Read and Be Creative

Kim Roach, at productivity and organizing site, Lifehack has some good advice on being a creative genius:

To become a creative genius, you must also be a voracious reader

Reading enhances your mental ability and lets you experience the world from a brand new perspective.

When we read a book, we let go of our own perspectives and experience the world from the characters that have been crafted by the author.

I have found in my own life that the more I read, the more I want to know. Reading becomes an insatiable desire and an unquenchable thirst.

I’ve read a lot in my life and I’m fairly creative. And I’m also a believer in the novel’s ability to let you be, in a small, yet still significantly profound way, someone else for however brief a time. That said, I’ve never considered my creativity to be in any way related to my reading. I’ve only ever seen reading as something that builds up the intangible things inside one. A philosophical exercise with no direct use for my daily and more pragmatic life. And certainly with no applications for my professional life as a graphic artist.

Does this mean when I’m stuck on a project now I can tell my client to hang tight while I finish War and Peace because I need some creative Inspiration?

Yes, I think it does.

I’m not a creative genius, only somewhat creative, but I’m always glad to have more evidence supporting our noble little hobby.

2 responses to “Read and Be Creative”

  1. I agree that creativity is helped along by one’s ability to think from someone else’s perspective. But, if you are empathetic and have meaningful conversations with the people around you, you should be all set. If your not that kind of person, read a book.

  2. Maybe that’s why I only finish half the books I read.

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