All the 2012 Best-of Reading Lists, Together at Last. If— by Rudyard Kipling. 5 Timeless Books of Insight on Fear and the Creative Process. By Maria Popova From Monet to Tiger Woods, or why creating rituals and breaking routines don’t have to be conflicting notions. “Creativity is like chasing chickens,” Christoph Niemann once said. But sometimes it can feel like being chased by chickens — giant, angry, menacing chickens. Whether you’re a writer, designer, artist or maker of anything in any medium, you know the creative process can be plagued by fear, often so paralyzing it makes it hard to actually create. Today, we turn to insights on fear and creativity from five favorite books on the creative process and the artist’s way. Despite our best-argued cases for incremental innovation and creativity via hard work, the myth of the genius and the muse perseveres in how we think about great artists.
In the ideal — that is to say, real — artist, fears not only continue to exist, they exist side by side with the desires that complement them, perhaps drive them, certainly feed them. Are you paralyzed with fear? Donating = Loving. Books. [Updated: June 21, 2008] The following are books which have made the most impact on my life. I’m finding myself repeatedly recommending these to people. Here they are in one place so you too could reference them. Want to change your life situation? It’s simple. Creativity Clarity The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle (This book shifted my thinking and changed my life. Happiness Flow: Psychology of Optimal Experience (Psychology of happiness)Are You Ready to Succeed? Productivity Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (classic on being more effective)The 4-Hour Workweek (alternative concepts from traditional thinking: Lifestyle design. User Experience: Marketing, Selling & Business: E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It (Highly recommended for anyone thinking about or is starting a businesses.
Click here to see my current Reading List See my Bookstore. Books to Brighten Your New Year. That time slot after the local news doesn’t matter. As Kimmel, Fallon, and Colbert will soon show, Late Night’s all about YouTube, Twitter, and engaging with audiences on the Internet. In a deleted scene from Pulp Fiction, Mia Wallace tells Vincent Vega her theory that the world is made up of only two kinds of people: Beatles people and Elvis people. “Now Beatles people can like Elvis, and Elvis people can like the Beatles, but no one likes them both equally,” she explains. “Somewhere you have to make a choice. For decades, the late-night talk show landscape operated in much the same way. But with Leno gone and Letterman announcing his retirement, those distinctions are no more. In 1992, your late-night options were Letterman and Leno, period.
When Letterman lost the Tonight Show job to Leno in 1991 (Leno took over for Johnny Carson a year later), one mark against him had been concern over whether Letterman’s puckish routine could translate to a “traditional” 11:30 audience.