Top 3 Artistic Reads for Overcoming Obstacles
Books to Beat Bad Creative Habits and Inspire Resilience
Photo: Joyce McCown on Unsplash
Over the last year or so, you could find me browsing the Arts & Entertainment section of my local bookstore quite a bit. Like many recent college graduates trying to find their footing in a competitive industry, I was soul searching and hunting for motivational literature that would help me move onward and upward in my creative pursuits.
Rather than turning to the generalized (and sometimes cringey) Personal Growth nook, I decided to get answers from the people whose careers I wanted to emulate. They would know how to best articulate what it’s like to live and thrive in a profession where hardly anything is certain or guaranteed.
So, what do fellow artists have to say about life, work, and play?
MY TOP THREE ARTISTIC BOOK LOOKS (RANKED):
Sometimes a motivational kick in the ass is what we need to become more than what we are. Steven Pressfield, an experienced author and screenwriter, explains how to move beyond the excuses that prevent creative fulfillment and get out of your own way. He divides this informational read into three sections called “Resistance: Defining the Enemy,” “Combating Resistance: Turning Pro,” and “Beyond Resistance: The Higher Realm.” In brief subsections of these parts, he establishes how to reprogram your perspective of artistic work and illustrates what good habits look like in practice. Pressfield’s central argument can best be summarized when he states, “It’s [art] a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution” (165). Still curious? Check out Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the author about identifying a “calling” from SuperSoul Sunday here.
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey (2020)
In only eight parts, Matthew McConaughey, who earned an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, shares defining moments from his life that shaped him into the man he is today. The “playbook,” according to McConaughey, “…is about how to catch more yeses in a world of nos and how to recognize when a no might actually be a yes. This is a book about catching greenlights and realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green” (3, 15). It’s littered with original aphorisms, handwritten journal entries, poems, and photographs that are seamlessly connected by the themes of gratitude and following your heart. It humbly utilizes creative expression to explain a creative life. What’s even better is that Mr. McConaughey, himself, narrates the audiobook version of this New York Times bestseller. Trust me, his Texan accent only sweetens the words and the meaning behind them.
Ever wonder what it takes to put together a (un)successful Broadway show? Well, buckle up because there is drama in drama. Glen Berger recounts his experience as the co-writer for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (2010) by describing the jaw-dropping events that led to the birth and death of what once was a promising musical. Bad gets worse in this shocking story where funds come and go, actors become physically injured, toxic work environments become the norm, etc. Berger humorously sets the tone by claiming, “I am aware—I really am—that the following pages contain metaphors more appropriate for an account of an amputation tent in the Crimean War; adjectives best saved for the Apollo space program or the Bataan Death March” (7). Although perhaps best described as a cautionary tale, there is much to be said for the relentless commitment offered to a show that only ever had the odds stacked against it. Sometimes there’s catharsis in reading about the chaos of others as a reminder that you too will overcome.
These are only a few positive resources to peruse that can help inspire and reframe your artistic outlook. If you’re anything like me, they may even become active reference guides that live on your shelf to crack open again and again.
Happy reading!
