Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

Honestly, there's nothing revolutionary in this book as far as what Gilbert is saying. She hasn't found some magical new formula for unlocking your creativity. Instead, what she has done is create a dialog, as if you were sitting down to coffee with a friend and confessing that you really wanted to be creative but... Gilbert deals with the variety of things that could follow that "but", and she pulls apart each and every one. Will everyone appreciate this book? Probably not. Gilbert does slay some pretty sacred cows, including the notion of the "tortured" artist, but I think she makes a very compelling case for all the cows she slays. The bottom line of this book, really, is do you want to be a creative person because you want the sense of accomplishment and transcendence that creativity can inspire, or do you want to be a creative person because you're hoping to make millions and be lauded by the masses? If it's the second, Gilbert basically tells you that you need not apply, and I agree with her. Creativity may pay off monetarily or in the form of social approbation, or it may not, but if all you really want is to create, who cares? Gilbert holds up all the fears that commonly hold people back and says, "So what?" While I'm not a religious person, I got where she was going by likening creativity to a sort of religious calling. As she says, she doesn't advocate for people moving out to a mountain and living a life of solitary devotion to creativity--unless that's your thing, in which case you should do it. Instead, she's advocating for creativity as a form of not just self-expression, but as a way for people to make something beautiful solely for the sake of making something beautiful. As she says, it's both essential and non-essential. At heart, I think that's what makes us human: that we create things that aren't necessary merely because we like the look of them, or the sound of them, or the taste of them, or the way they feel when we wear them. It's in the act of creating--even if our creation is bad or misunderstood or unloved--that we are able to get outside of our own heads for a bit. We can forget about our mundane worries and struggles and we can experience moments of pure joy. Not that she's saying that all this can come about without some fear and struggle and some sense of pain. What she advises is that we learn to live with these things without allowing them to control us. I know this seems simplistic, but she does such a great job of laying out how to avoid being controlled by your fears. What she's revealing here is that what holds most people back is themselves. What does it matter if people dismiss your creativity or think you're strange? The best kind of creativity, Gilbert says, is the kind that's done entirely because *you* want to do it, not because you're trying to appeal to the masses. The Big Magic, really, is experiencing the joys of creativity for yourself and not for some nebulous, unknown consumer market. If you're fortunate, the market may follow. If not, it won't. Either way, you'll have created something and will have the pride of knowing that it's yours. And when you're done, you'll let it loose, acknowledge that it may not be perfect, and go on to make something else. You can do all this with a sense of awe that you're doing something that fulfills a need deep within yourself. It won't feed you or clothe you or put a roof over your head (unless your creative outlet is something like farming or weaving or carpentry, in which case you may well fulfill some of these essential needs as well), but it will provide you with experiences that you can hoard like treasures, to be pulled out and admired and marveled at whenever you so desire. Reading this book was so good for me because it helped me to see how counterproductive some of the nagging voices in the back of my head are. It encouraged me to take creative leaps and to be philosophical when those leaps sometimes fail, as they inevitably will. Gilbert has helped me to see that, no matter what, I will always long for that creative outlet, so why bother denying it to myself? I can engage with it for the pure joy of engaging with it, and if anything else comes of it, great. If not, well, I'll have been living the life I want to live, and that really counts for more than anything else.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert was not exactly what I was expecting when I purchased the Kindle version on the day of its release. I have been a huge fan of Ms. Gilbert since Eat, Pray, Love and have devoured all of her books up to and including The Signature of All Things that I purchased a signed copy of. This is how much I adore the author. I feel that she speaks volumes to me through her writing and have learned so much about life and myself from her words. When I started reading Big Magic, I was excited after waiting for months following all of the hype on her Facebook page and website. I was thrilled to get it on the day of its release. After the first few pages, though, I was disenchanted and rather disappointed. I am not sure why, but the words in the first chapters did not immediately resonate with me and I, hesitantly and unceremoniously, returned the book for a refund. I know, I know, this is a sin and unheard of for a true fan of this wonderful author to return her book. Then something MAGICAL happened. Seriously, folks, I cannot make this stuff up ... Amazon normally removes the title and its contents from my device when I return an e-book. When I went to sync my Kindle application, Big Magic was still on it. My conscience (or something bigger than myself?) kept prompting me to read the book and give it one more chance. I kept telling myself that it just wasn't going to get better and to not bother... After a few days, I relented to this continually nagging voice and started reading the book where I had left off a few days earlier. Mind you, I had already received a refund on the book and certainly was going to have Amazon manually remove it from my digital orders if I still could not get into the book with giving it a second look. I kept reading past the first few chapters and before I knew it, I had read over half of the book - ingesting every word, every sentence and every paragraph. I lost some sleep last night reading it into the wee hours of the morning. After reading over half the book and realizing that Amazon was not auto-magically removing it from my device, I went back and re-purchased the book. Because, 1) that was absolutely the right thing to do - to pay for a book that I was, indeed, reading and 2) since I am an author as well, I know how difficult it is to release a book and get returns and/or negative reviews when you work your heart out on a new release - so repurchasing it was a no-brainer for me. I am a person who has a difficult time with being creative or allowing creativity to flow within me and Big Magic opened my eyes to the creative process (or at least the author's creative process) of writing. I struggle with giving myself permission to take the time to write and also with giving myself permission to fail. The chapter on perfectionism is a gold-mine of information and truly spoke directly to me. The other analogies and lessons in the book are geared towards writers, artists and the like, but can easily be applied to any occupation in life. The key is to apply these principles in everything that you attempt in life and watch the results turn into positive experiences. The biggest realization from the book is that all of us are creators or makers, no matter what our occupations are and we need to own whatever it is in life that makes us who we are. I see now how this makes a difference in my own life. I have to whole-heartedly say that I was completely WRONG about the book after reading the first few pages and am so glad that the Universe tugged at me to try the book again. I am happy that I did go back a second time as the words finally resonated with me even after my initial resistance to them. Big Magic was working Big Time and I am thankful that I listened! Thank you Ms. Gilbert for writing Big Magic!

いい本です。勇気づけられます。

inspirerend

I read all of the major books on creativity, yet this one is a true life-changer. It will transform the way you look at creativity, your artistic career and even your world view about work, creativity and personal life. Many books on the subject try to show to how to "succeed" in a creative career. This one instead does a revolution by freeing you from the result and detaching success & creativity. Highly recommended masterpiece on its field.

Lovey, fun, enjoyable, relatable. Giggles, amazement, hope. Love the book for anyone looking for the magic of creation they once had. A book to read over and over and over again. Thank you Liz :)

This book is such an inspiration! I didn't expect it would be. I'm an artist, a ceramicist and a colleague recommended this book as she knows I like to read. I create ceramics but I'm also a teacher of ceramics, and also I write texts for my social media accounts. The book Big magic is an inspiration in all three. How I see this book: It's written in a simple down to earth conversational way and it is easy to read. It's a kind of musing on subject of the creativity and creative process . It's almost like a self help book for anyone doubting their ability to create or anyone needing a push to pursue their passion as a hobby. For me it is way more than all that. For me it's a way of returning back to when I first discovered clay and living that moment of being a novice, a beginner. I's valuable to be able to do that as now I'm teaching beginners and it's good to remind myself how it is to be in their skin. For me this book is also an inspiration on social media. There are nuggets of wisdom and original thinking intersperced throughout the book. I have underlined the parts I particularly enjoyed reading so I can read a sentence or two as an inspiration and to put me in the mood of writing a post for social media. Seriously and totally unexpectedly, a line or a word from Big Magic sparks a whole post. I have reccomened Big Magic in various art groups and I keep it on my bedside. I thourougly reccomend you buy it.