Dear Friends,
The extraordinary book The Creative Act: A Way of Being by legendary music producer and creativity master Rick Rubin is out everywhere today.
An eight-time Grammy award-winning music producer and one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, Rick is a brilliant artist in his own right and has transformed the careers of some of the most successful musicians of all time, from the Beastie Boys and Jay-Z to Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Johnny Cash. In The Creative Act, he distills the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime’s work into timeless keys to creativity and success. Rubin illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. We are so eager to share the book with you and put the power to create moments of artistic transcendence within closer reach for all of us, whether we consider ourselves artists or not.
Here is Doug’s behind-the-curtains look at how The Creative Act came to be: “The universe seemed to lead me to Rick Rubin’s studio door on Kauai. When we finally got together, we sat on his large outdoor sofas, sharing our journeys as two New York kids educated in that cultural mecca. After several hours of sharing our lives, he said, ‘I think you’ve been sent to me.’ Then Rick told me about his fascinating, decade-in-the-making book project to create something that had the oracular power of the I Ching and the inspirational potential of The Artist’s Way. As he shared his pages, I discovered it was a distillation of his life work as one of the great culture makers of our time—and a powerful guide on creative living.”
Known as the “Buddha of the Boards,” Rick has made a practice of helping people transcend our self-imposed expectations to reconnect with our natural, intuitive creativity. The Creative Act is the culmination of that practice. Reading this book is a rare opportunity to sit with a master culture creator and explore the most profound questions about not just the way to create but the way to be. We hope you will find it as transformative and inspiring as we have. To spark your creativity, we’re also linking to a sneak peek of the book here.
Warmly,
Rachel, Doug, Ty, Janelle, Bella, Sarah, Alyssa, Jordan, and Mark
P.S. We are also delighted to announce that the award-winning film, Mission: Joy, which was inspired by The Book of Joy, is now on Netflix. The movie takes viewers on a life-changing journey to Dharamsala to join the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu as they share laughter, love, and explore the secrets of joy even in the face of great adversity. The film has now been seen by more than 13 million people, including 40,000 incarcerated learners, thanks to numerous national broadcasters including the BBC, over 800 screenings, and a global Facebook launch. We are pleased to announce it will be available in 158 countries this year thanks to Netflix and other platforms around the world.
