Inspiration in a Book

There are many ways for one to find inspiration. One of my personal favorite ways is to find it in a book.  Back in April I wrote about an awesome site called Brain Pickings, within this site, you will find amazing books, companies, and sites that will well… pick ya brain on various topics. In a more recent post, I came across an awesome book called “Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind.”  This is a book that contains a mecca of essays from various creative doers and thinkers that speak about creativity. My favorite part about the book is the additional quotes added (if you cannot already tell I am a lover of quotes.)  The book was edited by Behance’s 99U (another great creative website) Editor-in-chief, Jocelyn Glei. 

There were many quotes referenced from the book within the Brain Pickings article. However, the one that stuck out to me the most was the one by philosopher, Aristotle, “We are what we do. Excellence is then not an act but a habit.”  Ritual, routine, these are things we all do daily, so much so that most of the time we don’t stop and pause to think about why we are doing them. Take a moment to reflect why you do what you do, in your normal routine. 

I may have mentioned this before in prior post, but it bears repeating. Why do I believe that it is important to incorporate a creative hour into one’s day? I believe that through creativity, one can become a better person. Furthermore, by being a better person our interactions with others can/or will inspire something positive which can then create a more optimistic society.  Be a creature of creative habit.  Here is my impromptu idea for the week: Check out “Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind,” at your friendly neighborhood library (yes those still exist ;0). It’s a wonderful read that you will fully enjoy.  After your done reading it, pick out your favorite quote from the book and create something inspired by it.

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
- Thomas A. Edison