The Tim Ferriss Show

#649: Rick Rubin, Legendary Producer — Timeless Methods for Unlocking Creativity, Secrets Hidden in Plain Sight, The Future with AI, Helpful Distractions, Working with Strong Personalities, Breaking Out of “The Sameness,” and More

Jan 11, 2023

24:24:59

AI Chapters

Episode notes

The Challenges of Revision and the Importance of Time Away

02:02:47

Creativity comes from having a sense of awe around the mundane

01:01:30

Be the Best We Can Be

01:01:47

Creating a Mindset for Creation: The Inspiration Behind the Book

01:01:46

Introduction

5min

The Tim Ferriss Show - Rick Rubin

2min

Is This the Book You Want to Write?

3min

Book Review - The Dao

3min

The Very Small Can Lead to the Very Big

3min

Collaborations Advice for Bands and Artists

4min

Writing a Short Story for the First Time

3min

How Much Do You Revise a Track Before Moving on to Something Other?

3min

Seeing the Insignias Side by Side

2min

10.

The Rap Rock Movement Is Going Away and You Have a Choice

4min

11.

How to Write a Book in a Short Space of Time

4min

12.

Earn 3.8 Percent Interest on Your Savings Today

2min

13.

Look for What You Notice but No One Other Than You

2min

14.

What Makes Art Inevitable?

2min

15.

Is There a Difference Between Good Distraction and Bad Distraction?

4min

16.

Breaking Out of Sameness

2min

17.

What Kind of Advice Would You Give to Your Artists?

3min

18.

Is Artificial Intelligence Enhanced or Dependent Copy Production?

4min

19.

How Do You Feel Something That Moves You?

2min

20.

How Do You Feel When Your Breath Gets Taken Away?

3min

21.

Is There a Paradise Reality?

2min

22.

Do You Know What I'm Saying?

3min

23.

Do You Manage Your Inspiring Intake?

2min

24.

How Many Hours Will It Take to Write One-Door Fiction?

4min

25.

Playing With Fiction

4min

26.

How Do You Approach Reading This Book?

2min

27.

How to Create a New Way of Being

2min

28.

Five Bullet Friday

5min

29.

The Pellet Row Is the Perfect Time to Get Rowing

2min

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Rick Rubin (@RickRubin) is a nine-time GRAMMY-winning producer, one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, and the most successful producer in any genre, according to Rolling Stone. He has collaborated with artists from Tom Petty to Adele, Johnny Cash to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys to Slayer, Kanye West to the Strokes, and System of a Down to Jay-Z. You can find my 2015 interview with Rick at tim.blog/RickRubin.

His new book is THE CREATIVE ACT: A Way of Being.

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[00:00] Start

[06:28] Why Rick wrote The Creative Act.

[09:24] The Tao of Rick Rubin.

[12:16] Making the creative toolbox multi-purposeful.

[15:00] Collaborations: ensuring the best ideas prevail over egos.

[19:50] Creative revisions are experiments, not guaranteed improvements.

[26:44] Knowing when to be defined by or to deviate from an established genre.

[33:07] Why Rick resisted advice to make his first book an autobiography.

[37:10] Even a solo project is a collaboration.

[38:07] Noticing what nobody else sees.

[40:24] Being in the wonderful state “which makes art inevitable.”

[42:22] Craftsperson vs. artist.