Every pithy page brought from my new very favorite book by Hugh MacLeod brought on a yes!. MacLeod is a foul-mouthed, illuminated advertising pro, who writes about marketing, meaningful living, and in his own way… love. He is pulled forward by his thrill of “creative sovereignty.” And he’s one pragmatic, sweet curmudgeon. I’m in love.

Each one of his 39 Keys to Creativity is a sutra of street-wise insight. Here are my favorite gems:

Question how much freedom your path affords you. Be utterly ruthless about it. It’s your freedom that will get you where you want to go.

: So now corporations are awash with non-autonomous thinkers.
“I don’t know. What do you think?”
“I don’t know. What do you think?”
“I don’t know. What do you think?”
“I don’t know. What do you think?”

And so on.
Creating an economically viable entity where lack of original thought is handsomely rewarded creates a rich, fertile environment for parasites to breed.

: As the artist gets more into her thing, and as she gets more successful, the number of tools tends to go down. She knows what works for her.

: Never compare your inside with somebody else’s outside.

: The only people who can change the world are people who want to. And not everybody does.

: Anyone can be an idealist. Anyone can be a cynic. The hard part lies somewhere in the middle—that is, being human.

Sprinkled with MacLeod’s now-legendary back-of-business card cartoons, Ignore Everybody manages to be both raunchy and lovely, sardonic and warm. MacLeod’s found that essential humanity that makes all the difference.

Go get it.

Hugh MacLeod’s blog: GapingVoid.com

With Love,