The book follows the story of Bernadette Fox, a former renowned architect and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, who has become a recluse and suffers from severe agoraphobia. When her daughter Bee earns perfect grades, she claims her reward: a family trip to Antarctica. However, Bernadette's aversion to people and her increasing mental breakdown lead to her disappearance. Bee compiles a series of emails, documents, and secret correspondences to find her mother, revealing a complex web of family dynamics, social satire, and personal struggles. The novel pokes fun at Seattle's elite culture, private school parents, and the tech world, while exploring themes of creativity, mental health, and the bond between a mother and daughter.
In this book, David Epstein examines the success of generalists in various fields, including sports, arts, music, invention, forecasting, and science. He argues that generalists, who often find their path late and juggle multiple interests, are more creative, agile, and able to make connections that specialists cannot. Epstein uses stories and research studies to show that wide sampling and late specialization can be more valuable than early specialization, especially in complex and unpredictable environments. He also discusses the distinction between 'kind' and 'wicked' learning environments and the importance of balancing specialization with range for long-term success[2][4][5].
Play It Away offers a personal journey of overcoming anxiety through the power of play. Charlie Hoehn shares his experiences and insights on how shifting one's approach from work to play can improve mental health and creativity. The book provides actionable tips for reducing stress and finding joy in life again.
This book presents a comprehensive method for artists to recover their creativity from various blocks such as limiting beliefs, fear, self-sabotage, and other inhibiting forces. It is designed to help individuals discover and develop their artistic potential, whether as writers, painters, poets, or musicians. The book emphasizes the connection between creativity and spirituality, providing step-by-step exercises to nurture creative expression as a consistent part of daily life.
In 'Turning Pro,' Steven Pressfield provides a practical and inspirational guide for entrepreneurs and creatives to shift from an amateur mindset to a professional one. The book is divided into three parts: the first describes the addictive nature of the amateur, the second paints a vision of what it means to be a pro, and the third focuses on cultivating professionalism. Pressfield emphasizes the importance of overcoming fear, self-doubt, and procrastination, and adopting habits such as discipline, regularity, and a constant striving for excellence. He also discusses the concept of 'shadow careers' and the need to align one's work with their true calling for authentic fulfillment.
In 'The War of Art', Steven Pressfield identifies the internal force of 'Resistance' that hinders creative endeavors. The book is divided into three sections: 'Resistance: Defining the Enemy', 'Combating Resistance: Turning Pro', and a final section that discusses the role of the muses and the battle between the Self and the Ego. Pressfield provides practical advice on recognizing and overcoming resistance, emphasizing the importance of professionalism, discipline, and continuous work in achieving creative success.
In 'Creative Calling', Chase Jarvis emphasizes the importance of creativity as a habit available to everyone, regardless of their profession or background. The book introduces the 'IDEA' system: Imagine your big dream, Design a daily practice to support it, Execute on your plans, and Amplify your impact through a supportive community. Jarvis encourages readers to start small, making creativity a part of their daily lives, and argues that this practice can lead to greater direction, agency, and happiness in life.
Conventional wisdom frames creativity as the purview of a certain select few — a rare gift that eludes us mere mortals.
This is a lie. We are all born creative. More birthright than blessing, creativity is a practice. A habit not unlike any other skill or discipline. A muscle that can be built and flexed.
This week's guest takes the notion one step further, asserting creativity as a biological necessity — a transformative force that resides within us all that when unleashed delivers vitality to everything we do.
Chase Jarvis is many things. One of the most influential and award-winning photographers of the last decade, he is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. Dubbed by Forbes as ‘the photographer everyone wants to work with', Chase has created hundreds of campaigns and commercials for the likes of Nike, Apple, Samsung, Google, and Red Bull.
As a photojournalist, Chase contributed to the Pulitzer-Prize winning New York Times story Snow Fall and earned an Emmy nomination for Portrait of a City, his documentary chronicling the legendary Seattle music scene.
As an entrepreneur, Chase is the Founder and CEO of two influential companies. His iPhone app Best Camera earned ‘App of the Year' accolades in 2009 from Wired, the New York Times, and Macworld. The first app that allowed users to share images direct to social networks, it is widely credited with kicking off the multi-billion dollar, global photo-sharing craze. CreativeLive, Chase’s second (and current) company, is the world’s largest live-streaming education company featuring the top experts in photography, design, music and entrepreneurship.
In addition to being an in demand public speaker, Chase hosts the wildly popular YouTube series and podcast The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show and has authored 2 best-selling photography books.
The focus of today's exchange is Chase's latest literary offering, Creative Calling. A fantastic primer on the power of developing your innate creativity to infuse your life with greater meaning, purpose and fulfillment, I can't recommend it more highly — a book that earns it's place alongside my personal favorite practice guides, The Artist's Way and The War of Art.
A long-time fan, I have been an avid consumer of Chase's high quality content dating back to the early days of the internet. A kindred spirit of sorts, I had always wanted to meet him. Today's encounter exceeds my expectations.
Enjoy!
Rich
The Rich Roll Podcast 
