ACTIVATION | PART 5

Motion

OBJECTIVE

Identify the Type of Movement Your Work Creates

To help you determine whether your craft moves people physically (forward, backward, toward safety or efficiency) or internally (toward belonging, upward into confidence, onward into meaning). By understanding which engine your work activates — and which one your industry was originally built upon — you gain clarity around your creative purpose, your direction, and how your work truly changes people’s lives.

OVERVIEW

Once you understand whether your work moves bodies or moves hearts, you begin creating with intention rather than instinct. You gain clarity on your industry, your medium, your role, and your opportunity. This distinction becomes a compass—guiding your decisions, sharpening your messaging, and aligning your creative identity with the type of movement you were made to create.

Most creators unknowingly work inside one of these engines, and often struggle because they don’t realize which one they’re building for. When you know whether your craft originates in physical motion or internal motion, everything sharpens: your ideas, your voice, your medium, your priorities, your value, your direction.

SECTION | 1

Two Types Of Motion

The Two Engines Behind Every Creative Act

Every industry, every discipline, every craft begins in one of two places: the need to move the body or the need to move the soul. These two impulses—Motion and Emotion—are the twin engines behind all creative work. Some creators shape the world by helping people get somewhere: faster, safer, smoother, with fewer obstacles in the way. Others shape the world by helping people feel something: deeper, clearer, more alive, more connected to themselves and each other.

Once you recognize this divide, the entire landscape of creativity reorganizes itself. Cars weren’t born from the desire to express identity, but from the simple need to stay dry and move farther without exhaustion. Architecture began as nothing more glamorous than four walls and a roof protecting a family from danger. Fashion started as insulation long before it became expression. UX design was once concerned only with efficiency before it ever considered delight. These are Motion industries—crafts built to move the body through the world with more ease and less fear.

On the other side live the Emotion industries. Music began as longing turned into sound. Painting began as memory anchored to a surface. Photography emerged as proof that a moment mattered. Film became an attempt to stitch emotion into time. These disciplines don’t simply move a person forward; they move a person inward and upward. They lift, soothe, awaken, and remind.

This is the part most creatives never articulate, even though they feel it intuitively: every creator is shaped by one of these engines first. Even if your work eventually crosses the divide, you still originate from one side. And once you understand that origin, you understand not only the path behind you but the possibilities ahead.

Motion industries govern the Modes of Forward and Backward—pushing people toward progress or pulling them away from harm. Emotion industries govern the Modes of Toward, Upward, and Onward—drawing people toward belonging, lifting their confidence, or carrying them toward meaning and transcendence. Both are essential. Both change the world. They just do it through different forms of movement.

Corporate language expresses this ancient divide through more modern terms: Product and Brand. Function and feeling. The thing that moves you physically, and the thing that moves you emotionally.

When you understand which one you serve—and how—you gain a creative north star. Motion and Emotion become more than abstract ideas; they become the way you read your craft, diagnose your industry, and direct your future. They turn intuition into strategy and your medium into a vehicle capable of moving people exactly where they need to go.

EXTERNAL MODE

External Motion

MOTION BUSINESSES

Motion work solves physical and safety needs.
It reduces friction. It saves time. It protects from harm.
It is the business of utility, efficiency, and physical direction.
Examples:

Architecture → Keep families safe, regulate temperature, improve workflow.
UX design → Make the path intuitive, reduce clicks, eliminate confusion.
Transportation → Cars, scooters, bikes—mechanisms of physical progress.
Fashion (origins) → Protection before expression.

Motion is the design layer of the world.
It helps people not sweat. It gives people ease. It moves their bodies through life.
If you design things people touch, use, wear, or navigate—you are in the Motion business.

Start here. Every problem begins with a threatened need — something essential that’s being strained, stressed, or broken. Before designing a solution, name the need clearly and trace where it begins.

What need is being threatened?
Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
How visible is it? How repeatable?

What need is being threatened?

Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?

Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?

Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?

How visible is it? How repeatable?
Next, locate the source. Problems live either outside of us or within us — in our environment or in our emotions. Knowing where the disruption begins will help you understand how to meet it.

Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
What’s happening around them when it occurs?
Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?

What’s happening around them when it occurs?

Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?

Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?
Every problem has a rhythm. Some are fleeting; others echo daily. Understanding the half-life of a problem reveals how deeply it’s wired into a person’s routine and how urgent a solution must be.

How often does this problem return?
What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

How often does this problem return?

What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?

Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?

When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?
Identify the person behind the pattern. Every problem has an audience — a tribe of people sharing the same tension. Finding them is how you begin to define your market, your message, and your meaning.

Who feels this most acutely?
Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.

Who feels this most acutely?

Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?

Do they gather, talk, or post about it?

Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?

What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.
Most problems don’t stand alone — they’re connected. Once you solve one, another often emerges behind it. Understanding these layers turns a single solution into a system that keeps people moving forward.

Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?

What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?

Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

EXTERNAL MODE

Internal Motion

EMOTION BUSINESSES

Emotion work solves belonging, esteem, and transcendence needs.
It restores what entropy tries to take: meaning, direction, hope.

Examples:

Music → Moves people toward connection and healing.
Photography → Moves memories toward permanence.
Painting → Moves inner worlds toward visibility.
Storytelling → Moves imagination toward empathy.

Too many people feel alive in their schedules but dead in their spirits.
Emotion work brings them back.

If you create things people feel, remember, share, or are shaped by—you are in the Emotion business.

Start here. Every problem begins with a threatened need — something essential that’s being strained, stressed, or broken. Before designing a solution, name the need clearly and trace where it begins.

What need is being threatened?
Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
How visible is it? How repeatable?

What need is being threatened?

Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?

Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?

Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?

How visible is it? How repeatable?
Next, locate the source. Problems live either outside of us or within us — in our environment or in our emotions. Knowing where the disruption begins will help you understand how to meet it.

Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
What’s happening around them when it occurs?
Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?

What’s happening around them when it occurs?

Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?

Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?
Every problem has a rhythm. Some are fleeting; others echo daily. Understanding the half-life of a problem reveals how deeply it’s wired into a person’s routine and how urgent a solution must be.

How often does this problem return?
What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

How often does this problem return?

What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?

Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?

When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?
Identify the person behind the pattern. Every problem has an audience — a tribe of people sharing the same tension. Finding them is how you begin to define your market, your message, and your meaning.

Who feels this most acutely?
Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.

Who feels this most acutely?

Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?

Do they gather, talk, or post about it?

Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?

What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.
Most problems don’t stand alone — they’re connected. Once you solve one, another often emerges behind it. Understanding these layers turns a single solution into a system that keeps people moving forward.

Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?

What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?

Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

STARTING IN ONE MOVING TO ANOTHER

Crossovers

WHEN MOTION BECOMES EMOTION

Some industries begin in one engine and migrate to the other over time.
This migration is where revolutions happen.

Examples:

Nike → Began with utility (Motion), became identity (Emotion).
Starbucks → Began with convenience (Motion), became community (Emotion).
Apple → Began with personal computing (Motion), became meaning, status, philosophy (Emotion).

Understanding where your industry began—and where it is heading—gives you strategic clarity competitors miss.

Start here. Every problem begins with a threatened need — something essential that’s being strained, stressed, or broken. Before designing a solution, name the need clearly and trace where it begins.

What need is being threatened?
Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
How visible is it? How repeatable?

What need is being threatened?

Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?

Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?

Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?

How visible is it? How repeatable?
Next, locate the source. Problems live either outside of us or within us — in our environment or in our emotions. Knowing where the disruption begins will help you understand how to meet it.

Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
What’s happening around them when it occurs?
Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?

What’s happening around them when it occurs?

Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?

Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?
Every problem has a rhythm. Some are fleeting; others echo daily. Understanding the half-life of a problem reveals how deeply it’s wired into a person’s routine and how urgent a solution must be.

How often does this problem return?
What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

How often does this problem return?

What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?

Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?

When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?
Identify the person behind the pattern. Every problem has an audience — a tribe of people sharing the same tension. Finding them is how you begin to define your market, your message, and your meaning.

Who feels this most acutely?
Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.

Who feels this most acutely?

Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?

Do they gather, talk, or post about it?

Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?

What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.
Most problems don’t stand alone — they’re connected. Once you solve one, another often emerges behind it. Understanding these layers turns a single solution into a system that keeps people moving forward.

Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?

What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?

Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

SECTION 3

Exercise

A Moment of Creative Calibration

Before you move forward, pause here.
This is where you locate yourself on the map.

Your work already creates movement — even if you haven’t named it yet.

Maybe it moves people through space, time, or decision-making.
Maybe it moves them inward, toward clarity, identity, or hope.
Most creatives never stop long enough to ask how their work moves people — they focus only on what they make. But this section is your calibration point, the moment where you line up your craft with the engine that powers it.

These prompts are designed to cut through ambiguity.

To help you see the origin of your discipline, the trajectory of your industry, and the movement your work is truly built to generate.
Answer them honestly, without overthinking.

Your responses will reveal not just what you create — but what direction you were born to lead.

To provoke clarity

1. Is your craft rooted in Motion or Emotion?
Does your work primarily reduce friction… or awaken feeling?
2. What did your industry solve first—physical needs or emotional needs?
And how has that origin shaped its evolution?
3. How does your work move people right now?
Does it move their bodies, their choices, their time… or their inner world?
4. Has your industry migrated from one engine to the other?
If so, where is it going next—and what role could you play in that shift?
5. What would your work look like if you expanded into the other set of Modes?
If you’re in Motion, how could you add meaning?
If you’re in Emotion, how could you add utility?