10 things I have done in 2023 that have helped me view the world as an artist
This is to elaborate on a post where @eyegor made a comment: thanks for the interest!
1. Book: The creative act by Rick Rubin
How does somebody that cannot play an instrument at all become one of the top music producers of the last 50 years? His connection with the creative act.
https://notepd.com/idea/11-things-i-learned-from-the-creative-act-a-way-of-being-by-rick-rubin-xxihn
2. Book: Beeple: Everydays, the first 5,000 days
I was blown away by his simple but effective work ethic of completing a project every single day.
"People don't have a lack of ideas; they have a lack of deadlines."
3. Book: MAKING YOUR LIFE AS AN ARTIST Andrew Simonet
4. Using NotePD every day and ALWAYS going to at least 10 ideas.
The magic is in always going to 10.
5. Read or otherwise consume biographies. You can learn a lot from other people's approaches.
I recently watched the master class with Martha Stewart. Her approach to life is incredible, and her achievements are legendary by exposing yourself to people like that you can find inspiration.
6. Be OK with imperfection
One of my hobbies is woodworking. Most recently I made three guitar stands. I’m very pleased with how they came out but I know that there are wood splits, gaps and glue glops. If I had tried to fix all of them I wouldn’t have finished.
7. Be a finisher: give yourself a deadline, put it out there and move on.
8. Treat each project as an experiment.
This can be from cooking a meal to cleaning the bathroom. It is a learning opportunity and an opportunity to be better. When you look at something as an experiment, it can remove the ego from the final product and your are more likely to complete it
9. Read. A lot. Keep track of what you read and take notes.
I made a goal of reading 100 books this year, which would have roughly doubled my normal reading pace. I will reach 140 books. In order to read so many books you have to sample many types. I read very few fiction books.
By keeping track and keeping notes, I realized that I had forgotten about a book that I just read three weeks ago. By reviewing my notes it all came back to me.
10. Walk without headphones and use the time to reflect
I have a dog which is great for this. I end up walking with her for about two hours a day altogether. Sometimes I listen to music or audiobooks, but it is important to take at least a half hour or so just to think. You could consider this a meditation or decompression, but it does a lot.
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