Wired to Create

Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind

By: Carolyn Gregoire, Scott Barry Barry Kaufman

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

Based on the authors' wildly popular Huffington Post article "18 Things That Creative People Do Differently" (which generated five million views and 500,000 Facebook shares in one week), this well-researched and engaging audiobook uncovers what we know about creativity, and what anyone can do to enhance this essential aspect of their lives and work.

Filled with insights from the lives of well-known artists and visionaries, along with scientific findings and practical advice, this smart, lively and inspiring audiobook reveals these creativity-sparking habits:

Daydreaming

Taking Time for Solitude

Seeking out New Experiences

Nurturing Emotional Sensitivity

Turning Challenges into Opportunities for Growth

Making Time for Play

Following Passions

Practicing Mindfulness

Listening to Intuition

Challenging the Status Quo

Achieving Mastery

What Quiet did for introverts Wired to Create will do for creative individuals, along with anyone who aspires to be one - that is, it will help them see themselves in a positive light and enhance their strengths, even though they are not always the most conventional ones.

©2015 Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Gregoire (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Recorded by arrangement with Perigree, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

Simply inspiring

I wasn't going to purchase this because of some of the bad reviews. Thankfully I have an understanding that most people are stupid. I purchased it using the 2 for 1 credit sale last week, and a few days later, purchased a hard copy as well. If you're looking to learn about the inner machinations of the creative mind... and not just artistic, but philosophical, mathematical etc mind, this is a great book for you.

It made me get off my ass and start drawing again.

About to listen to it for a second time.

Exactly what I was looking for!

Trying to become more of an artist I found my self spending a lot of time online reading on the subject of creativity. Then I stumbled upon this book and went into depth into 10 different traits or things creative people do. First book I've listened to on this subject but I thought it was great. It gives examples of artists such as The Beatles, Steve Jobs, Edgar Alan Poe, Alan Watts, Leonardo Davinci and a whole others.

Solitude, Showers and Awe, Oh My!

While a tad disappointed, I didn't hate this book as one other reviewer did. Rather, I found it to be more about the mechanism(s) involved in creativity, not about creating as a whole. Therefore, yes, it wasn't very inspiring. It was, however, interesting, and I did get a few tidbits out of it.
We all know that solitude is necessary for the creative mind at work, but did you know that focusing on a sticky problem in the shower facilitates innovation in ideas? Yup, gonna try that one.
A healthy attitude towards awe, and trying to find the awesome in the everyday is important, but sometimes we forget that. Well... don't because it's necessary; it's something that must be closely observed, dissected. Find out what makes you inspired because of it and tuck it away so that you can apply it to your own work.
Find a balance between mindfulness, living and focusing only on the moment, and complete and unfettered daydreaming. Both are fundamental to being creative and innovative.
Okay, this all sounds a bit pedantic, but actually it was decent listening, though I must say Nick Podehl, usually a great narrator, just plows through the material with the voice of a salesman. If you don't mind that, really, there's a lot of good stuff in here, just don't expect to listen to it and feel vim and vigor, a gee-just-wanna-go-out-create-now feeling; "Wired to Create" is no "Big Magic." Like I said it's more about the science and studies.
BUT, that said, here's a good one: Next time you find yourself stuck, trying to come up with a creative solution, are ready to bang your head against the wall because absolutely nothing new is coming to mind? Try thinking things through whilst standing on the furniture as doing something different from your norm automatically rewires your brain for a time, opening up the door for new possibilities to shine through.
...I tried it... It worked...

Permission To Dream; Then Do

A brilliant recitation on current science of art and the art underlying science.
Don't let yourself get turned off by the academic tone. [I suspect the authors chose to err on the side of credibility at the expense of color. Prudent choice, if not always provocative.] Take it slow, find time to parse out the personal and societal implications, and this work is full of actionable gems. Creatives will find validation here. Those who don't yet think of themselves as innovators can learn how to draw contrarian thinking out of themselves through these explorations. Narrator Nick Podehl is excellent; clean, crisp, quick and clear, but entirely miscast for this work to my ear. Just personal preference, but I could have heard a warmer, slower, more emotionally inflected read - to balance the glaring incisiveness of the text, rather than amplifying it. I came for a bath, but got a lecture. Still, a milestone offering worthy of frequent re-listening to targeted passages.

WIRED TO CREATE

The book “Wired to Create” is an internet sensation. It began as an article in the Huffington Post; written by Carolyn Gregorie. Based on the article, she co-writes a book with psychologist Scott Kaufman. The book is promoted as a loss leader (no charge) to attract customers to Google e-books and other internet savvy vendors. The book’s popularity is in the argument that intelligence is only one characteristic of a creative mind. With IQ as only one characteristic of creativity, the field of human subjects who fit the definition of creative is broadened.

There seems little revelation in their suggestion that creativity comes from intense interest, average or higher IQs, hard work, and persistence in the face of rejection. Talk of left brain, right brain activity, and frontal lobe brain waves are unconvincing physiological origins of creativity. Play theory seems passé in the face of competing theories of learning that suggest human brain interaction with environment is too complex to measure; i.e. the way the brain works when stimulated by the environment remains a mystery. Mysteries of the creative mind remain undiscovered.

Seems to lack insightfulness first, but picks up

It's a good, light read for anyone not entrenched in the scientific minutiae of this sort of psychology. References are adequately cited, but not bludgeoned to death.

Some concepts seem to be naively pushed onto the reader at first, only to later get explained away or clarified. It happens a few times throughout. This is a horrible writing style for anything purporting to be scientific, but it doesn't happen frequently enough to cause one to discount the value of the book.

The book is full of useful and non-trivial explanations for why we do what we do. I found it educational, inspiring, and motivating, but not ground breaking or profoundly insightful.

Well written. Helpful.

Find it helpful and affirming. Lots to think about others and myself... lives stories where creativity has saved us.

Narration Ruined This Book For Me

The narrator's less than dynamic style ruined what would have been an otherwise excellent book for me. Unfortunate.

As a fellow creative, I loved it.

I listened to this book while animating and dreaming about my goals. loved it.

Absolutely phenomenal

This book made me think in all of the best ways and I’ve already recommended it to so many people. The narrator was well spoken and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him.