This book has made me go all in on Creative Living. Let me explain..
There’s this book "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert. It’s awesome. One of the things it explores is creative living. Which has resulted in a profound shift. I’m no longer seeing myself as a creative professional. I’m opting instead for the title entrepreneur. Here’s my thinking behind this change.
So, a few weeks ago I finished binge reading a book.
I was like, “THAT WAS AMAZING!!”
I could not put it down. Well, sometimes I did. When I needed to digest the magnitude of what had been written.
It was so good that I’m reading it again—and I never read books again—one chapter at a time.
Yeah, it’s that good.
Which book?
It’s called BIG MAGIC.
It’s written by Elizabeth Gilbert. She wrote Eat Pray Love (haven’t read that yet).
So BIG MAGIC is about creativity and creative living. But mostly creative living.
I didn’t know that “creative living’ was a term. It is. It means doing as much of what brings you to life as you can get away with. It’s what I was trying to address and advocate for in my Perfect 100 Day Project book. Although, damn! Liz does it far more justice.
While reading this book I felt freed, changed, and challenged. There was more than just the term that I didn’t know—like deep in my heart know.
It made me feel like a beginner at life—it’s a good feeling.
One of the many things I got out of reading this book is that my “creative thing” doesn’t need to be classically creative. Not everyone comes truly alive by drawing, painting, or creating ceramics.
A refreshing epiphany.
I then realised that my “creative thing” can change over time.
Another epiphany.
Right now, it feels like I’m turning the page between chapters in my life.
Same story though.
In this chapter Rich becomes an entrepreneur. He switches from being a master to being a student. Being an entrepreneur has become my “creative thing”. Or maybe it always was. It’s the thing that makes me come alive. Business. Marketing. Ideas. Problems. Solutions. Starting. Failing. Experimenting. Growing.
I’ve always loved entrepreneurship. As a 10 year old. As an 18 year old. As a 27 year old. And still as a 36 year old. I’ve run several of my own businesses and been my own boss. Sometimes while being employed. And sometimes not. Sometimes while other passions were my focus.
The profound shift has occurred. I no longer considering myself a “creative” professional. I’m now an entrepreneur, who currently operates in “creative” spheres.
I’m going to do as much entrepreneuring as I can get away with.
I thought you’d like to know.
And I thought you like permission (if you wanted or needed it) to intentionally pursue more of what makes you come alive. Because if you’re like me, you want your eyes to light up. You want to smile when it’s tough. You want to be energised. You want to get into flow. And you don’t want to get to the end of your life with any regrets.
What does creative living look like for you? Hit respond and let me know!
What have I been up to?
I published my 36th online class. It’s called Texture in Procreate: Add Life & Character to Your Illustrations. I love me some texture. If you want to add character and personality to your artwork, come take this class.
I’ve relaunched my 1-on-1 sessions on Superpeer with a focus on art and illustration. FYI: Superpeer was acquired by Skillshare.
I’ve been on 2 Adobe Pro Tips streams over the past month. One was about how I use Clipping Masks in Photoshop. The other was about how I use Gradient Maps in Photoshop. I felt like a pilot in an aeroplane cockpit—so many buttons and screens and chats! Streaming while I create remains one of the things I love doing.
I finished reading the six Dune novels by Frank Herbert—I started in September 2023. It was an epic read.
I’m dropping a free-to-collect NFT on Remx at the end of May. If you collect one of these NFTs, you can purchase an exclusive hoodie designed by me. Now, please go follow me on Remx. More details coming throughout May.
❤️ Big loves and hugs!
– Rich