Ideas Flow Through Us

A river of material flows through us. When we share our works and our ideas, they are replenished. If we block the flow by holding them all inside, the river cannot run, and new ideas are slow to appear. — Rick Rubin

Ideas flow through us

A few weeks ago, a colleague shared a wonderful new book with me. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin is an exciting new book filled with sage advice and wisdom for all.

Don't know who Rick Rubin is? I didn't either, but after learning more about him, I'm glad I do now.

Rick Rubin is regarded as one of American history's most talented and successful recording artists. He has worked with and produced some of the world's top musicians and bands.

He was recently featured in a 60 Minutes interview where we learn he is best known for helping artists tap into their creativity through deep listening. You'll find his approach highly resonant with what we talk about here at SpaceB.

I'm sure I'll write about many insights from Rubin's book in the coming months, but for this post, I wanted to focus on this idea:

A river of material flows through us. When we share our works and our ideas, they are replenished. If we block the flow by holding them all inside, the river cannot run, and new ideas are slow to appear.

I think we all harbor a tendency to hold back on sharing our ideas for many reasons. Number one might be our innate programming and social norms in the capitalistic west. We have patent and copyright laws to protect our ideas, which encourages us to hold our ideas close.

And if we aren't accustomed to sharing our ideas, we are likely not sure how useful and valuable they might be to others. I know both of these factors were certainly at play for me when I started the SpaceB blog.

When I started what became SpaceB, I never imagined that I would or could write a new article almost every week for almost three years now. I expected I would run out of ideas within a few months.

However, that never happened. Somehow when we openly share our work and don't hold back, even more flows our way to be revealed.

"Instead of focusing on what making this will bring you, focus on what you contribute to this art to make it the best it could possibly be, with no limitation."

What has been your experience?

What have you been holding back that you might more openly share?

— Bill