The Creative ACT: A Way of Being

By Rick Rubin

Book Overview

The #1 New York Times bestseller.

"A gorgeous and inspiring work of art on creation, creativity, the work of the artist. It will gladden the hearts of writers and artists everywhere, and get them working again with a new sense of meaning and direction. A stunning accomplishment." --Anne Lamott

From the legendary music producer, a master at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book many years in the making that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us.

"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." --Rick Rubin

Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He 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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593652886
• ISBN13: 9780593652886
• Release Date: January 2023
• Publisher: Penguin Press
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.2" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Best for a specific audience and you have to commit to getting through the beginning.

This book is for creatives (specifically, but not exclusively, musicians) and aspiring creatives. I am a guitarist and songwriter and found that if you can get past the beginning of this book, there are actually many useful insights within - so much so that I read it four times in a row. What do I mean about the beginning though? I found that his ego-driven guru shtick was most palpable in the beginning which was tough to take seriously and get past, and on subsequent reads struck me as laughable, but I was able to acknowledge it and press on despite it. And each time I found I was actually glad I did. Rick may not be for everyone, and like me you may question some of the choices he made in the early days of his career, but this book is undeniably full of creative wisdom from someone who has spent a lifetime adjacent to brilliant creators and learned a thousand lessons on how to effectively guide and inspire them to produce their next works. There is gold in these pages for those who are ready to receive it on their own creative journey. Highly recommended. On a side note, I noticed that in some sections, particularly toward the later half of the book, he at times seems to be 'speaking' the lyrics of well know songs; whether this was an intentional game or a peculiar subconscious slip is anyone's guess, but it is quite fun as an easter egg hunt for those who know music.

Enjoyed this book!

Glad to see the way someone else approaches the creative lifestyle, and is able to encompass what it means to be an artist at heart. Some good quips in here, I don’t feel that it really contributed much to my way of being but did speak to the life I already embody.

The Right Brains Prose on its side of the story

If you like a nice walk on a forest trail, a stormy day at the ocean, or have wondered what an ‘artist with follow through’ would say to his grandchildren then this book is for you.