hold it in.

This is what real creative "theft" looks like. It's not about copying – it's about taking an idea and infusing it so thoroughly with your own experience that it becomes something else entirely. Like engineers building upon open-source code to create something revolutionary, or entrepreneurs taking an existing concept and reimagining it for a new context.

Your turn: Think about an idea that's inspired you lately. It could be anything – a line from a book, a feature in an app, a way someone solved a problem. Now, instead of asking "How can I use this?" ask yourself:

• What emotions does this spark in me?

• What personal experiences connect with this idea?

• How could I transform this through the lens of my own story?

In the video, you'll notice that moment where my voice breaks. It's not polished. It's not perfect. But it's real – and it's mine. That's what happens when you transform inspiration into something personal: it becomes impossible to perform without feeling.

Let me know what ideas you're "stealing" right now. I'd love to hear how you're making them your own.

With vulnerability and courage,

Julius

P.S. Listen closely to the second verse in the video. That crack in my voice? That's the sound of an idea transforming from inspiration into truth.

P.P.S. Yes, the country part is taken directly from Sean’s original as a nod to the inspiration.

P.P.P.S. If you want to hear the tech bro version of the Sierra Nevada story, tune in to my interview on the Venture Europe podcast.

P.P.P.P.S. just joking.