# The Creative Act: A Way of Being - Rick Rubin Synced: [[2023_11_30]] 6:03 AM Last Highlighted: [[2023_11_10]]  ## Highlights [[2023_10_28]] > If you have an idea you’re excited about and you don’t bring it to life, it’s not uncommon for the idea to find its voice through another maker. This isn’t because the other artist stole your idea, but because the idea’s time has come. There are times when an idea is ready to be realized. It is hard to know if it is ready yet or not all you can do is shoot your shot [[2023_10_28]] > There’s a time for certain ideas to arrive, > and they find a way > to express themselves through us. [[2023_10_28]] > As soon as you label an aspect of Source, you’re no longer noticing, you’re studying. This holds true of any thought that takes you out of presence with the object of your awareness, whether analysis or simply becoming aware that you’re aware. Analysis is a secondary function. The awareness happens first as a pure connection with the object of your attention. If something strikes me as interesting or beautiful, first I live that experience. Only afterward might I attempt to understand it. The desire to label is so strong that it actually interferes with your understanding of the idea [[2023_10_28]] > The ability to look deeply > is the root of creativity. > To see past the ordinary and mundane > and get to what might otherwise be invisible. [[2023_10_28]] > One can think of the creative act as taking the sum of our vessel’s contents as potential material, selecting for elements that seem useful or significant in the moment, and re-presenting them. > This is Source drawn through us and made into books, movies, buildings, paintings, meals, businesses—whatever projects we embark on. > If we choose to share what we make, our work can recirculate and become source material for others. > Source makes available. > The filter distills. > The vessel receives. > And often this happens beyond our control. [[2023_10_28]] > No matter what tools you use to create, > the true instrument is you. > And through you, > the universe that surrounds us > all comes into focus. [[2023_10_28]] > It’s not unusual for science > to catch up to art, eventually. > Nor is it unusual for art > to catch up to the spiritual. [[2023_10_28]] > When something out of the ordinary happens, ask yourself why. What’s the message? What could be the greater meaning? > This process isn’t a science. We can’t control clues, or will them to be revealed. Sometimes it helps to have a strong intention to find a specific answer, or to confirm a particular path. Other times, letting go of that intention altogether can help you find your way. > An integral part of the artist’s work is deciphering these signals. The more open you are, the more clues you will find and the less effort you’ll need to exert. You may be able to think less and begin to rely on answers arising within you. > You might imagine that the outside world is a conveyor belt with a stream of small packages on it, always going by. The first step is to notice the conveyor belt is there. And then, any time you want, you can pick up one of those packages, unwrap it, and see what’s inside. [[2023_10_28]] > Look for what you notice > but no one else sees. [[2023_10_28]] > In the wild, animals must narrow their field of vision to survive. A tight focus prevents distraction from critical needs. > Food, > Shelter, > Predators, > Procreation. > For the artist, this reflexive action can be a hindrance. Widening one’s scope allows for more moments of interest to be noticed and collected, building a treasury of material to draw from later. Your brain is for having ideas not storing them [[2023_10_28]] > Living life as an artist is a practice. > You are either engaging in the practice > or you’re not. > It makes no sense to say you’re not good at it. > It’s like saying, “I’m not good at being a monk.” > You are either living as a monk or you’re not. > We tend to think of the artist’s work as the output. > The real work of the artist > is a way of being in the world. [[2023_10_28]] > The world is constantly changing, so no matter how often we practice paying attention, there will always be something new to notice. It’s up to us to find it. [[2023_10_30]] > It’s helpful to view currents in the culture without feeling obligated to follow the direction of their flow. Instead, notice them in the same connected, detached way you might notice a warm wind. Let yourself move within it, yet not be of it. [[2023_10_30]] > One of the reasons so many great artists die of overdoses early in their lives is because they’re using drugs to numb a very painful existence. The reason it’s painful is the reason they became artists in the first place: their incredible sensitivity. [[2023_10_30]] > It’s worth noting the distinction between doubting the work and doubting yourself. An example of doubting the work would be, “I don’t know if my song is as good as it can be.” Doubting yourself might sound like, “I can’t write a good song.” > These statements are worlds apart, both in accuracy and in impact on the nervous system. Doubting yourself can lead to a sense of hopelessness, of not being inherently fit to take on the task at hand. All or nothing thinking is a nonstarter. > However, doubting the quality of your work might, at times, help to improve it. You can doubt your way to excellence [[2023_10_30]] > In Japanese pottery, there’s an artful form of repair called kintsugi. When a piece of ceramic pottery breaks, rather than trying to restore it to its original condition, the artisan accentuates the fault by using gold to fill the crack. This beautifully draws attention to where the work was broken, creating a golden vein. Instead of the flaw diminishing the work, it becomes a focal point, an area of both physical and aesthetic strength. The scar also tells the story of the piece, chronicling its past experience. [[2023_10_31]] > The templates of the past can be an inspiration in the beginning phases, but it’s helpful to think beyond what’s been done before. The world isn’t waiting for more of the same. > Often, the most innovative ideas come from those who master the rules to such a degree that they can see past them or from those who never learned them at all. [[2023_11_06]] > The difference can be noticed when listening to music through headphones instead of speakers. > Headphones create an illusion, tricking your senses into believing you are hearing everything the music is offering. Many artists refuse to use headphones in the studio as it is a poor replica of the real-world listening experience. With speakers, we are closer to the sound of instruments in the room—immersed physically in a full sonic spectrum of vibration. > Many of us experience life as if we’re taking it in through a pair of headphones. We strip away the full register. We hear information, but don’t detect the subtler vibrations of feeling in the body. Take the headphones off and listen to me. [[2023_10_31]] > Beware of the assumption > that the way you work > is the best way > simply because > it’s the way you’ve done it before. [[2023_11_06]] > Reading, in addition to listening, eating, and most physical activities, can be experienced like driving: we can participate either on autopilot or with focused intention. So often we sleepwalk through our lives. Consider how different your experience of the world might be if you engaged in every activity with the attention you might give to landing a plane. Sleep Walking through your life [[2023_11_07]] > Patience is developed much like awareness. Through an acceptance of what is. Impatience is an argument with reality. The desire for something to be different from what we are experiencing in the here and now. A wish for time to speed up, tomorrow to come sooner, to relive yesterday, or to close your eyes then open them and find yourself in another place. [[2023_11_07]] > Talent is the ability to let ideas > manifest themselves through you. [[2023_11_07]] > Good habits create good art. The way we do anything is the way we do everything. Treat each choice you make, each action you take, each word you speak with skillful care. The goal is to live your life in the service of art. [[2023_11_07]] > Discipline and freedom seem like opposites. In reality, they are partners. Discipline is not a lack of freedom, it is a harmonious relationship with time. Managing your schedule and daily habits well is a necessary component to free up the practical and creative capacity to make great art. [[2023_11_07]] > Create an environment > where you’re free to express > what you’re afraid to express. [[2023_11_09]] > In nature, some seeds lie dormant in anticipation of the season most conducive to their growth. This is true of art as well. There are ideas whose time has not yet come. Or perhaps their time has come, but you are not yet ready to engage with them. Other times, developing a different seed may shed light on a dormant one [[2023_11_09]] > If you know what you want to do and you do it, that’s the work of a craftsman. If you begin with a question and use it to guide an adventure of discovery, that’s the work of the artist. The surprises along the way can expand your work, and even the art form itself. [[2023_11_09]] > Failure > is the information you need > to get where you’re going. [[2023_11_10]] > Art is a reflection of the artist’s inner and outer world during the period of creation. Extending the period complicates the artist’s ability to capture a state of being. The result can be a loss of connection and enthusiasm for the work over time.