Books Mentioned in This Episode

Podcast: The Daily Stoic

Episode: Rick Rubin on The Creative Act, Overcoming Ego, and Enjoying the Process

Here’s a list of all the books mentioned in this episode, complete with an Amazon buy link and quotes from the episode.

Zen in the Art of Archery Cover

Zen in the Art of Archery

by Eugen Herrigel

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"You've read Zen and the Art of Archery, I'm sure, right? I don't know if I've ever read that; I know I've had the book, but I don't know if I've ever read it."
Zen in the Art of Archery Cover

Zen in the Art of Archery

by Eugen Herrigel

Buy on Amazon
"I don't know if I've ever read that; I know I've had the book, but I don't know if I've ever read it. It's a wonderful, fascinating book."
Gates of Fire Cover

Gates of Fire

by Steven Pressfield

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"What’s amazing about a book like Gates of Fire is that it's only 20 or 30 years old, but it feels like it's a thousand years old. When somebody does something I guess—even the War of Art—but when somebody does something that is both timely but also has no place in time, that’s something incredible about what art can do."
The War of Art Cover

The War of Art

by Steven Pressfield

Buy on Amazon
"When somebody does something I guess—even the War of Art—but when somebody does something that is both timely but also has no place in time, that’s something incredible about what art can do. Where it can be everywhere and nowhere current and timeless at the same time."
Plutarch's Lives, Volume 2 Cover

Plutarch's Lives, Volume 2

by Plutarch

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"Shakespeare is stealing from the writings of Plutarch, who existed roughly around the time of Marcus Aurelius. He quotes other fables and stuff, but you can tell that Shakespeare is stealing from ancient stories—just as like the Renaissance was powered by them falling back in love with the Greeks and the Romans."