Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Ever since I completed my NaNoWriMo novel (heck, since I said I was going to do it!), my family has been very supportive of my creative endeavor. For Christmas, my brother got me a copy of Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod.
The book is a very fast read and reads like a series of short essays or blog posts. Hugh came to fame with his cartoon on business card thing and his blog, gapingvoid.com. His philosophy is based around hard work and doing something that you “own”. His hard work philosophy is interesting. Basically boils down to “while you are busy doing something else, the other guy is at home working on his version harder than you, so get to it.” Not a revolutionary statement by far. Basically it is built around “you need to put in the time, the energy and stamina to make it happen”.
Hugh MacLeod (dude kinda looks like Erik Mitchell)
Some people will not like this because it is less inspirational and at times raw and blunt. It can be a bit circular but he is witty but also cynical and at times the essays transform into rants. But they are fun to read. Plus the cartoons are great.
All of this is based on a free download he has on his web site called How to Be Creative. Cool stuff on his site.
Cool Video made from his writing