Three Unexpected Books to Boost Creativity

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. If you click on the link and make a purchase, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

There is a reason I've been missing for a while. I felt like my creativity left me. I was creating for all the wrong reasons. I started to dread walking into my studio. I wasn't painting what I loved. I was painting what I thought I should paint, and that's no way to live as an artist.

When I was dealing with creative burnout, I didn't just sit around and wait for my mojo to come back. I found other ways to be creative. I read a hundred books last year. Reading is a great way to get into a creative mindset. That is exactly what happened, but not in a way I thought. It inspired me to write a novel. I've never had the desire to write a novel. I didn't even know how. I figured it out, though. I read books and blog posts on it, and I even took a few courses. I decided this needed to be just for fun. No pressure. I'm not trying to create a bestseller or even publish it at all. I just wanted to create. And since the studio wasn't calling me, it was a great outlet. To be honest, I didn't finish it, but that wasn't the point. As soon as the studio started calling again, I dropped the novel.

There are plenty of lists of personal growth books for artists. These aren't the typical books for creative inspiration. I didn't even expect to overcome my creative block, but I attributte three books for how I got back into art.

"Dark Horse" by Todd Rose and Ogi Ogas

If you have ever thought that the "normal" career path isn't for you, definitely read this book. I think a lot of neurodivergent people would get a lot out of this. We aren't all meant to sit behind a desk for eight hours a day. This book shows you there is another way. This book cracked the door open just a little bit. I started to miss the studio, but I still wasn't ready.

"Limitless" by Jim Kwik

Ever since I started homeschooling my son, I have had a deep desire to learn as much as possible. Learning to do that faster was appealing to me and was why I picked up the book. To be honest, I'm still working through this one. It has activities to do to practice what he teaches. For that reason, I'm taking it slow and doing each one before I move on. There is great information about the brain and mindset. I even discovered some limiting beliefs in my creative mindset from this book. I'm excited to see what else I get from this book.

"Building a Second Brain" by Tiago Forte

This is the one that opened everything for me. I like to take notes and collect information from what I read. I have wanted to create a zettelkasten, which is also called a second brain. I thought this book was a how to create a zettelkasten. He never mentions that word, but what he teaches is very similar. I'm using the system now, and I'm loving it. Because his dad was an artist, he talks about how creatives can use this system which was a pleasant surprise. As I was building my own second brain, ideas started flooding in. Now the door was blown open, and I was finally ready to step back into the studio. All of my ideas are neatly stored in my second brain. It sounds dramatic, but this is the book that changed my life.

Getting back into the studio didn’t happen by forcing it. It happened by following curiosity, learning in a different way, and giving myself space to create without pressure. I allowed books to boost creativity. And now that I’m back, the work feels different, more honest, more intentional, and more connected to who I am and who I’m becoming.

If you’re on a similar path, I think you’ll see yourself in what I’m creating.