The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

The Creative Act: A Way of Being

by Rick Rubin

View on Goodreads
Memoir & Biography

Not a method, and not a manual. Rubin treats creativity as a way of relating to the world that belongs to everyone, grounded in awareness rather than technique and drawn from decades producing records across genres. You get 78 short sections, meant to be read in any order.

Core ideas
  • Source: Rubin's word for where ideas come from, and the work is staying receptive to what arrives rather than forcing it through a formula.
  • Awareness over technique: Listening, observation, risk-taking, intention and letting go matter more than any prescribed process.
  • Not only for artists: Creativity is a way of living rather than just a means of making things, which puts it within reach of anyone.
Published2023
Pages406
ISBN9780593652886
ReadMar 2023

Connected to 4 other books

See the connection map
Chasing Daylight: How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life by Eugene O'Kelly Chasing Daylight Eugene O'Kelly Read Jan 2023 In May 2005, at 53, the chairman and CEO of KPMG in the US learned he had terminal brain cancer and roughly three to six months… Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport Slow Productivity Cal Newport Read Apr 2024 If your job rewards looking busy, Cal Newport has a name for it: pseudo-productivity. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport Deep Work Cal Newport Read Mar 2024 Newport's argument is that your ability to concentrate on demanding work without distraction is getting rarer just as it gets… The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho The Alchemist Paulo Coelho Read Jan 2020 A young Andalusian shepherd named Santiago keeps dreaming of treasure near the Egyptian pyramids, and goes after it.