Ideas, creativity, creation… these are the types of things that engage my mind. I’m into reading about the creative process, the “how to” of making stuff, and trying to figure it out for myself. I guess it was inevitable that I’d check out Hugh MacLeod’s renowned article/essay/blog post called How to be creative.

In short: great piece with great ideas. I really enjoyed it. Here are some thoughts:

  • There are 38 points or headings in this essay. I think that’s 57 less than the points in the Cluetrain Manifesto. However, Hugh goes into several paragraphs of detail for each point.
  • Did I mention that it’s detailed? It’s also well over 10,000 words long. Don’t let that dissuade you. It’s worth reading.
  • The essay is full of interesting anecdotes and examples for many of the points.
  • Hugh’s advice is based on his personal experiences and, as such, seems to run contrary to a lot of inspirational/motivational writing. Not a bad thing.
  • The essay strikes me as being a very realistic look at being creative for a living.

One thought that I can’t shake, though, is that I didn’t get what I expected. Based on the title, I expected to read a bunch of tips, pointers, and ideas on how to create stuff, how to come up with ideas, and how to develop them. This essay (I guess I’ll keep calling it an essay) delivered some other things, although there were some general ideas that could apply to creating stuff.

Instead, I would say that this essay is about how to be a creator.

This essay talks about the path to being a creative person. It doesn’t talk about how to make cartoons, write novels, or start a company. I’d say it’s more about how to follow the path or life of being a creative person. It’s about attitude, work ethic, and stamina. It’s about how to approach being creative without going insane, losing faith and hope, and with realistic expectations.

I’m not disappointed. I think this essay was very valuable reading. There will be lots of other ways for me to learn more about being creative. This essay gave me some insight into how to approach creative work and that’s valuable.

If you want to create content either professionally or for a hobby, I recommend reading this essay and thinking about its contents. You might not agree with all of them, but it’s still worth reading.

Have you read How to be Creative before? Why not share your thoughts?

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