Creativity for Life: Practical Advice on the Artist's Personality, and Career from America's Foremost Creativity Coach

368 Pages·2007·1.74 MB·English

by  Eric Maisel

Praise for Creativity for Life
“Eric Maisel has taught me more about the creative life and how to live it
successfully than any other author. Creativity for Life is for anyone who has ever
dared to live an extraordinary and fully exposed life.”
— Sharon Lebell, author of
The Art of Living: The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness
“Using simple and straightforward principles, Eric Maisel offers an inspiring
guide to living an artful, art-filled, and art-committed life.”
— Kari L. Pope, coordinator, Arts and Disability Network for California
“Creativity for Life offers an insider’s journey into the marvels of creative
expression. Read it, and personal clarity and commitment will be your gifts!
— Gail McMeekin, LICSW, author of
The Twelve Secrets of Highly Creative Women
“Creativity for Life helps readers who are regularly in contact with artists and
creative persons develop a deeper understanding of them. And for those who are
already art-committed, this book is recommended for the nightstand.”
— Martine Vanremoortele, president,
Centre for the Development of Creative Thinking (COCD), Belgium “Creativity
for Life goes far beyond typical surface discussions on the act of creativity. It is a
serious investigation into all aspects of being and functioning as a working
artist.”
— Nancy Fletcher Cassell, visual artist and writer
“Maisel’s work has changed the way I work. His methods and strategies are
sensible, crystal clear, and completely un-goofy. No other writer-psychologist
practicing today ‘gets’ artists as purely and wholly as Eric Maisel does.”
— Heather Sellers, PhD, author of Georgia Under Water and Page After Page
“Creativity for Life offers wise and life-changing advice for anyone who wants
to be more creative. Maisel’s innovative approach illuminates the way toward
finding the courage and resilience to make magic with your art.”
— John Moir, author of Return of the Condor
“Both creative and practical, Creativity for Life is an exciting, engagingly written
book. I immediately appreciated its value and utility for my clients, my
colleagues, and myself.”
— Kate F. Hays, PhD, author of You’re On!: Consulting for Peak Performance
“If you are an artist who wants to get a project finished, read this book. It gave
me new understanding of my artist personality and why I put things off. Most
important, it gave me new courage to forge the path I know I have to take.”
— Coleen Rajotte, documentary filmmaker
“This is the most comprehensive book on creativity that I have encountered. I
will make this book required reading for the students in my creativity coaching
training as well as for clients embarking upon a creative path.”
— Jill Badonsky, MEd, creativity coaching trainer and author of
The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard) “Eric Maisel warrants special
praise. He demonstrates unique sensitivity to the issues artists face and provides
practical guidelines for artists whose mental health and creative outputs must be
protected and promoted.”
— Richard Lippin, founding president, International Arts-Medicine Association
“This is an ideal guide and companion for all artists. It describes the artist’s
struggle for expression, recognition, and survival with singular tenderness and
depth.”
— Peggy Salkind, pianist and piano department chair,
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
“At last, a book that does justice to the ambitions, conflicts, struggles,
frustrations, and achievements of creative and performing artists.”
— Peter Ostwald, former director,
UCSF Medical Center Health Program for Performing Artists
“Eric Maisel speaks as the artist’s friend and ally. His book will serve as a
powerful encouragement for people who undertake the courageous and often
lonely adventure of finding, protecting, and nourishing their creative voice.”
— Stephen Nachmanovitch, author of
Free Play: The Power of Improvisation in Life and the Arts
Creativity
for Life
ALSO BY ERIC MAISEL
NONFICTION
Affirmations for Artists
Coaching the Artist Within
The Creativity Book
Deep Writing
Everyday You
Fearless Creating
Fearless Presenting
A Life in the Arts
Living the Writer’s Life
Performance Anxiety
Sleep Thinking
Staying Sane in the Arts
Ten Zen Seconds
Toxic Criticism
20 Communication Tips at Work
20 Communication Tips for Families
The Van Gogh Blues
Write Mind
A Writer’s Paris
A Writer’s San Francisco
FICTION
The Blackbirds of Mulhouse
The Black Narc
Dismay
The Fretful Dancer
The Kingston Papers
JOURNALS
Artists Speak
Writers and Artists on Devotion
Writers and Artists on Love
MEDITATION DECKS
Everyday Calm
Everyday Creative
Everyday Smart
E-BOOKS
Becoming a Creativity Coach
The Power of Sleep Thinking
Creativity
for Life
Practical Advice on the Artist’s Personality and Career
from America’s Foremost Creativity Coach
Eric Maisel, PhD
New World Library
Novato, California
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way
Novato, California 94949
Copyright © 2007 by Eric Maisel All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, or other
— without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a
review.
Parts of this work were originally published as A Life in the Arts (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1994).
Author photograph on page 347 by Tim Porter
Text design and typography by Tona Pearce Myers Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Maisel, Eric.
Creativity for life : practical advice on the artist’s personality and career from America’s foremost
creativity coach / Eric Maisel, PhD.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-57731-558-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Creative ability. 2. Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.) I. Title.
BF408.M2324 2007
153.3’5 — dc22
2006101775
First printing, April 2007
ISBN-10: 1-57731-558-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-57731-558-2
Printed in Canada on acid-free, partially recycled paper
New World Library is a proud member of the Green Press Initiative.
Distributed by Publishers Group West 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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