The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

Be playful as you surf the unordained waters of the Universe.

About the Book

Reads like a hopeful manifesto, where spiritual energy flowing through the universe misterously forms into ideas procured in the hands of sensitive conduits. Years before knowing who Rick Rubin is, I have formulated the exact same thoughts around art and the world, which made his writing easy to digest, but left the awe far away. Inspired by Eastern Philosophies with its repeated parallels to the Nature, the water, rivers and flows keep the writing poetic, and timeless.

Highlights

Philosophy

The universe functions like a clock… These rhythms are not set by us… We are being conducted. The artist is on a cosmic timetable, just like all of nature. p.6-7

We are translators for messages the universe is broadcasting. p.7

Great works come from child-like qualities, of the uncorrupted, innocent eyes. p.9

The universe is only as large as our perception of it. p.21 This is why the normies are satisfied in their nuclear families and why artists suffer under the weight of the incomprehensible.

The end work is a by-product of a greater desire… The act of creation is an attempt to enter a mysterious realm. A longing to transcend. p.31

There’s a reason we are drawn to gazing at the ocean. It is said the ocean provides a closer reflection of who we are than any mirror. p.53

You can’t step into the same stream twice because it’s always flowing. Everything is. p.56 In slightest variations even the robotic life you feel you have, shifts as the world ages alongside you.

Memories can also be thought of as dreamlike. p.65 Relating dreams to memories is a beautiful thought.

Distraction is not procrastination. Procrastination consistently undermines our ability to make things. Distraction is a strategy in a service of the work. p.86

The work is always an interpretation. p.90 The timeless “everything that could have been had already been done.”

While the eyes and the mouth can be sealed, an ear has no lid, nothing to close. p.109

Choosing to live in scarcity leads to stagnation. p.202 Timeframe the craft not the art

Greatness begets greatness. It’s infectious. p.217

When we don’t yet know where we’re going, we don’t wait. We move forward in the dark. p.278 In the dark I seek the exit after I have acquired the treasure.

Humanity breathes in mistakes p.281 And adores those who break outside the norm we are all animals demanding teh freedom to do what we will dig in the dirt.

[We] seek a false sense of certainty and of security in shrinking our world. The artist does not value safety and smallness. There’s dullness in sameness. The heart of open-mindedness is curiosity, [the path to] original insights. p.283-5

What ultimately makes a work great is teh sum total of the tiniest details. From start to finish, everything has shades and degrees. p.310

It requires the obsessive desire to create great things. p.324 Socially dangerous, incompatible in strict cancel-ready society, requiring definition, process for a cause.

Even with the greatest work, it’s natural for excitement to wax and wane. When the moments of joy… feel like an obligation to a past idea [it might have not been it]. p.344

Art goes beyond language, beyond lives. It’s a universal way to send messages between each other and through time. p.395

Practical

Pay particular attention to the moments that take your breath away – a beautiful sunset, an unusual eye color, a moving piece of music… p.33

Look for what you notice but no one else sees. p.41 Increasingly difficult with more transistors, both human and computer in the world. We see a lot of repetition, through faster iteration cycle and unintended and blatant plagiarism.

The experience of our inner world is often completely overlooked… Our inner world is every bit as interesting, beautiful, and surprising as nature itself. It is, after all, born of nature. p.60

One person’s connected place may be another’s distraction. And different environments may be right at different points in your artistic process… It helps to realize it’s better to follow the universe than those around you. p.70

By accepting self-doubt, rather than trying to eliminate or repress it, we lessen its energy and interference. p.80

Sometimes disengaging is the best way to engage. p.87 Let go of the fake control you think to hold over your life.

When it comes to the creative process, patience is accepting that the majority of the work we do is out of control… If there is a rule to creativity that’s less breakable than the others, it’s that the need for patience is ever present. p.115 Remember that just waiting is not patience. Inaction is a practiced skill and honored talent.

For the lungs to draw air they must first be emptied… same for the mind to draw inspiration. Through this absence you are inviting energy in. p.128

To vary your inspiration, consider varying your inputs. Turn teh sound off to watch a film, listen to the same song on repeat, read only the first word of each sentence… Break habits, look for differences, notice connections. [Seek awe]. p.129

[Keep with the inspiration before it dries out]. Capture all you can as long as it comes. p.130

Create an environment where you’re free to express what you’re afraid to express. p.141

It’s best if the person who has the idea either demonstrates it or supervises the execution until it matches what they are suggesting. This will help avoid misunderstandings. p.159

Taking a wrong turn allows you to see landscapes you wouldn’t otherwise have seen. p.161 Get lost in an alien city without a map to find - maybe - the hidden secrets which lead to the best treasured memories.

Crafting can be daunting. It’s helpful to think of it as another opportunity for play. p.167

Step away, limit consuming the unfinished work. By not accepting the work-in-progress as the standard version, we leave room for growth, change, and development to continue. p.172 Relevant to pure art, highly irrelevant to a usability of design that seeks utility and use.

When you’re on a roll in the craft phase, work toward a full first draft. Maintain momentum… Bypass the section where you’re stuck, complete the other parts, then come back to it. p.173

What causes us to notice a piece of art is rarely the point being made. We are drawn to the way an artist’s filter refracts ideas, not to the ideas themselves. p.179 I for one am attracted to the concept over execution, what is being said, instead of shown, what story I evoke to myself, rather than what I’m made to feel in the first place.

If someone chooses to share feedback, listen to understand the person, not the work. People will tell you more about themselves than about the art when giving feedback. p.193

If you’ve truly created an innovative work, 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 gone far enough. p.194

[When is the work done is one of the hardest parts of the artistic process.] Once fixed in form, we lost control. The fear of permanence is common beyond art. It is known as commitment phobia. Excuses come, we lose faith in the project, find flaws that don’t really exist… When you believe the work before you is the single piece that will forever define you, it’s difficult to let it go… The only art the world gets to enjoy is from creators who’ve overcome these hurdles and released their work. It’s only a reflection of who we are in this moment. Hanging onto your work is like spending years writing the same entry in the diary. The next works are robbed of being brought to life. p.195-6

Release any thoughts of how you or your piece will be received. p.197

Complete as many elements of the project as you can without getting hung up. It’s much easier to circle back once the workload is reduced. Often the knowledge we gain from finishing the other pieces becomes a key to overcoming earlier obstacles. p.206

Consider detaching from the story of your life as it’s happening. p.225

If any distractions come along… let them pass. [The more you do this] it will build the muscle of focused intention… [tuning out and focusing] is an earned ability. p.255

Most often, the hints of inspiration from the Source are small. Tiny signals, like a whisper. To hear whispers, the mind must also be quiet. p.270

[Get a notetaker for your creative sessions.] p.302

Take art seriously without going about it in a serious way. p.354

If the choice is between making great art and supporting yourself, the art comes first. Consider another way to make a living. Success is harder to come by when your life depends on it. p.359

Creativity is contagious. It’s nourishing to be in a community of people who are enthusiastic about art, who you can have long discussions with, and with whom you can trade feedback on the work. p.361

[Do not compromise for the middle of the road.] Great decisions aren’t made in a spirit of sacrifice. They’re made by the mutual recognition of the best solution available. p.373

Friction allows the fire to come. When giving feedback, don’t make it personal. Always comment on the work itself and not the individual who made it. p.375

Making the complicated simple awesome simple that’s creativity. p.388

On Being Artist

The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world. p.47

The sensitivity that allows [the artist] to make the art is the same vulnerability that makes them more tender to being judged. p.74

[Great artists] use drugs to numb a very painful existence… When those around you don’t see what you see and feel what you feel, this can lead to a sense of isolation and a general feeling of not belonging, of otherness. It’s a blessing and a curse. p.75

We tend to think that what we’re making is the most important thing in our loves and that it’s going to define us for all eternity. [Move forward] with small work. p.77

Art creates a profound connection between the artist and the audience. Through that connection, both can heal. p.83

The artists who define each generation are generally the ones who live outside of these boundaries. Not the artists who embody the beliefs and conventions of their time, but the ones who transcend them. Art is confrontation. p.98

The artist actively works to experience life slowly, and then to re-experience the same thing anew. To read slowly, and to read and read again… There are those who approach the opportunities of each day like crossing items off a to-do list instead of truly engaging and participating with all of themselves. p.114

[Great artists] needs as a creator come first. Often at the expense of their personal lives and relationships. p.122

Artist If you think I don’t like it but someone else will you are not making art for yourself. You’ve found yourself in the business of commerce, which is fine; it just may not be art. p.216

Art is about the maker. Its aim: to be an expression of who we are. This makes competition absurd. p.237

All art is a form of poetry. p.249

The creator stops being the creator once they finish the work. They then become the viewer. Let’s make art, and let others make the stories. p.249

All that matters is that you are making something you love, to the best of your ability, here and now. p.255

As artists, our mission is not to fit in or conform to popular thinking. Our purpose is to value and develop our understanding of ourselves and the world around us… [it’s] a continual quest to get closer to the universe by closer to self. p.258-9

Artist’s job is the work of doing and of being. Creativity is something you are, not only something you do. At any moment, you’re prepared to stop what you’re doing to make a note or a drawing, or capture a fleeting thought. Just as a surfer can’t control the waves, artists are at the mercy of the creative rhythms of nature. [Remain present] watching and waiting. p.295-6

The creator and the creation rely on each other to thrive. The call of the artist is to follow the excitement. p.345

Sharing art is the price of making it. Exposing your vulnerability is the fee. p.350

Being an artist means to be continually asking, How can it be better? Whatever it is. It may be your art, and it may be your life. p.389

Most who choose the artist’s path don’t have a choice. We feel compelled to engage, as if by some primal instinct, the same force that calls turtles toward the sea after hatching in the sand. p.391

On Play

Playing is fun. Perfectionism gets in the way of fun. p.78

For children, each moment in time is all there is. No future, no past. I want it now, I’m hungry, I’m tired. All pure authenticity. p.122

In play, there are no stakes. No boundaries. No right or wrong. No quotas for productivity. It’s an uninhibited state where your spirit can run free. p.354