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How can we as creators unleash our creativity to make something truly remarkable?
There are tons of fake gurus and expensive courses that claim to be able to help us, but most aren't bullshit.
Today, we're diving into real strategies that have helped real people make truly remarkable things.
But first, today's New Content Alert...
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Alright, onward to today's issue...
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What if you could peek into the creative genius that unites incredible artists like:
And countless others?
You can.
His name is Rick Rubin, and heâs one ofâif not theâmost sought-after music producer in history.
Here are 6 lessons from Rick Rubin to help you unleash your creativity so you can make something truly remarkableâŚ
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When Tim Ferriss asked Rick Rubin how he approaches producing a hit album, Rubin said,
As creators, itâs easy to fall into the trap of trying to obsess over making each thing we do âperfect.â But nothing in life is perfectâperfection is unattainable. Which means perfectionism is expecting ourselves to attain the unattainable (more on this in Lesson #4).
When weâre too precious about creating the first 10, we hold ourselves back from creating the best 10.
If youâre trying to complete a 10-song album (or book, anything), it feels logical to focus on only making 10 and putting everything you have into them.
But if, instead, you over-wrote and created 30, 40, or even 100 songs, then whittled them down to 10âthose 10 will be infinitely better than if youâd only endeavored to write 10 from the beginning.
Iâve started taking this approach with titles and thumbnails for my articles and YouTube videos.
I set the goal of brainstorming at least 10 title ideas. Sometimes I nail it by the 4th one, but I still go to at least 10.
The best one is never the first one. And the first one is never the best one.
This process of iterating and distilling is how you make something truly remarkable.
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When Tim Ferriss asked Rick Rubin about how he approached writing his book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rubin said,
Itâs easy to get caught up looking for hacks and shortcutsârelying on AI to come up with content ideas, using templates, and getting frustrated when you donât get immediate results and recognition.
But if you spent 1/10th of the time and effort you put into avoiding the work into actually doing the work, youâd be 10X ahead of where you currently are.
Thereâs no substitute for doing the work. Tons of people will claim theyâve found a substitute, but thatâs because they have some bullshit to sell you.
The people who truly succeed embrace the work, develop their craft, and do whatever it takes for as long as it takesâbecause thatâs how you make something truly remarkable.
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On an episode of Armchair Expert, Dax Shepard asked Rubin about how it feels when he puts a ton of work into an album but it doesnât become a huge success right out the gate.
Rubin and Shepard go on to talk about several examples, like:
And most creators in the YouTube space are familiar with how Mr. Beast uploaded 1,000 videos over years that no one watched before he gained traction.
What separates these artists and creators whoâve succeeded from the countless who quit? They were able to stick with it long enough to gain traction because they took pride in the process and knew what they were creating wasâor would one day beâgreat.
They just had to wait for the world to catch up.â
Because as creators, we control the processânot the outcome of our work.
Chasing the external and focusing on the outcomes is a surefire way to burn out and give up when you donât get immediate results.
But if you focus on whatâs within your controlâthe processâand put out work you truly believe in, youâll make something truly remarkable.
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Think of any creator you resonate with and are inspired byâtheyâre not perfect. Theyâre quirky, weird, or are in some way imperfect.
Why?
Because perfection is unattainable and unrelatable.
Itâs tempting to think you have to pretend to be perfect, or to trick yourself into believing you canât hit publish until your thing is perfect.
But thatâs not how the world works.
We connect over our shared adversities, vulnerabilities, and imperfections as humans (I go deeper into this concept in âThe Art of Tactical Vulnerability,â if youâre curious).
To be human is to be imperfect.
So if you want to connect with other humans, embrace some of your sublime imperfections and youâll make something truly remarkable.
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When you run into a problem or feel stuck, how do you usually handle it?
You could try to brute-force yourself to solve the problem.
You could spend a bunch of money on fancy productivity apps.
You could try to build the perfect ritual to prime your mind to kick into problem-solving mode.
Or you could just take a fucking walk.
If it works for Rick Rubin, itâll probably work for you:
Why does this work?
One reason is because movementâwalking, swimming, driving, whateverâis a form of what psychologists call bilateral stimulation.
In psychobabble terms, bilateral stimulation works by âdecreasing emotional activation.â This means if you do something that activates both sides of your body (walking requires you to move your right and left legs, hence bilateralâtwo sides) this movement can be soothing.
When youâre calmer, youâre in a better headspace to solve problems.
When youâre struggling with a problem, your stress and frustration cloud your judgement.
But if you do some kind of bilateral stimulation like walking, you create a psychological environment that primes your mind for clarityâon what matters, what doesnât, and which path is the best one for you moving forward.
Which is why the greatest thinkers throughout history all espouse the power of cultivating stillness by taking a walk to calm your mind, break through plateaus, and develop supreme clarity about your situation and the best path forward.
I go more in-depth with strategies to cultivate stillness, and many other concepts related to clarifying what matters and building your life and business aligned with your values in my course, Build an Intâeântional Life (think of it like private coaching, but in a self-paced format).
Sometimes, taking a walk is exactly what you need to make something truly remarkable.
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AI is all the rage right now.
Tons of creators are flocking to AI like itâs a panaceaâa cure-all for everything that makes being a creator so difficult.
But what does Rick Rubin think of AI and how it fits into creativity?
This is why I donât want AI summaries of books and podcasts. It might be âmore efficientâ than reading myself (especially because Iâm a slow reader). But most of the takeaways Iâve gotten from books and podcasts are from a single sentence or exampleâor a thought I had that was triggered by a single sentence or example. No AI summary would have included these seemingly insignificant moments.
Because my job is to do the noticing. And I canât notice if Iâm not the one actively engaging with the world.
AI doesnât have unique experiences it can pull fromâyou do.
AI doesnât have a backstory that resonates with peopleâyou do.
AI doesnât have quirks that cause it to see the world differentlyâyou do.
All of these things that help you as a creator attract a deep audience and create thoughtful, inspirational, and valuable content require you to be at the helm doing the noticing, connecting the dots, and sharing your unique perspectives with the world.
Donât outsource your creativity.
Outsource the non-creative stuff:
Let AI do the mundane, so you can make something truly remarkable.
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As creators, we all want to make something truly remarkable. But the creative act is wreathed in mystery.
No one has figured out how to seduce the muse on a consistent basis.
No one has figured out how to pull inspiration from thin air.
No one has figured out how to brew an elixir of creativity.
But Rick Rubin has figured out a few things that have helped him make something (many somethings) truly remarkable.
Maybe we can do the same.
Iâll be putting more of these into practice in my own life.
I hope youâll do the same.
Cheers to making something truly remarkable.
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Which of these strategies will you try this week to help you make something truly remarkable?
Reply to this email and let me know!
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Until next timeâmemento mori,
Corey
âWebsite | Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTubeâ
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Proven strategies that help entrepreneurs all over the world build fulfilling lives and thriving businesses aligned with their values. Subscribe now to unlock the Psychology of Success Masterclass for free. Written by internationally recognized Psychologist and Executive Coach, Dr. Corey Wilks.
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