The Creative Curve

By: Allen Gannett

This is a book worth reading several times. Especially after putting the knowledge INTO ACTION, so that you can review, reflect, and keep getting better at creating value for others through your creations.

Are you a CREATOR looking to improve your chances of creating something valuable? If that is the case, you MUST read this book.

A lot has been said about creativity, and there are other books out there that I would also recommend if you want to reach “success” (however you define it) through your creative endeavors, but I’ve never found any other book that explains where you should put your energy and focus (as a creator) in a better way than Allen Gannett’s “The Creative Curve”.

Also, as soon as you finish reading the book (or somewhere in the middle), you can realize that the book is actually the result of the creative process that is being described in it. Which confirms the value that can be created by following it.

The stories in this book are amazing. Some of these are completely new to me, which makes the reading experience even better. As an avid reader of non-fiction/business books, I sometimes find the same stories or research studies shared over and over again. Allen finds the perfect balance between the familiar and the novel within the stories and research he shares.

Some of My Highlights:

  • “Recent reviews have not found any scientifically verified evidence that would limit motivated healthy adults, with appropriate instruction and training, from acquiring exceptional levels of performance for specific types of memory tasks.”

  • “According to Shaffer, ‘We totally underestimate how much we can modify our brains for improved chemistry, architecture, and performance.”

  • “Timing is essential to getting your work, and you, labeled creative.”

  • “It seems that humans have evolved to fear the unknown because it signals potential harm.”

  • “One of your brain’s core competencies is its ability to filter the world around us for things that are important. Things that matter. In neuroscience, important is defined as something that’s either potentially harmful or potentially helpful.”

  • “It seems that humans have evolved to fear the unknown because it signals potential harm.”

  • “A country’s material wealth, and the economic confidence of its natives, is an unspoken enabler of creativity.”