We’re finally in July and I’m one book away from my goal of 35 this year, which I’m very thrilled about. Despite being busy with my internship, reading (and watching Netflix) has been my way of trying to keep my sanity and remind me of who I am outside of the (somewhat unpredictable) 9-to-6.
Today’s book is one that I started sometime early this year. It’s a long one, dense with information and overall such a joy to read. It’s one that I’ll highly recommend to all who feel a little stuck in life and wants to see a new perspective.
How Creativity Rules the World
by Maria Brito
get it here
BOOK SUMMARY
Learn to make creativity work for your career.
Anyone, regardless of who you are or what you do, can cultivate the habits, actions, and attitudes that inspire creativity and innovation.
There has never been a more crucial time than now to develop your creativity and your ability to innovate. Coming up with original ideas of value is today’s most precious skill.
How Creativity Rules the World shows that, despite contrary beliefs, creativity can be taught and learned by anyone. Creativity is an inexhaustible resource that is the key to thriving in the business world and beyond. This timeless guide promises to make the creative process of successful seven-figure artists and billion-dollar entrepreneurs—as well as Maria’s own—accessible and actionable for you to take the power of their ideas to the next level.
In How Creativity Rules the World, you will learn how to:
- Overcome limiting thoughts and dispel myths about creativity.
- Unleash creativity through concrete data, historical passages, and examples of modern entrepreneurship.
- Develop timeless habits, principles, and tools that worked six centuries ago and continue to work today.
- Employ creativity in an everyday context to produce extraordinary results.
- With revealing studies and stories spanning business and art, this book is a deep dive into history, culture, psychology, science, and entrepreneurship; analyzing the elements used by some of the most creative minds today and throughout the last 600 years.
BOOK REVIEW
A review copy was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book inspired me to finally start on the creative projects I’ve been dreaming of (and putting off) for months.
How Creativity Rules the World was inspired by Maria Brito’s grandfather who despite being kidnapped, led a life full of creativity, curiosity, and joy. He inspired Maria to explore her creativity, which led to her switching careers at 33. From her ‘dark ages’ of working as an attorney to becoming an art curator, travelling to multiple art shows a week and demystifying contemporary art for everyone, Maria Brito also conducts classes on creativity.
Maria Brito breaks down the aspects of creativity: its myths, habits required to cultivate creativity, how to start your creative cogs and how to maximise it to its fullest potential. It is written in short chapters, each drawing from real-life examples from the habits and successes of famous individuals and the author’s experiences. Enough for a bite-size bit of knowledge and more time to digest. I appreciate the examples in the book, it is relevant, ambitious, and inspiring. Without them, I wouldn’t have known about the Sleep No More experience in The McKittrick Hotel (now on my bucket list), Monet’s Water Lilies in Musee de L’Orangerie and other fun Google Searches of things I wouldn’t be able to enjoy. It’s truly a book for general knowledge enthusiasts as well as people who want to learn ways to reframe their thinking.
At the end of every chapter is Maria Brito’s alchemy lab where she writes a few tasks and takeaways from the chapter for readers to practice their creativity. It covers deep reflection on understanding your skills, visualising your goals, establishing confidence, exploring museums, and more actionable tasks that slowly change how you understand creativity.
I think that developing creativity takes time and dedication, and this is a book that works well to point you in the right direction. I’d recommend for you to read it, no matter your field, age or hobbies, you’ll find some knowledge to look at the world around you with a new sense of curiosity.
SKAVANSIEUR 