1. Everyone Is a Creator

We often discard creativity as something for the artsy people. But in reality, creativity is a way of being, it’s about bringing something into existence that did not exist in that exact way before, an act we all engage with on a daily basis. Whether that is a note to a friend, making your bed, finding a solution to a problem, or even rearranging furniture. So by this definition, we are all living artists.

Rick Rubin argues that “by the mere fact of being alive, we are active participants in the ongoing process of creation”. 

But it can be hard to see your creative self, because we all have different versions of ourselves and some are more dominant than others: the work version, the family version, the friends version, the you by yourself version, etc.

As Rick puts it, the self is like a prism where a single beam of light enters and is broken into an array of colors. Neutral events enter and are transformed into a spectrum of feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and sensations that are sometimes inconsistent and contradictory. When we accept this, we trust and accept ourselves the way we are. We become free to create our life with our unique array of colors, choice by choice.

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2. Nature Is the Most Profound Source of Creative Inspiration

When we look for inspiration we don’t need to do anything, we simply need to pay attention. There is never nothing going on. As we practice a way of being that allows us to see the beauty in the mundane, we find inspiration everywhere.

Nevertheless, the most profound source of inspiration is nature. There’s no need to understand nature to appreciate it, we can simply take it all in. Science shows that exposure to nature not only inspires but also heals. A meta study found that across 39 studies, 92% demonstrated consistent improvements across any health outcome where individuals engaged with natural outdoor environments.

Or as Rick puts it: “Deepening our connection with nature will serve our spirit, and what serves our spirit invariably serves our artistic output.”

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3. The Essence of Art Is to Express Ourselves

The essence of art is in the process itself, it’s about expressing ourselves, creating something for no other purpose than to create our version of the beautiful, bringing our full self to every project. These projects can be large or small, sometimes the most ordinary small things create the most extraordinary pieces of art. It is our job to see the beauty in the mundane and translate our lens, so everyone can see it, like a universal message that travels through space and time.

It’s important to detach from the outcome, as you cannot control commercial success. You are simply creating with your full self in the here and now, making something you love, to the best of your abilities. The energy you put in will be transformed and come back to you in one way or the other, or to quote Rick “Each mindset evokes a universal rule: whatever we concentrate on, we get.” He argues that the only variables you can control are doing your best work without being attached to the outcome, sharing it, starting the next, and not looking back.

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4. If Inspiration Does not Come to Lead the Way, We Show up Anyway

Sometimes it’s not required to put in great effort to create great art, but without putting in the effort, you’ll never know. This can also mean submerging yourself into the great works of others. Not to learn to mimic those works, but rather to gain an understanding of what great work looks and feels like.

It’s important to remember that the only person you will ever compete against is yourself. When you or others share their work, the work can recirculate and become source material for others.

You need to show up and practice awareness every day. Start that painting, start that book, even if it’s just one sentence per hour. It’s not enough to just create in your mind, you need to see, hear, taste, or touch your ideas to judge them and for the ideas to create a spark that might lead to the next.

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5. To Listen Impatiently Is to Hear Nothing at All

When we truly want to listen we need to be fully in the now. We actually listen with the whole body. Have you ever been to a concert next to a speaker and felt the vibrations in your body? These vibrations can’t be replicated when just listening with our ears through headphones. So in order to truly listen, we need to be fully present. If you believe that the information that enters your ears is enough to listen, you’re missing the subtler vibrations.

Often our critical mind kicks in to think about what we agree with and what we don’t agree with. All based on beliefs that may have been learned before we had a choice in what we were taught.

If you’re thinking of your opinion, you’re not listening. If you’re preparing a response or defending your position, you’re not listening. The only goal of listening is to be fully present, understanding fully and clearly what is being transmitted. Let everything in and just listen, whatever it is, let it be what it is.

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6. There Are no Shortcuts. We Need Patience

We want more information in shorter time and we’ve become increasingly impatient. However, we need time and presence to capture the full essence of life. A summary or shortcut is never a substitute for the full story and the full experience. That’s also true for this book, which is why I suggest you get the full experience!

As Rick puts it: “it’s through deliberate action and repetition that we gain deeper insight.” We need to show up every day, extending an open invitation and wait patiently for greatness to arrive. You may never see it, but at the very least, others will see the greatness of you showing up every day.

Like most physical activities, we can either participate on autopilot or fully immerse. While there’s things that can be combined like listening to a podcast while driving, we always compromise on both experiences, the question is whether that compromise is acceptable.

The funny thing is that the perceived benefit of impatience is speed, but usually this impatience comes at a loss of experience and information, which leads to us having to put in more time and energy down the line. Therefore, impatience is wasted effort.

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7. There’s a Great Power in Having a Beginner’s Mind and Not Knowing

When AlphaGo beat a grandmaster in Go, the computer was faced with a decision that would determine how the rest of the game would be played. There were two apparent choices, choice A was offensive, choice B was defensive. The computer decided to make a choice C, a move that no one had ever made in thousands of years of play. Most thought it was a mistake, but the computer won. In hindsight, the never before seen move was the turning point.

What was it that allowed the machine to make that move? The computer did not follow accepted cultural norms, it didn’t take into account thousands of years of traditions and conventions, it simply followed the rules. It didn’t accept the narrative of how to properly play the game. It wasn’t held back by limiting beliefs.

Experience provides wisdom to draw from, but it also tempers the power of naiveté. Sometimes it’s best to strip away all labels, to simply play freely like a child. Sometimes we do and succeed because we didn’t know how big of a challenge it would be.

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8. It’s the Daily Habits that Make the Big Things Come About

Creating effective habits can make all the difference between mediocrity and greatness. Each habit may seem small, but the culmination can have an exponential effect. We need to create an environment to thrive in and find sustainable rituals that support our best work.

The goal is to create a structure that can evolve into a life of its own, without us having to force the habit. If we can reduce our daily life-maintenance choices and tasks, we can free up time for creative decisions. Sustainable habits also means to include recovery. When timed in the right order, stepping away to recover body and mind can cause greater leaps in improvement the next time, that’s the cycle of multifaceted growth.

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9. The Creative Process Has Three Acts: Collecting Seeds, Experimentation, and Crafting

Rick argues that the creative process is structured in three phases, (i) collecting seeds, (ii) experimentation, and (iii) crafting. While the first two are all about letting in as many ideas and experimenting in all directions to see which ones will grow, the third is about crafting and finishing the work. As the boundaries and lines have been drawn through experimentation, we’re now following instructions to create something beautiful. We’re now looking for the puzzle piece that fits, whereas before we were just looking for puzzle pieces.

During the entire process you need to allow yourself to be wrong, playing like a child without any regard for any consequences. Take it all in and experience the joy of being surprised. Taking a wrong turn allows you to see something that you would have otherwise missed. Failure is the information that guides you to greatness, the greatness that you see through your lens.

Don’t make too much of what others think, if you’ve truly created something great and innovative, it’s likely to alienate as many people as it attracts. The best art divides the audience. If everyone likes it, you probably haven’t pushed the limits far enough.

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10. Incorporate What’s Useful and Let Go of the Rest

To understand and navigate a complex world, our mind often reduces everything to simple heuristics. We develop beliefs that give us a coherent framework of reduced options and false sense of certainty.

But to grow we need to actively stretch our point of view and invite opinions and views that go beyond our own beliefs. We can purposefully go beyond our limitations and ask ourselves: What can I learn from these extremes? What are the unexpected surprises?

Instead of getting defensive when faced with feedback or different views, we can reframe it as an exciting opportunity to put our ego aside and see from their perspective, understand their point of view.

But always remember, everyone shares from their unique experiences. What worked for them might not work for you. Take all the feedback, understand it, and see what fits to your unique situation. Incorporate what’s useful and let go of the rest.

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