100 Books - Ignore Everybody

One Hundred Books. This is a short list of 100 books I have read, listed here in no particular order.

IGNORE EVERYBODY And 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod

This book, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, could also be called "How to Escape the Humdrum World of Cubicle Life and Risk Everything to Find a More Fulfilling Creative Life."  Hugh MacLeod's book is packed with dozens of small to tiny essays, built around his habit of doodling on the backs of business cards. His doodles and writing are alternatively humorous, thought-provoking, cynical, yet optimistic, and contain ruthless wisdom while ignoring the general platitudes of what the everyday world usually thinks of as motivational literature.

There are several types of creativity. Some occur in a group and are a product of many minds working together. Other forms result from one person sitting alone, working, and thinking independently until something unique happens. The recommendation here is to ignore Everybody else, create something more interesting to you, and then do more and more of it.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat. 

In other words, if you want to be creative, you must just go for it. Don't be afraid to jump into the fray, to put pen to paper, to slap some paint on a canvas, to make up some lyrics and put them to a rhythm. Be bold and use your tools and start making that recording, bang that drum, strum that guitar, create that web page, draw that picture, write that story, publish that book, whatever it is, for you. 

You can do it and must make your original and unique contribution. 

But the first steps often involve ignoring Everybody else and trying to make your unique vision a reality. That isn't to say there will never be a time when working with others is best. There will be, but you can start the creative ball rolling by simply ignoring Everybody else and moving forward in some way to begin realizing your creative dream, whatever it is.

Excerpt: Every artist is looking for their big, definitive "Ah-Ha!" moment, whether they're a master or not.

     That moment where they finally find their true voice, once and for all. 

     For me, it was when I discovered drawing on the backs of business cards. 

     Other, more famous, and far more notable examples would be Jackson Pollock discovering splatter paint. Or Robert Ryman discovering all-white canvases. Andy Warhol discovering silk screen. Hunter S. Thompson discovering gonzo journalism. Duchamp discovering the found object. Jasper Johns discovering the American Flag. Hemingway discovering brevity. James Joyce discovering stream-of consciousness prose.

     Was it luck? Perhaps a little bit.

     But it wasn't the format that made the art great. It was the fact that somehow while playing around with something new, suddenly they found they were able to put their entire selves into it. 

     Only then did it become their "shtick," their true voice, etc.

     That's what people responded to. The humanity, not the form. The voice, not the form.

     Put your whole self into it, and you will find your true voice. Hold back and you won't. It's that simple.

I heartily recommend the book Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod. In the famous words of the Nike company, "Just Do It."