Rick Rubin: Creativity accessible to all

Rick Rubin - Creativity as a discipline of presence

There are books on creativity that provide methods. And then there is Creativity: A Way of Life by Rick Rubin, which changes our perspective on what it means to create. A legendary producer (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, Kanye West), Rubin is anything but a guru. He speaks from experience, having spent fifty years listening, observing, and creating the conditions for emergence. At Real and Roots, this book is one of our essentials because it radically democratizes creativity: it is not a reserved talent, but a way of inhabiting the world.

Creativity accessible to all

Rick Rubin immediately dispels the romantic myth of the inspired artist. For him, creativity is not a mysterious gift bestowed upon a select few. It is a universal human ability, as natural as breathing. What changes everything is our relationship with it: let's stop searching for it far away, it is already there, in our attention to things.

This vision deeply resonates with our philosophy: authenticity is not spectacular, it is everyday. Cooking a meal, arranging a space, writing a few lines, choosing an object with care—all of this comes from the same creative impulse. Rubin reminds us that we are constantly creating, as long as we are present.

Listening as a foundation

What is fascinating about Rubin is his attitude: he never imposes himself. In the studio, he listens more than he talks. He creates space for something to emerge, rather than imposing his vision. This humility is an important lesson: creativity begins with listening and receiving.

Listen to the world. Listen to your intuition. Listen to what wants to emerge, without forcing it. In an age saturated with noise and demands, Rubin invites us to return to silence as fertile ground. This kind of listening is not passive: it is active, focused, and available. It is a discipline.

Create without trying to please

One of the most liberating lessons in the book: create for yourself, above all else. Rubin insists: if you create with the audience, validation, or success in mind, you lose your way. The work becomes calculated. It loses its truth.

To create authentically is to honor what resonates within oneself, even if it is unpopular, even if it does not immediately find an audience. It means accepting that you cannot control how your work will be received. This inner freedom to do what must be done, without compromise, echoes our conviction: true things always find their way.

This stance requires courage. But it is this courage that produces works that endure, that touch people, that resonate.

A spirituality of the creative act

Rick Rubin makes no secret of his influences: Zen Buddhism, Taoism, meditation. But he never turns them into a system. His spirituality is pragmatic, embodied in the creative act. Creating becomes a contemplative practice: being fully present, without judgment or expectation.

He talks about flow, letting go, trusting the process. Concepts that might seem abstract, but which he anchors in concrete experiences. For Rubin, spirituality is not separate from action. It is action itself, lived with presence.

This approach aligns with our quest: to find meaning not in grand statements, but in the quality of our attention to small things.

The process before the result

Rubin frees us from our obsession with results. What matters, he says, is not the finished work, but the relationship we have with the process. Loving to create for the sake of creating. Accepting imperfection. Starting over. Experimenting without knowing where we're going.

This philosophy is a powerful antidote to the culture of performance. It brings us back to the essentials: the journey is more important than the destination. And paradoxically, it is by letting go of the obsession with results that the best works emerge.

At Real and Roots, this vision informs our approach: we value craftsmanship, time, and maturation. We do not seek immediate efficiency, but rather accuracy.

Why Rick Rubin is one of our essentials

Because it makes creativity accessible.
Because it teaches us to listen before we speak.
Because it frees us from the gaze of others.
Because it reminds us that to create is to live life to the fullest.

Creativity: a way of life is not a technical manual. It is an invitation to change your attitude. To see life itself as a permanent creative act. To inhabit the world with greater presence, curiosity, and openness.

Rick Rubin is one of our essentials, not as a method to be applied, but as a voice that reminds us: you are already creative. You just have to listen.

To go further

• Creativity: A Way of Life (The Creative Act: A Way of Being) — 78 short chapters, accessible, inspiring. To be read slowly.
• Reading tip: Don't read this book in one sitting. Take one chapter at a time and let it sink in. This is a companion book, not a program book.