You know what trips me up most about creating things? There’s this weird contradiction that feels impossible to reconcile. On one side, everyone tells you to hustle, to show up every day, to grind. On the other, the best ideas seem to arrive like uninvited guests, completely on their own schedule. So which is it? Do we force creativity through sheer willpower, or do we just wait around hoping inspiration strikes?
Rick Rubin, the legendary music producer who’s worked with everyone from Johnny Cash to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, lives right in the middle of this contradiction. And weirdly enough, I think he’s figured something out that most of us miss entirely.
The Discipline Side of the Coin
When Rubin talks about work, he doesn’t sugarcoat it. “It’s purely a matter of discipline,” he says. “Commit to it and just do it.” This isn’t motivational fluff. Look at any creative field and you’ll see the same pattern: talented people who never make it because they can’t sustain the work. Talent matters, sure. But without the commitment to show up consistently, talent just sits there gathering dust.
You probably know this already. We’ve all started projects with excitement only to abandon them when the initial spark fades. The difference between people who create meaningful work and those who don’t often comes down to whether they keep showing up after the fun part ends.
The Surrender Side
But then Rubin says something that seems to contradict everything: “It doesn’t happen through intention. It happens more by accident while you’re planning something else.” He talks about being a vehicle for information, about having good antennas to pick up signals when they’re ready to come through.
Wait, what? So we’re supposed to work hard and wait for magic? That sounds like a recipe for either burnout or endless procrastination. Which voice do we listen to?
The Missing Piece
The breakthrough is realizing these aren’t opposing ideas at all. They’re describing different types of work. Most of us only recognize one kind: the external hustle. Sitting at the desk, putting words on the page, pushing through when it’s hard. That’s valid and necessary.
But there’s another kind of work we barely talk about. It’s the internal cultivation. The clearing of distractions. The tuning of your antenna so you can actually hear the signal when it arrives.
Meditation helps creatively because “it clears the distractions,” Rubin explains. Those distractions block your connection to the creative force. So yes, you need discipline. But you need to be disciplined about making space as much as making things.
What This Actually Looks Like
This isn’t about sitting cross-legged humming for hours (though if that’s your thing, go for it). It’s about paying attention to what lights you up. What takes your breath away? Maybe it’s a piece of music, maybe it’s something in nature, maybe it’s a random moment in your day. Rubin calls this feeling “awe,” and it’s what we’re reaching for when we create.
Understanding how you feel without second-guessing yourself is probably the most important skill you can develop as a creator. Not what your audience wants. Not what’s trending. Not what got likes last week. What you feel.
You’re an artist (yes, you, even if you don’t call yourself one) because you see the world differently than everyone else. Your job is to share that unique perspective, complete with all its imperfections and quirkiness. That’s what makes work great. The personal stuff. The weird stuff. The stuff that could only come from you.
Building Your Home on the Mountain
Rubin has this thought experiment: imagine building a home on a mountaintop where no one will ever visit. Would you still make it beautiful? Would you still curate every detail to your taste, the wood, the plates, the pillows?
That’s the essence of great art. Making your version of beautiful, not for applause or validation, but because that’s who you are. Every project becomes a devotional act, an offering of your most authentic self.
Your Move
Stop waiting for permission to make what you love. Stop second-guessing whether your taste is “right.” Your taste is the entire point. Be disciplined, yes, but be disciplined about protecting your internal life as fiercely as you protect your work time.
Clear the noise. Notice what moves you. Then show up consistently to channel it into the world. The magic isn’t in choosing between discipline and surrender. It’s in understanding they’re the same commitment wearing different faces.
What you make matters because it’s yours. So make your favorite things. Do what you love. And trust that when you’re truly present, both working hard and listening deep, what needs to come through you will find its way.
Now go build something beautiful that no one asked for. The world needs more of that.
If this post sparked a thought, shifted your mindset, or gave you something meaningful — don’t let it end here.
Buy me a coffee to power more of this work. Every cup helps me stay independent and keep delivering value.
Ready for next-level insights?
Upgrade your subscription and unlock exclusive content made just for committed readers like you.
