Channeling your inner creativity can be hard when you’re not feeling inspired, are mentally drained, or simply are responding to the wrong input. In light of the mental well-being topics I’ve covered recently, it felt like great timing to recommendThe Creative Act, a terrific bestseller by Rick Rubin, who provides food for the heart and soul and a soft landing for every one of us who’s ever been too critical of our own creative efforts—whether they be of the workplace or hobby variety.
The author helps us make space to pay attention and listen differently. No matter what kind of artist we are—painter, musician, leader, team member—we’re all creating with a unique perspective, point of view, voice, and impact that the world needs right now. When our “art” flows through us, we can feel more wholehearted about living, working, and creating.
Rubin’s framework is the perfect influence for that next innovative effort you have on the immediate horizon. He’s a legendary music producer and a master at helping people connect with their inner genius. Rubin’s own description of his book is a fitting glimpse into his self-forgiveness and flexibility during the creative process.
“I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be,” says Rubin.
Here’s an excerpt from his book description:
Rick Rubin has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable.
Over the years, as he has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn’t, he has learned that being an artist isn’t about your specific output, it’s about your relationship to the world. Creativity has a place in everyone’s life, and everyone can make that place larger. In fact, there are few more important responsibilities.
The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distills the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime’s work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments—and lifetimes—of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.
