The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Rick Rubin

In The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin, the co-founder of Def Jam Records and producer of countless hits, offers a self-help guide on creativity and on being open to life’s possibilities.

Rubin’s strategies for fostering creativity range between the granular and the generalized. For example, he claims one can better focus on music if it is heard through speakers rather than through headphones. He suggests taking a break or a walk when encountering a roadblock during the creative process. He advocates recontextualizing problems—looking at the work from an unfamiliar angle. His strategies will supposedly facilitate creativity in any path we choose to follow, whether it is in music, painting, or writing. The same strategies can even help with problem solving in relationships or at work.

Rubin urges us to reclaim the ability to perceive the wonder of nature with a child-like openness and innocence. Much of what he advocates sounds very similar to mindfulness in meditation. If one wades through some of his trite aphorisms, one will occasionally find a truth that strikes a chord. Some may find his advice helpful in overcoming the challenges of creativity; others may dismiss his advice as a peddling of superficial jargon.