Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.

-Albert Einstein

Title: The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life

Author: Twyla Tharp

Synopsis: Master choreographer, Twyla Tharp, interweaves stories about what makes her creative life tick with advice and exercises to help others develop their own creative habit.

Why I read it: Because Caitlin Kelley wrote that it was one of her favorite books ever, which instantly made it a must-read.  She described it as, “Kick-ass and inspiring in equal measure.”


You might like this if you liked: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
(Steven Pressfield)

Highlights: You don’t have to be a dancer to appreciate this book – she gives lots of examples from other creative walks of life, including the business world.  That said, her descriptions of how she choreographs and teaches dance were fascinating.  My favorite chapter was the one on failure. She used one of her own productions as a case study on failure and what to do about it. The rigor and brutal self-assessment/honesty with which she handled the topic were impressive.

Fun coincidence: One of Tharp’s methods to harness and organize creativity is by starting with a physical box because as she puts it, “before you can think out of the box you have to start with a box.” She devotes an entire chapter to the box and what she puts in it and why.  In an entirely unrelated conversation, a friend recently invited me to craft an intention box with her – same idea as what I was learning from Tharp, but different verbiage. Crafty boxing fun will be had this week.