Stop Trying to Be Michelangelo

What's inspiring us now: creative books, vintage music, and overcoming the lies that kill our art.

Three Key Takeaways

Stop reading books that feel like work. Cooper's current approach to books: ditch the business/self-help books that feel like trudging through mud. Use AI for 2-page summaries and focus your reading time on stories, characters, and creative narratives that actually spark ideas.

Your creative calling might not look like what you expected. Sometimes you're not meant to be Michelangelo with the blank marble—you might be the person who comes in at year two to help perfect the masterpiece. Finding your true creative role can be more fulfilling than chasing someone else's definition of success.

The lies we tell ourselves are often half-truths. "You should probably quit. You're not talented enough. No one's listening." Instead of dismissing these thoughts entirely, learn to work with the parts that might be true while rejecting the destructive conclusions.

Something Unexpected

Discover how going back to 60s and 70s music (with actual fret buzz left in the recordings!) can revolutionize your creative output, and why Cooper is writing his first TV pilot for an actor he hasn't spoken to in decades.

Listen to the full episode for:

* Book recommendations that will change how you think about creativity (including two fiction novels that will make you cry and see art differently)

* The collaboration vs. solo creation debate and why even introverts need creative partners

* Lauren's mysterious passion project that's been 4 years in the making (and you'll be able to visit it!)

* Cooper's brilliant strategy for getting past creative imposter syndrome

* Why your dad listening to your song every morning might be the only success metric that matters

Resources Mentioned

Books:

* My Friends by Friedrich Bachmann

* Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

* The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson

* Platforms to Pillars by Mark Sayers

* The Second Mountain by David Brooks

Substack Post

* “You Should Probably Quit” by Craig Cunningham

Quote of the Episode: "I simply help people sit still long enough to see what is already there."

-Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

Chapters

* 00:00 What's inspiring us lately

* 03:10 Cooper's reading revolution

* 16:41 Collaboration vs. radical individualism

* 25:42 Creativity in crisis situations

* 30:51 The power of community in creative work

* 40:53 The lies we tell ourselves about our work

* 53:30 Current projects we're working on

Make It. Share It. is the podcast where creativity meets courage. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and join our community of creators who are brave enough to make something and generous enough to share it.