Rick Ruben is a giant in the music industry and his book The Creative Act does not underdeliver. It is a book full of creative lessons and inspiration. Here are my 54 most inspiring quotes by Rick Rubin.
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The Creative Act: A Way of Being
The book that will give every artist a new sense of being and inspiration. I highly recommend you read it.
About the Author Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin, born on March 10, 1963, is a famous music producer and executive who changed the music world. He loved music from a young age and started his own record label called Def Jam with his friend Russell Simmons. Together, they helped many hip-hop artists become successful.
Rick Rubin has a special way of making music. He focuses on the feelings and emotions of the songs, not just the technical stuff. He has worked with all kinds of artists, from rock to rap, and helped them make amazing music.
One of his biggest achievements is working with Johnny Cash. He made Johnny Cash popular again with a Grammy-winning album. Rick Rubin also started his own label, American Recordings, and co-founded Columbia Records.
Rick Rubin’s impact on music is huge, and he has inspired many artists. He uses modern technology and social media to connect with young musicians.
Rick Rubin also frequently is a host for the Broken Record Podcast together with Malcolm Gladwell. He also has a podcast called Tetragrammaton.
Inspirational quotes from Rick Rubin for all artists
1. Use what’s helpful . Let go of the rest.
From the Introduction
2. Creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human. It’s our birthright.
From page 1
3. To create is to bring something into existence that wasn’t there before.
From page 1
4. The taste and beauty are in the eye of the beholder.
From page 6
5. There’s a time for certain ideas to arrive, and they find a way to express themselves through us.
From page 11
6. The imagination has no limits. The physical world does. The work exists in both.
From page 17
7. When we cultivate our awareness, we are expanding the universe. This expands the scope, not just of the material at our disposal to create from, but of the life we get to live.
From page 21
8. As artists, we seek to restore our childlike perception: a more innocent state of wonder and appreciation not tethered to utility or survival.
From page 26
9. When looking for a solution to a creative problem, pay close attention to what’s happening around you.
From page 37
10. The objective is not to learn to mimic greatness, but to calibrate our internal meter for greatness.
From page 50
11. Try an anger-releasing exercise where you bet on a pillow for five minutes. Then immediately fill five pages with whatever comes out.
From page 63 + 64
12. We’re all different and we’re all imperfect, and the imperfections are what makes each of us and our work interesting.
From page 73
13. Average is nothing to aspire to. The goal is not to fit in.
From page 98
14. Art is confrontation. It widens the audience’s reality, allowing them to glimpse life through a different window.
From page 98 + 99
15. Any rule is worth testing, be it conscious or unconscious. Challenge your assumptions and methods.
From page 103
16. We can’t force greatness to happen. All we can do is invite it in and await it actively. We’re all different and we’re all imperfect, and the imperfections are what makes each of us and our work interesting.
From page 116
17. Innocence brings forth innovation.
From page 121
18. Talent is the ability to let ideas manifest themselves through you.
From page 125
19. Train yourself to see the awe behind the obvious.
From page 129
20. In terms of priority, inspiration comes first. You come next. The audience comes last.
From page 130
21. Create an environment where you’re free to express what you’re afraid to express.
From page 141
22. Failure is the information you need to get where you’re going.
From page 155
23. Ask yourself as many “what if”questions as you can.
From page 158
24. To be evaluated, ideas have to be seen, heard, tasted, or touched.
From page 159
25. Taking a wrong turn allows you to see landscapes you wouldn’t otherwise have seen.
From page 161
26. The goal of art isn’t to attain perfection. The goal is to share who we are. And how we see the world.
From page 177
27. In the arts, our filter is the defining factor of the work.
From page 178
28. Criticism allows us to engage with our work in a new way. We may agree or we may double down on our original instincts.
From page 193
29. The best art divides the audience. If everyone likes it, you probably havn’t gone far enough.
From page 194
30. Art doesn’t get made on the clock. But it can get finished on the clock.
From page 195
31. Hanging on to your work is like spending years writing the same entry in a diary.
From page 196
32. Choosing to live in scarcity leads to stagnation. If we work on one project forever, we never get to make another.
From page 202
33. Your old work isn’t better than your new work. And your new work isn’t better then the old.
From page 203
34. The recognition of abundance fills us with hope that our brightest ideas still await us and our greatest work is yet to come.
From page 203
35. Measurement of greatness is subjective, like art itself. There is no hard metric.
From page 216
36. If you’re immediately turned off by an experience, it’s worth examining why. Powerful reactions often indicate deeper wells of meaning.
From page 236
37. Art is about the maker.
From page 237
38. The artist’s goal is to keep themselves pure and unattached.
From page 255
39. As artists, our mission is not to fit in or conform to popular thinking.
From page 258
40. If you are open and stay tuned to what’s happening, the answers will be revealed.
From page 267
41. Living in discovery is at all times preferable to living through assumptions.
From page 275
42. When we don’t yet know where we’re going, we don’t wait. We move forward in the dark.
From page 278
43. Sometimes the mistakes are what makes a work great. Humanity breathes in mistakes.
From page 281
44. The heart of open-mindedness is curiosity.
From page 285
45. If inspiration does not come to lead the way, we show up anyway.Living in discovery is at all times preferable to living through assumptions.
From page 291
46. Do what you can with what you have. Nothing more is needed.
From page 291
47. When we’re making things we love, our mission is accomplished.
From page 314
48. It’s best to wait until a work is complete to discover what it is saying. Holding your work hostage to meaning is a limitation.
From page 318
49. We have no responsibility to anything other than the art itself. The art is the final word.
From page 321
50. Sharing art is the price of making it. Exposing your vulnerability is the fee.
From page 350
51. Take art seriously without going about it in a serious way.
From page 354
52. Competition serves the ego. Cooperation supports the highest outcome.
From page 372
53. Anything that allows the audience to access how you see the world is accurate, even if the information is wrong.
From page 383
54. However you frame yourself as an artist, the frame is too small.Sharing art is the price of making it. Exposing your vulnerability is the fee.
From page 401
