Creativity Without Blocks

The books, in order

1. 1

   Personal Development · 16 min

   Steal Like an Artist

   Austin Kleon

   Nobody creates from scratch: all work comes from mixing many influences, not from inspiration that appears out of nowhere.

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2. 2

   Career and Work · 14 min

   Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered

   Austin Kleon

   Nobody hires or follows someone who has never shown anything; showing your process is the new résumé.

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3. 3

   Personal Development · 15 min

   Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

   Elizabeth Gilbert

   Finishing an imperfect project teaches you more than keeping a perfect one locked in your head forever.

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4. 4

   Personal Development · 16 min

   On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

   Stephen King

   Rejection is not a sign that you should stop writing. It's just the most annoying stage of the process, one that almost everyone who gets published has gone through too.

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5. 5

   Personal Development · 14 min

   Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

   Adam Grant

   Feeling afraid before proposing a new idea is not a sign that you're unprepared, it's a sign that you're taking the risk seriously.

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6. 6

   Personal Development · 18 min

   The Artist's Way

   Julia Cameron

   Pouring raw thoughts onto paper every morning clears mental noise before outside demands take control of your day.

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7. 7

   Personal Development · 17 min

   Self-Reliance

   Ralph Waldo Emerson

   According to the book, social life frequently demands silent concessions, pushing people to trade personal convictions for the comfort of immediate approval.

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8. 8

   Personal Development · 16 min

   A Whack on the Side of the Head

   Roger von Oech

   Creating gets easier when you switch mental roles: exploring, imagining, evaluating, and taking action are different tasks, and trying to do them all at once gets in the way.

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9. 9

   Personal Development · 16 min

   The Good Side of the Bad Side

   Daniel Martins de Barros

   Melancholy deliberately slows the body down after a defeat to keep us from pouring energy into paths that no longer work.

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10. 10

    Personal Development · 15 min

    The Art of Non-Conformity

    Chris Guillebeau

    People who write their own goals down on paper stop living solely in reaction to whatever shows up along the way.

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