Everyday Creative: A Dangerous Guide to Making Magic at Work

Lured by the promise of “powerful, practical tools to help cut through the barriers that prevent creativity at work” and “gaining competitive advantage”, I began.

Little did I know that a “choose your own adventure” running in parallel with these pragmatic practicalities, would actually compel and challenge me to

a) wildly create and

b) challenge my thinking every day.

To help you decide if this book is for you, you should know I’m one of those readers always looking for a quick payoff. My usual genres: thrillers, autobiographies and business books.

Authors: you had better hook me into the mystery, keep me guessing with plot twists and compelling characters.

OR tell me exactly how it is from your own lived experience in a way that enthralls and emotionally connects me to your story.

OR deliver actionable insights that I can rapidly implement to solve problems and ask better questions ... because productivity matters. Right?

This book managed to serve up ALL of these delights, within the first few pages.

It will capture your attention from the first sentence and keep you engaged through the closing credits. A book that you can also dip in and out of for constant inspiration. More than that, if you dare to get in the game, you won’t just have a different perspective, you will be different.

Don’t get me wrong. There is plenty in this book to keep you satisfied and engaged if you were only to read this in the traditional fashion. In my opinion, reading without daring to tackle the challenges and activities would be like cracking open a bottle of vintage wine only to sniff the cork.

This book requires much more of you, and that is the gift. Everything is intentional, including the bias to action, encouraging you to learn out loud to speed up your creative recovery.

Not only will you find out how to

1. Prepare your creative canvas: reclaim your identity, turn difficulty into opportunity, define your value
2. Develop creative practice: access a toolkit and framework to help you seek, feel, make and give (and keep repeating the process)
3. Make your creative masterpiece: bring your ideas to life (micro and macro)

but it will become increasingly clear why you should prioritise your creativity over productivity if you really want to be productive AND purposeful (and have a lot more fun along the way).

In the context of an Everyday Creative, Dixon asserts that ‘making’ is not “limited to physical objects or artefacts. Not restricted to performances of commercial projects. You can make a moment. Make a relationship. Make a career. But to do so requires a shift in your being.”

"Making is about movement; it’s the natural expression of our unique human potential and breathes new energy into our work and life."

After the year 2020,

who doesn’t want and need

to MAKE A LITTLE MAGIC?

Stop searching for the best book to read, here’s the only book you will need right now.

Read it yourself to reenergise. Surprise a loved one. Gift to a stranger.

Oh, and after jumping ahead to the section on democratising creativity and reading a few pages, I bought 14 extra copies and the audiobook. I couldn’t love this book anymore.

To find out more and to buy the book, check out www.everydaycreatives.com

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If you're reading this book too, I would love to hear what has resonated with you and how you're bringing your creativity to life. Add a comment, send me a DM, or join our growing EC* community.

Inspired by this book I've gone ALL IN on creativity. I've definitely crossed a few lines since starting this book, found my way back to creativity, and started an #everydaycreative tribe.

*EC = everydaycreative. If you'd like to inject a little more creativity into your workday to approach gnarly problems, to express yourself effectively, or to turn up the volume on courage, curiosity, agility and fun, we welcome anyone from around the world who is prepared to go ALL IN in on creativity and embraces the spirit of reciprocity, join our tribe here.