How to Access Your Creativity | Rick Rubin

About this video

Rick Rubin, the music producer, joins Huberman to discuss creativity across music, writing, film, science and everyday life, drawing on his book The Creative Act: A Way of Being. Rubin describes practical and abstract approaches he uses and has seen artists use to access new ideas, including attention to the subconscious and to nature within and around us. Huberman emphasises Rubin’s range across very different artists and genres as evidence his expertise extends beyond music. In the middle excerpt Rubin argues people should never break an artist’s flow once something is happening, and he explains how the brain tells stories: when something unfamiliar happens, Rubin says, we unconsciously invent a plausible explanation, relax once we have it, and later remember that invented story as what actually happened.

Key takeaways

• Rubin describes creativity as a way of being that applies across domains, not only music.
• Rubin advises not breaking an artist’s flow once creative work is happening.
• Rubin argues the brain invents stories to explain unfamiliar events and then treats them as fact.
• Huberman frames Rubin’s process as applicable whether or not listeners consider themselves creative.
• Rubin discusses the subconscious and attention as parts of accessing creativity.

Episode details: published January 16, 2023 · 4.7M views · 3:00:39 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The science and protocols described are Andrew Huberman’s, presented for education — not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before changing your own health practices.

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