I’ll be completely transparent: I was pretty skeptical about The Creative Act by Rick Rubin🤨. I heard again and again that this book is a must-read for creators and finally decided to dive in after seeing it in a bookstore.
Side note: The hardcover version of the book makes great coffee table decor!📕
I opted for the audiobook on Audible👂🏽, but in hindsight I think this is one of the few books I would actually recommended reading rather than listening to.
The Creative Act starts slow and seems like a big stream of consciousness😵💫. As I got deeper into the book, however, I started to find the useful nuggets of information I had been searching for.
Here are some of my takeaways:
- Don’t let your creativity be limited by norms. Rules, standards, and expectations can sometimes be the enemy of creativity. Shedding these ideals however, can be the key to unlocking true creativity. Rubin gives the example that even by painting on a canvas (which has been done for centuries), we are already limiting our creativity🖼️. Who said we need to use a canvas?
- Patience can be the ladder to overcome obstacles🪜. Think about how many times you have struggled with the solution to a problem, only for the answer to arrive after a good night’s sleep or while taking a shower🚿. Patience allows creativity to flow and the more time we provide, the more creativity we may harvest. What if instead of arriving at one solution for a problem we wait until we come up with three solutions? What about 10?
- Always find time for a beginner’s mind. A beginner’s mind and creativity go hand in hand🧸. If we approach a task or problem as if we are seeing it for the first time, then there are no labels, no consequences of our actions, no past, no future…the only thing we can do is focus on what’s directly in front of us. As Rubin beautifully puts it, “create an environment where you’re free to express what you’re afraid to express”.🌈
- Not all ideas show their worth immediately. When working on a project, we may have an idea that seems brilliant at first, only to find out it doesn’t quite fit into the task at hand👎. Rather than discarding it or labeling it as a “bad idea”, Rubin suggests saving it for later, as it may still be of value, we just can’t see how yet. This made me think back to Building A Second Brain by Tiago Forte, and how important it is to capture thoughts and feelings that evoke a response within us📸.
- Small variation can lead to big changes. By trade Rick Rubin is a record producer🎸, and in the latter stages of his book he discusses how small tweaks like changes in volume and lighting sometimes had profound effects on his artists and the music they would create🎵. Adding a splash of variety to mundane or common tasks can help us to discover more efficient or enjoyable ways to complete them.
Although I had my doubts about The Creative Act by Rick Rubin, I’m happy I stuck with it and was able to unlock some useful wisdom that I’ll keep in mind the next time I approach a new project✨.