How Creativity Rules the World: The Art and Business of Turning Your Ideas into Gold

Written by Maria Brito

Narrated by Maria Brito

Axiom Business Book Award Winner in Entrepreneurship Category 

Read by the author.

Learn to make creativity work for your career.

Anyone, regardless of who you are or what you do, can cultivate the habits, actions, and attitudes that inspire creativity and innovation.

There has never been a more crucial time than now to develop your creativity and your ability to innovate. Coming up with original ideas of value is today’s most precious skill.

How Creativity Rules the World shows that, despite contrary beliefs, creativity can be taught and learned by anyone. Creativity is an inexhaustible resource that is the key to thriving in the business world and beyond. This timeless guide promises to make the creative process of successful seven-figure artists and billion-dollar entrepreneurs—as well as Maria’s own—accessible and actionable for you to take the power of their ideas to the next level.

In How Creativity Rules the World, you will learn how to:

• Overcome limiting thoughts and dispel myths about creativity.
• Unleash creativity through concrete data, historical passages, and examples of modern entrepreneurship.
• Develop timeless habits, principles, and tools that worked six centuries ago and continue to work today.
• Employ creativity in an everyday context to produce extraordinary results.

With revealing studies and stories spanning business and art, this book is a deep dive into history, culture, psychology, science, and entrepreneurship; analyzing the elements used by some of the most creative minds today and throughout the last 600 years.

Contemporary art curator and founder of The Groove, Maria Brito discovered the power of creativity when she transitioned from being an unhappy Harvard-trained corporate lawyer to a thriving entrepreneur and innovator in the art world. After applying the principles in How Creativity Rules the World to her own business, Maria started teaching them to hundreds of people, ranging from entrepreneurs to artists to CEOs. Proven by her students’ creative successes, Maria will guide you to strike gold with your ideas as well.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Leadership
• Release date: Mar 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781400235421

Maria Brito

Maria Brito is a New York-based contemporary art advisor, author, and curator. She is a Harvard Law School graduate, originally from Venezuela. Brito was selected by Complex Magazine as one of the 20 Power Players in the Art World and she was named by ARTNEWS as “one of the innovators who gets to shape the art world.” She has written for publications such as Entrepreneur, HuffPost, Elle, Artnet, Forbes, Cultured Magazine, Departures, Goop, and The Gulf Coast Journal of Literature and Fine Arts from the University of Houston, Texas. Maria has curated art exhibitions in three continents and also created and hosted The "C" Files with Maria Brito, a TV and streaming series for PBS's station ALL ARTS. For several years, Maria has taught variations of her creativity class in companies and also designed and launched Jumpstart, a comprehensive online program on creativity for artists, freelancers, managers and entrepreneurs based on years of practical work, research, and observation in both the worlds of business and art. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.

Reviews for How Creativity Rules the World

[debnance_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Creativity…art…can these things be analyzed and broken down into doable steps? Can creativity and art be harnessed to make money? This book answers yes to these questions and then explains the hows and whys. Author Maria Brito looks at creativity as a force to use to shape a business in a positive direction. She outlines the steps to do so. And she talks her readers into listening to her by sharing stories of her own successes and the successes of others in using creativity in the world.

[bookwallah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Delightfully fresh take on what creativity is and how to acquire it. Author leads us on a romp through art history but then ties it firmly back to the present. Each chapter comes with a short to do list of practical steps to practice the creative trait under review. Highly recommended for anyone in tech field that needs a new way to examine their current business problems.

[w.mdo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It took me a while to work through this book. As an educator I love the idea that anyone can be creative, and that it can be attained through certain practices. I enjoyed the forays into art history and the profiles of contemporary artists. I occasionally thought that the connections to business were a bit tenuous. Many seem extremely anecdotal. In general I enjoyed the book and may return to the Alchemy Lab portions in the future.

[ryan_goeckner · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure what I expected when I got my early reviewers copy of this book. I truly wanted to love it as I read a lot on creativity, writing, etc, but this one just didn't land for me. This may be a little harsh, but it felt like the RC Cola version of Artist's Way. I didn't feel inspired by many of the "Alchemy Lab" exercises, nor did I feel like the author gave enough context on many of the figures she mentioned to really get me that interested in any of them that I wasn't already familiar with.

[themagiciansgirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book wasn’t quite what I had expected but it was definitely an interesting and uplifting guide to the ways we can develop our creativity and use it to increase our personal and business potential. The author presents both modern and historic examples from an impressively wide range of ultra-creative personalities like my favorite painters Georgia O’Keeffee and Frida Kahlo to architects, street artists, sculptors and the creators of perfume, Play-Doh and athletic shoes. I found the examples surprising and enviable, especially when the stories included deep challenges that were successfully overcome.The Alchemy Lab sections at the end of each chapter are a great way to explore and expand on new ideas. I am a somewhat introverted artist and owner of a freelance visual design business so the questions in these sections were eye-opening and motivating. The only thing I felt was missing from the book were visual references. While I’m familiar with many of the artistic works and commercial products the author highlighted, I would have loved to see some color images -- even if they were just in the reference section at the back of the book.

[figre · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I do a lot of work around the concepts of creativity and business, so I am always interested in what people have to say on the subject. However, this also means that, when I am reading a new book on the subject, it can be hard for me to find something that I have not heard before. This book is a perfect example. Your appreciation of this book may well depend on whether you are a neophyte or an old explorer.All that being said, I think anyone can read this book and gain new insights.The book is well-written and interesting. It uses Ms. Brito’s experience in the art world as a springboard for understanding the impacts of habit on creativity, the tools of creativity, and how to move forward. (These are actually the three major sections of the book.)The structure of each section is interesting because Ms. Brito brings her experience with art and the art world to bear on each subject. In general, the approach is to talk about an artist and the application of the aspect under discussion, followed by an example from the business world, and then use Ms. Brito’s personal experiences in moving her career forward. Each section ends with practical exercises that can help the individual be more creative.No surprise, there is a heavy emphasis on art. Not necessarily a bad thing. And I have to admit that one of the things I got from this book was learning a lot more about the art that is out there, as well as how it came to be. The examples from the business world were interesting. In a few instances, it felt like the example was being stretched to fit the subject. However, it only felt intrusive a couple of times. And Ms. Brito’s experiences add a nice element of personal reality.The structure works (though, again, it seemed a bit art-heavy – though that is the author’s background and foundation for what is being said, so I try not to quibble about that too much) and there are very solid idea within the book.So, all that being said, let’s get back to recommendations regarding the book.If you are new to the idea of how creativity is universal in all things in the world, if you are new to the concepts of creativity and how they apply, even in the business world, then this is an excellent book that should open your eyes to the possibilities.On the other hand, if you are already relatively experienced in the area, then you may not find anything new. This was material I’ve seen in many other venues, albeit supported and structure in different ways. That beings said, while I don’t think an experienced reader will see anything new, I do believe there are new insights and ideas for any reader. (Looking back, I have more than 20 pages dog-eared.)In general, I think that means it is a book worth reading. And I will note that I think I need to go back again. There was a lot contained within the pages and I have a feeling I’ve missed something – that there is more to be mined.I’m going back a second time. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to go in once.

[keylawk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The author is an attorney who provides us with a primer on Creativity. How we access and activate our break-through potential. Her Introduction is a disclosure and it stages the book. In her experience, most creatives and entrepreneurs fail because no one notices them. This book seeks to fire up creativity so as to get noticed. In Brito's words, “the good news is that you possess a never-ending and always-renewable source you can use to…disrupt and shake, allow you to make noise and gain influence, get your practice noticed or your big idea materialized.” Use your creativity to think differently. Turn the mundane into extraordinary. Creativity is about fostering specific habits. This book offers timeless tools and strategies to use. By way of introduction, Brito reveals “I was once a miserable corporate attorney working at a big law firm in New York City.” viii. She then opened “an art advisory” which enables art investors. From there she branched out into development, hosting and content creation. She brings her years of experience to these lessons.Science shows that creative process “doesn’t differ much across domains and disciplines.” x Creativity can be taught and learned. Creativity is the number one quality surveyed CEOs look for in hiring and retaining. Most people are not living up to creative potential. She calls this a "Creativity gap."“You will need to be original, distinct, and sometimes even radically different than you were.” Brito draws from learnings, but the key to finding the core of the creative process was her “day-to-day observations of artists over the past thirteen years.” xi. “I have distilled what I learned from them so that you, too, can achieve your optimal flow of creative ideas. xii.Dive in with pen and paper. (Analog)Part I. Intersection of Creativity, Art, and Business. History explains why artists have been the original creators and innovators, dispelling “the myths and lies that we have been taught about creativity”, with scientific research. 1.Creativity and Crisis2.Creativity and Artists: Brief History3.Dispelling Myths about Creativity.Part II. Habits of the mind. About the qualities artists nurture in order to arrive at “aha” moments. Part III. Tools of the Trade. Practical methods used to form creative ideas in concrete way. Part IV. The Way Forward. Brito explains How to put this together and move forward with your ideas “to the point where you can easily spot opportunities, connect invisible dots, and invent the future at will.”

[jpsnow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book convinced me that what really determines creative genius isn’t natural ability nor having the right “spark,” but rather knowing how to cultivate the skill and then activating on the ideas. Brito has lived the example she espouses. She explains why we all have creative capacity and how to grow that capacity into a new talent. Along the way, the reader gains a mini-course in art history, plus other examples of successful creatives from other arts, science and business.

[carolynschroeder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those books I feel very fortunate to have crossed paths with. Like the author, I am also an early-retired attorney and am now about to finish an MFA in Painting. But, then what? Well this book gave a lot of fodder for thought on how to bring the many ideas I have out into the living, breathing world. I am SUPER critical of books espousing how to be more creative/productive/make money on creations, yet I find this one had very practical, usable advice. I cannot hear enough probably how creativity and empathy go hand in hand and much like is said many times, many ways, there has to be a greater good behind any real and lasting kind of success. On a side note, I truly enjoyed reading about Brito's family and history with making, re-inventing ones self and the seed of faith it takes to follow through in the face of a sea of naysayers. Highly recommended for anyone who makes stuff but especially for anyone stuck inside their head and their comfort zone.

[jugglingpaynes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How Creativity Rules the World by Maria Brito is a tool for helping stir your creativity and use it to improve your life. The book draws on the lives of artists, innovators, and the author's own life and business to show how everyone has the ability to become more creative. Each chapter ends with exercises to help locate and channel your creative energy.This is not a book that can be read through quickly. It holds your interest, but also asks you to stop and think about your own experiences and challenges you to open yourself up and observe the world with new eyes. I plan to spend more time with the book. I hope to use some of what I've learned in the art program I run for older adults and to help with my own creative burnout. I would recommend it to anyone who needs some inspiration or wants to figure out how to live a more creative life.