The Art of Creative Thinking: 89 Ways to See Things Differently

Get ready to get inspired
 
In short and engaging entries, this deceptively simple volume presents examples of creative thinkers from the worlds of writing, music, architecture, painting, technology, and more, shedding light on their process, and showing how each of us can learn from them to improve our lives and our work.

Subjects range from the grueling practice schedule of the Beatles and the relentless revisions of Tolkien, Sondheim, and Picasso to the surprisingly slapdash creation of The Simpsons. You’ll learn about the most successful class in history (in which every student won a Nobel Prize), how frozen peas were invented, why J.K. Rowling likes to write in cafes, and how 95 percent of Apocalypse Now ended up on the cutting-room floor. Takeaways include:

- Doubt everything all the time.
- Plan to have more accidents.
- Be mature enough to be childish.
- Contradict yourself more often.
- Be practically useless.
- If it ain’t broke, break it.
- Surprise yourself.
- Look forward to disappointment.
- Be as incompetent as possible.

• Creativity Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and into the World
• The Creativity Challenge: Design, Experiment, Test, Innovate, Build, Create, Inspire, and Unleash Your Genius
• A Natural History of the Senses
• Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior
• Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
• Ideas Are Your Only Currency
• Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!): How To Unleash Your Creative Potential by America's Master Communicator, George Lois
• Creativity for Critical Thinkers
• Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques (2nd Edition)
• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future