Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

As I began to read this book, I recalled a situation years ago in which a little girl (probably seven or eight years old) announced that her foot was asleep. What does it feel like? "It feels like ginger ale." I also recalled the response of a French romantic poet (probably Charles Baudelaire, although I am not certain) when asked how to write a poem. Long pause. "Draw a birdcage and leave the door open. Then wait and wait and wait. Eventually, if you are fortunate, a bird will fly in. Immediately erase the cage!" We cannot be creative and be innovative if we are unable to experience the world with the ignorance and innocence of a child. In this thought-provoking, for some an anger-provoking book, Hugh MacLeod identifies and discusses a total of 40 "keys to creativity." The first is to Ignore Everybody. Presumably that includes little girls with a foot asleep, poets such as Baudelaire, MacLeod, and others such as Seth Godin and I who highly recommend this book. Godin characterizes it as "A work of art, a brilliant insight, a book that will change your life." Well, it hasn't changed mine thus far (and may never) but the material provided has certainly encouraged me to question some of my favorite assumptions and premises. Also, no small achievement, it is among the few books that have caused me to laugh aloud while reading it. Moreover, I very much admire MacLeod's illustrations that clearly indicate an appreciation of other artists such as Joan Miro, Alexander Calder, Jules Pfeiffer, Saul Steinberg and Al Hirschfeld...an appreciation that I certainly share. I am not among those who are offended by MacLeod's frequent use of profanities. In my opinion, they are not gratuitous. On the contrary, as with material created by other humorists (notably Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Richard Pryor), they are used to help achieve aesthetic objectives as punctuation, adding seasoning, resonance, and emphasis to his key ideas. By the way, my choice of the word "humorous" is intentional. Almost all of the most serious commentators on human nature during the last several decades have been humorists. It was Joseph Schumpeter who popularized the concept of "creative destruction" in his book, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, first published in 1942. If I fully understand MacLeod's key ideas (and I may not), he is urging his reader to embark upon a process of self-directed creative destruction. The objective is not to "blow up" GE as Reginald Jones asked Jack Welch to do when he named Welch his successor as the company's CEO. The objective is not to "blow up" someone else's cherished beliefs but, rather, one's own. MacLeod seems to agree with Lily Tomlin that reality "is a collective hunch." He also seems to agree with Ernest Becker that no one can deny physical dearth but there is another form of death that one can deny: that which occurs when we become wholly preoccupied with others' expectations of us. He also seems to agree with Alan Watts's observat

As a corporate director of human resources, I am continually seeking books that present the attributes of leadership in new and profound ways. I found it in Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity. MacLeod has written a "business book" that is unlike most of the field. And my goodness what a blessing. A great many of the current managerial tomes are just a repeat of others with very few fresh, innovative ideas. In fact, most stick to the boiler plate recommendation of how to get ahead in this competitive world and sadly, most of them fail in their advice. This book is different. In 2008 I published a book which had a single chapter on this subject. MacLeod has greatly expanded on my writing and created - in my mind - a tour de force for the creative arena. How different the business and industrial world would look in 5 years if every newly minted supervisor was given a copy of this book and asked to implement the ideas and lessons each work day. Think about it. What impact would this have on our gross national product? Our desire ship work overseas? Applying MacLeod's 40 keys to creativity could unleash a virtual flood of increased productivity and new, improved products that we have never dreamed about. I hope you find this review helpful. Michael L. Gooch

This book contains some valuable universal truths presented in an interesting way. I would classify it at as a "Leadership Lite" book worthy of downloading to your Kindle or stashed in your briefcase to be read on an airplane. I love "fun to read" leadership books versus the "utilitarian", "old fogy" "Harvard Business Review" style and this book is fun to read. I still read the utilitarian books...I just suffer through them. What makes this book good is the stories to illustrate points are the author's own. Here are my top eight takeaways from Ignore Everybody. 1. The more original your idea is, the less good advice people will be able to give you. 2. Good ideas alter the power balance in relationships that is why good ideas are always initially resisted. 3. Your idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to be alone. The more the idea is yours alone, the more freedom you have to do something really amazing. 4. The price of being a sheep is boredom. The price of being a wolf is loneliness. Choose one or the other with great care. 5. Being good at anything is like figure skating - the definition of being good at it is being able to make it look easy. But it never is easy. Ever. That is what the stupidly wrong people conveniently forget. 6. Your job is probably worth 50 percent of what it was in real terms ten years ago. And who knows? It may very well not exist in five to ten years...Stop worrying about technology. Start worrying about people who trust you. 7. Part of being a master is learning to sing in nobody else's voice but your own...Put your whole self into it, and you will find your true voice. Hold back and you won't. Its that simple. 8. The biggest mistake young people make is underestimating how competitive the world is out there. I recommend this book with one reservation. The captions in the cartoons are racy to say the least and not suited for the corporate environment or youthful readers. If the racy cartoons were toned down or removed I would have immediately sent a copy of this book to all of my clients. If they were toned down or removed it wouldn't be Hugh MacLeod's style either. So my clients will have to buy this book themselves. Dr. James T. Brown PMP PE CSP Author, The Handbook of Program Management

Ignore Everybody is two things in one. First, it's a series of tips designed to turn creatives into artists. Second, it's a collection of Hugh's best cartoons. While some of the cartoons do support the text, I'm going to review the cartoons and the text separately because they really do stand on their own. ===THE BOOK=== What separates a writer from an author? A rower from an oarsman? A comedian from a humorist? Greatness in any field comes from taking a novel idea and pushing it to its logical conclusion, redefining the medium in the process. Hugh doesn't teach you how to come up with your big idea, nor is the book a collection of theories on what makes something innovative. Rather, Hugh's rules teach a mindset conducive to pushing great ideas to their logical conclusions. This book won't teach you how to paint, but if you're lucky you'll come away with the mental frame you need to avoid having the outside world crush your creativity. And if you really take its lessons to heart then hopefully, in the words of Steve Jobs, you'll ship. Over the years I've sent the blog post that inspired this book to countless friends, and now that I've read the book itself I can't recommend it enough. I'd consider it a must-read for any creative who aspires to be an artist, not just some guy who lives in a loft and calls himself a writer. But even if you don't aspire to become an artist, the book still has much to offer. In Hugh's own words, "This book is about becoming more 'creative' in one's work, whoever you may be. Or just useful advice for any one who aspires to undertake some creative or artistic journey." ===THE CARTOONS=== While reading Ignore Everybody, one gets the sense that Hugh MacLeod would be far happier if only he were a little less intelligent. The existentially depressed cynic to Woody Allen's bumbling neurotic, the Hugh MacLeod character is sort of a cross between Dostoevsky and George Carlin.[1] That is, the cartoons are really a collection of observations about people, their motivations, and the shallowness and meaninglessness of the human condition. So, is Hugh truly an artist, someone who has pushed the medium forward? Yes. Two reasons: 1) Hugh is the only cartoonist that's figured out a way to draw his characters in a way that really lets you see into their souls. Hugh manages to nail the platonic ideals of the ditzy blonde, the pretending-to-be-an-artist-to-pick-up-girls guy, the too-full-of-himself corporate a**hole, etc. Considering that his cartoons are really only simple line drawings, it's amazing how well he's able to convey the characters' posture, dress, facial expression, body language, etc. You can tell exactly what the character is like as an entire person just by looking at them, even if you cover up the text. Open up the Sunday comics and it quickly becomes clear that no other cartoonist can do this. 2) Hugh's second trademark is being able to write the one sentence that sums up the character's entire existence.

Creativity is not a genetic trait, nor is it reserved for professionals. Everyone is creative sooner or later, but unfortunately, most people have it drilled out of them when they're kids. This little book undrills it. Hugh harangues and encourages and pushes and won't sit still until you, like him, are unwilling to settle. Go ahead. You deserve it. And we need your contributions. We can't wait!