Book Review: The Creative Act

Rick Rubin needs no introduction. The highly-acclaimed music producer has worked with bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and artists from Adele to Johnny Cash. But even not knowing who Mr. Rubin is beforehand does not take away the breadth and depth of what he covers in The Creative Act. Respectful, thoughtful, and put together, the book reads like an emphatic affirmation of the creative daemon inside all of us. Yes, inside all of us. That’s his thesis. We all have the innate potential to become creatives in our field because the very act of existing is creative, and Mr. Rubin does not hold back in telling readers to just let it go. Go with the flow. There is a creative in all of us, dying to get out. We should nurture this spirit and see where it leads us. Mr. Rubin is quick to point out that the creative act is not present only in creative fields like music or art. It could be as far off as gardening or even highly technical fields like piloting a plane or welding. He draws Eastern concepts like the tao and kitsungi, and explores the meaning of papañca. Harnessing these distractions, first by recognizing it, accepting it, and then using it for a creative purpose, is all about the creative act. I subsequently learned that Mr. Rubin had meditated since 14 years old. He is quite a wise man.

A key aspect of Mr. Rubin’s book is everything is natural. Accepting, observing and drawing inspiration from nature is finding the “seeds” of a creative idea, and planting many seeds - hundreds - gives us the chance to pick and separate the exceptional from the average (no idea is bad, inherently; some ideas are merely better). Then Mr. Rubin goes over the whole process: crafting the idea, collaborating with others, and finally completing it. Through each stage, the central theme remains the same: accept, observe, and adapt from nature. He quotes the tao and advises readers to be like water, flowing smoothly over problems, adapting, and changing. One idea can lead to the next, and to another, until, when you “feel like it,” the artist must put a full stop to the sentence.

The book is not all metaphysics and philosophy. It contains practical advice and routines for the aspiring creative. Mr. Rubin even cites an example where he had a singer belt out hanging upside down. It’s all about experimentation and improvisation, akin to a jazz musician in a late-night city bar. But I’m caught off guard by one of his assertions. Mr. Rubin advises us not to “come to a compromise” in collaboration because the compromise means both sides have lost. Instead, he advises one to come up with something new that satisfies both parties. Something to think about when it comes to negotiation, perhaps? In divergent activities like art, such a strategy is possible, but in convergent activities, like strategic negotiation, it may be a little harder.

In all, the series of epithets, written very much like a psalmist would, is an ode to the human spirit. All of us are creatives. To exist, to appreciate, and to enjoy - these are acts of raw creative genius. We just have to accept ourselves for who we are. That empowering message is hammered home again and again, even as the other precepts gently float about.