Book Reviews: Creativity

The Art of Possibility

Benjamin Zander

We all spend our lives surrounded by possibility, but how many of us know how to embrace it? How do we lift ourselves out of the world of everyday struggles and see what our next steps could be? This is a book that answers these questions. It will shift your perspective with uplifting stories and anecdotes from the author's personal experience as well as from famous and everyday heroes. I loved this book and read it in a day!

In Praise of Slow

Carl Honore

There is no question we live in a culture that teaches that faster is better. With the internet, iPods, BlackBerries, mobile phones and the like, our lives are moving at the speed of light. In the race to keep up, everything suffers. Our work, diet, health, relationships and sex lives are suffering as we quickly wiz from project to project. We're in such a hurry that anyone or anything that slows us down becomes the enemy. This book is about living better in the hectic modern world by striking a real balance between fast and slow.

From creativity, eating, cooking, social gatherings to sex and yoga, this is a very good read. I think anyone who is looking to capture the much spoken about ‘balance' in their life and wants some interesting angles and philosophies on doing this should have a read. This is one of the better books on life/balance that I've read. Take a minute, slow down and have a read.

Brain Rules

John Medina

Most of us have no idea what's really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details every business leader, parent and teacher should know about. Things like the brain's need for physical activity to work at its best. In this book, John Medina talks about what exactly sleep and stress does to our brains, why multi tasking is a myth, and ultimately, an understanding of how your brain really works and how to get the most out of it. I really enjoyed this book and took a lot of great notes which I've put into action and although it's not a book for everybody, it's easy to read, it's common sense and if you have any interest at all in maximising the use of your own creative and intellectual mind, then put it on your reading list. 

Making It Happen

Peter Sheahan

I've known Peter for a couple of years now and admire him for the fact that he is able to make sense of what's going on in the world around us. Typically he's done that by observing that we all have tons of great ideas, but aren't sure how to make them happen. We're unsure what's next. This book is 'what's next'. As Peter said, 'We're not short of great ideas, but we're short of people who can make them happen.' In his straight up, straight forward and no crap style, Peter will guide you through the 5 competencies you need to master in order to make it happen. I like Peter's writing style, I like his message and I think if you're a person who's into creativity, ideas or you're an entrepreneur, then this is a very worthy read.

The Keys to Creativity

Gary Bertwistle

Ideas, imagination and creative thinking are increasingly becoming sought after qualities and important points of difference in today's society. No matter what stage of life you're at or how creative you may be, you can always learn to make better use of your creative ability.

Everyone is born with a natural creative talent and a wonderful imagination that enables them to be creative and generate ideas. The secret lies in knowing how to tap into that natural ability in order to unlock these ideas and reach your full creative potential.

This book will encourage you to challenge the thinking that has conditioned you as an adult, and to remove the barriers that are currently holding you back from achieving your goals. It will give you unique breakthrough tools and techniques to help you develop better ideas and more of them in all areas of your life, as well as a new, unquestionable belief in the creative ability you already possess!

A Whole New Mind

Daniel H Pink

Of all the books I've read in the last year, this one is probably the most important for anyone to read. In this book Daniel Pink will convince you that the age of the left brain dominance is gone. The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind. The future belongs to designers, inventors, teachers, story tellers, creative and right brain thinkers with the ability to think differently..... here here. This guy brings the science of what I speak about in my speeches to life with research, scientific fact and logic. Drawing on research from around the advanced world, Daniel Pink outlines the 6 fundamentally human abilities that are essential for professional success and personal development. He then reveals how to master them. This is a must read. It's one of Oprah's favourite books of all time. Enough said.

Made to Stick

Chip Heath and Dan Heath

This book was recommended to me by a fellow creative and I must say I really enjoyed it. It's a book primarily about why some ideas stick and others die. Whether you're a CEO, a stay at home mum or a budding entrepreneur, you've got ideas that need to be communicated in order to make them happen. You might need to sell a new product, a strategy to your boss, or even some values you're trying to instill in your children. How do you sell them in such a way that people will want to think and act? In this book you'll learn the 6 qualities of an idea that is made to stick. Simple, easy to understand and well packaged, this is a great read for anybody interested in selling their concepts in order to make them happen. A good book.