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The Unstoppable Creative: Creative People Are Meant To Change The World
Have you ever been stuck?
Creative freedom could be simple...
It really is possible to become unstoppable.
You can conquer the blank page.
You can let your talents shine.
You can (really) make money with your gifts.
Our culture paints creative people as flaky and confused.
Don’t listen to their lies. You are more than a character.
Inside this book, you’ll
How to make a name for yourself How to start selling your work How to win the corporate world (and why you absolutely should) You’ll love this book because every creative person needs a little help getting out of their rut.
Get it now.
Creative freedom could be simple...
It really is possible to become unstoppable.
You can conquer the blank page.
You can let your talents shine.
You can (really) make money with your gifts.
Our culture paints creative people as flaky and confused.
Don’t listen to their lies. You are more than a character.
Inside this book, you’ll
How to make a name for yourself How to start selling your work How to win the corporate world (and why you absolutely should) You’ll love this book because every creative person needs a little help getting out of their rut.
Get it now.
- GenresNonfiction
Audible Audio
First published November 1, 2017
16 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 6, 2021
Nothing that Todd Brison says is new or earth shatteringly revelatory BUT he does succinctly write about creativity and pursuing creative goals with clarity and humor which I appreciate. Even though nothing was totally new from this, it's still nice to get a refresher from a slightly different perspective.
March 27, 2025
First 5 star book of 2025, lots to unpack in this one. Deserves a second note taking focused listen, very much a good directional listing of ideas to help find a better path.
February 23, 2018
This did not necessarily happen because he is lazy or unfocused. To be honest, he is neither. It happened because he did not build his particular environment to accomplish his dream. He did not carve out time in the day to write. He never removed the outline for the story from his mind. He never set deadlines. He did not find a way to stay accountable for his writing. <
One thing machines cannot do (yet) is generate ideas. This means creative people hold the keys to the future.
You know the saying: “time is money?”
That won’t be true in a few years. Most of the time-based tasks we find annoying will be automated. Soon the phrase will be: “ideas are money.”
Often lots of it. These three things – creating an environment to execute your ideas, finding and solving problems, and selling your art – will be your compass in the new world. Together, they will point you toward your true north.
That theme is: indecision.
I’m willing to bet you have someone in your life who is the “ideas person.” They’re going to write a novel. Then, they’re going to start a business. Then, they’re going to get into the music industry. Then, they’re selling beauty products. The one problem? They never stick with any of those things. Your ideal creative environment starts from within, not without. If you train your mind to commit, you will move forward at a shocking pace. When you walk with indecision, you will find yourself unable to reach even the simplest goals. The reason many people “waste” their lives is because they do NOT use their experiences. Instead, they jump from idea to idea, from career to career, from job to job on a whim, hoping their success will lie at the end of an imaginary rainbow. Although the dots are there, they never connect them.
Then, Tony Robbins proclamation in his Netflix documentary I Am Not Your Guru. “I would say to myself every morning:
I am unstoppable.
I am unstoppable.
I am unstoppable.”
But remember, analysis of statistics is a left-brain function. It is logical and measured, which means it is the exact opposite of what you want to include in your maker’s schedule.
Repeat this out loud if you need to: Fewer statistics. More art.
Try this tactic right now — Make a list of three things you don’t like to do. Then, make a list of three things you LOVE to do. For the rest of your life, look for people whose list is opposite yours and become their best friend.
Humans are not made to mimic each other. We are made to complement each other.
Let me ask you this question: when was the last time you followed an opportunity to fulfillment. That is, you continued on a single path until you reached the level of success those who are experts reach? If you are a filmmaker, “to fulfillment” might mean you earned the ability to make movies like Casey
Neistat or Martin Scorsese. If you are an accountant, “to fulfillment” might mean you know every nook and cranny of your craft.
But the truth is, without an all-in mindset, it is impossible to reach the height your role models have been able to achieve. You will never be able to climb that high.
So today – this day, right now – I need you to stop holding back. I need you to stop reserving energy or ideas “just in case.”
You can do everything you want. So long as you are willing to go all in.
Your best chance at living as an unstoppable creative long term is to build a sustainable life of creating new things. The key word in that sentence is not “creating.” It is “sustainable.” After all, were you to suddenly have all the time in the world for making art, what on Earth would you do? What can I see and do easily which other people cannot? Is this something I can see and do easily which other people cannot?
Throughout every industry, in every role, in every business, through every pay grade, the person who is most invaluable is the person who can do one particular thing. This person, regardless of the circumstances, is almost always likeable and useful.
This person is the problem solver. 1. Believe you can solve any problem 2. Develop a growth mindset
Growth mindset, put crudely, is the understanding you should never be the same human you were yesterday. When you embrace a mindset of growth, you understand that if you don’t know something – you can learn it. Whether that thing be rocket science or painting, a growth mindset opens up all possibility.
Use this magic word – “yet.”
I don’t understand how to sell things – yet.
I don’t write very well – yet.
I don’t have a big following – yet.
I haven’t figured out how to get paid what I’m worth – yet.
When you embrace the power of “yet,” you are able to learn, do, be, and solve anything you want.
3. Always come up with more than one idea
4. Use what others are doing Instead of pressuring yourself to sculpt every solution from scratch, observe and replicate that which is already working, and then add your own personal flair. 5. Iterate and repeat (as opposed to trying once and giving up) "In order for a start up to survive, they must iterate and tweak as quickly as possible. The cycles move so quickly. They have to figure out what is working immediately and then go all in on that.”
6. Ask questions constantly
Every time I say “what’s that?” I learn more.
Every time I say “oh of course” I learn nothing.
7. Keep asking "why" Your creativity likely comes from a burning curiosity to understand the world and things in it. When you tap into that curiosity and ask “why” about yourself, your emotions, your religion, your genetics, your environment, your family – art emerges. However, when you ask those questions in a business, solutions emerge. At your job, you would do one thing, and ONLY one thing. Do it better or faster and you were rewarded. This can make you a master. It can also give you tunnel vision. “If you could change anything around here, what would you change?” At this point in human existence, it’s often difficult to sort through the highlight reel on social media and figure out what people are really going through. By accessing and displaying the negative in your life as well as the positive, you will be able to be completely vulnerable. The dark side of life may be the lens through which you to reach other people like nobody else. We want nothing more than you – all of you. We want to know your struggles and accomplishments, your successes and your failures. The difference between the artist who is remembered and the one who is forgotten lies in their degree of transparency. Leave yourself at the altar of your Muse, prostrate and open. After I post something — a blog post, a Quora answer, a Facebook status, I immediately step completely away from it. No replies to comments, no checking the numbers, no anything related to the post for 24 hours. Challenge can motivate you to stay. Growth can motivate you to stay. People can motivate you to stay. All of these reasons can be found within a job.
But will the job itself motivate you? No chance. Not now. Not ever. eople who combine skills with ideas have the opportunity to be paid for the rest of their lives when the project is well executed. What if you could combine skills with ideas to create not only income, but an income stream – one which continues to give long after you completed it? By creating and selling your art, you have a much greater opportunity for success – both in vocation and finance.
Would you like to know an excellent way to break the curse of knowledge and get feedback on what you can do differently and better?
Sell it.
What is there to lose? If you have never sold a piece of art, this will feel like a high risk, high reward type move. But you aren’t risking anything. You already have $0 from your art.
Life change always requires patience. There is no true success without work, no flight without a cocoon, no summit without the climb. These little moments, the little wins, are the key elements to leveraging The Law of Early Diffusion. The patience to serve a few is often rewarded with a few more to serve, and then a few more, and so on. From this moment on, please promise me something. If you want to be something, just be it. Do you want to be a writer? Cool. All a writer does is write. If you can do that, you’re a writer.
To improve quality every day: Do something to the best of your ability.Then do a little bit more Those are the only two steps.
Are you an average writer? Write as much as you can. Then add 100 words.
Average painter? Paint as well as you can. Then start a new canvas.
Average intelligence? Read as much as you feel like reading. Then turn the page. Average musician? Practice as much as you can. Then do 10 more minutes worth. Still feel average?
Repeat this process. Then do it again.
Then do it forever. Creation is an intimate, personal experience full of mystery. Selling is an objective, logical process which I can sum up in 12 words: Put stuff people want in front of the people who want them. It might be helpful to think about it this way: Any money given to you is simply a donation. These are the people who care about who you are and what you do the most. Your art resonates with them on a deep level.
For now, let’s start with the best way to build rapport with your potential customers:
Be real. That’s it. When you are real about your results, you earn unspeakable trust.Be real about your actions. When we are a part of the dirty details, we will respect you that much more.
Art is always more than art.
It is dreams and hopes. It is pain and triumph. It is the very essence of the human race splattered on canvas. Your work must tell a story – why are you creating the things you are creating. Tell us how you were inspired and where you want this art to go. Tell us the dreams you have for the art. “Without vision, people perish.”
A focus on legacy is required to reach great heights – probably more now than ever before. It is not optional.
Be real about your legacy. Without it, what separates you from just another artist trying to cash in on his talent? The goal of your career should still be making the best art you can possibly make. What is my art?
You will not succeed until you start.
You will not start until you plan.
You will not plan until you dream.
You will not dream until you believe. I beg you: believe in yourself. Without belief, no dream is worth planning, no plan is worth starting, no start will succeed.
One thing machines cannot do (yet) is generate ideas. This means creative people hold the keys to the future.
You know the saying: “time is money?”
That won’t be true in a few years. Most of the time-based tasks we find annoying will be automated. Soon the phrase will be: “ideas are money.”
Often lots of it. These three things – creating an environment to execute your ideas, finding and solving problems, and selling your art – will be your compass in the new world. Together, they will point you toward your true north.
That theme is: indecision.
I’m willing to bet you have someone in your life who is the “ideas person.” They’re going to write a novel. Then, they’re going to start a business. Then, they’re going to get into the music industry. Then, they’re selling beauty products. The one problem? They never stick with any of those things. Your ideal creative environment starts from within, not without. If you train your mind to commit, you will move forward at a shocking pace. When you walk with indecision, you will find yourself unable to reach even the simplest goals. The reason many people “waste” their lives is because they do NOT use their experiences. Instead, they jump from idea to idea, from career to career, from job to job on a whim, hoping their success will lie at the end of an imaginary rainbow. Although the dots are there, they never connect them.
Then, Tony Robbins proclamation in his Netflix documentary I Am Not Your Guru. “I would say to myself every morning:
I am unstoppable.
I am unstoppable.
I am unstoppable.”
But remember, analysis of statistics is a left-brain function. It is logical and measured, which means it is the exact opposite of what you want to include in your maker’s schedule.
Repeat this out loud if you need to: Fewer statistics. More art.
Try this tactic right now — Make a list of three things you don’t like to do. Then, make a list of three things you LOVE to do. For the rest of your life, look for people whose list is opposite yours and become their best friend.
Humans are not made to mimic each other. We are made to complement each other.
Let me ask you this question: when was the last time you followed an opportunity to fulfillment. That is, you continued on a single path until you reached the level of success those who are experts reach? If you are a filmmaker, “to fulfillment” might mean you earned the ability to make movies like Casey
Neistat or Martin Scorsese. If you are an accountant, “to fulfillment” might mean you know every nook and cranny of your craft.
But the truth is, without an all-in mindset, it is impossible to reach the height your role models have been able to achieve. You will never be able to climb that high.
So today – this day, right now – I need you to stop holding back. I need you to stop reserving energy or ideas “just in case.”
You can do everything you want. So long as you are willing to go all in.
Your best chance at living as an unstoppable creative long term is to build a sustainable life of creating new things. The key word in that sentence is not “creating.” It is “sustainable.” After all, were you to suddenly have all the time in the world for making art, what on Earth would you do? What can I see and do easily which other people cannot? Is this something I can see and do easily which other people cannot?
Throughout every industry, in every role, in every business, through every pay grade, the person who is most invaluable is the person who can do one particular thing. This person, regardless of the circumstances, is almost always likeable and useful.
This person is the problem solver. 1. Believe you can solve any problem 2. Develop a growth mindset
Growth mindset, put crudely, is the understanding you should never be the same human you were yesterday. When you embrace a mindset of growth, you understand that if you don’t know something – you can learn it. Whether that thing be rocket science or painting, a growth mindset opens up all possibility.
Use this magic word – “yet.”
I don’t understand how to sell things – yet.
I don’t write very well – yet.
I don’t have a big following – yet.
I haven’t figured out how to get paid what I’m worth – yet.
When you embrace the power of “yet,” you are able to learn, do, be, and solve anything you want.
3. Always come up with more than one idea
4. Use what others are doing Instead of pressuring yourself to sculpt every solution from scratch, observe and replicate that which is already working, and then add your own personal flair. 5. Iterate and repeat (as opposed to trying once and giving up) "In order for a start up to survive, they must iterate and tweak as quickly as possible. The cycles move so quickly. They have to figure out what is working immediately and then go all in on that.”
6. Ask questions constantly
Every time I say “what’s that?” I learn more.
Every time I say “oh of course” I learn nothing.
7. Keep asking "why" Your creativity likely comes from a burning curiosity to understand the world and things in it. When you tap into that curiosity and ask “why” about yourself, your emotions, your religion, your genetics, your environment, your family – art emerges. However, when you ask those questions in a business, solutions emerge. At your job, you would do one thing, and ONLY one thing. Do it better or faster and you were rewarded. This can make you a master. It can also give you tunnel vision. “If you could change anything around here, what would you change?” At this point in human existence, it’s often difficult to sort through the highlight reel on social media and figure out what people are really going through. By accessing and displaying the negative in your life as well as the positive, you will be able to be completely vulnerable. The dark side of life may be the lens through which you to reach other people like nobody else. We want nothing more than you – all of you. We want to know your struggles and accomplishments, your successes and your failures. The difference between the artist who is remembered and the one who is forgotten lies in their degree of transparency. Leave yourself at the altar of your Muse, prostrate and open. After I post something — a blog post, a Quora answer, a Facebook status, I immediately step completely away from it. No replies to comments, no checking the numbers, no anything related to the post for 24 hours. Challenge can motivate you to stay. Growth can motivate you to stay. People can motivate you to stay. All of these reasons can be found within a job.
But will the job itself motivate you? No chance. Not now. Not ever. eople who combine skills with ideas have the opportunity to be paid for the rest of their lives when the project is well executed. What if you could combine skills with ideas to create not only income, but an income stream – one which continues to give long after you completed it? By creating and selling your art, you have a much greater opportunity for success – both in vocation and finance.
Would you like to know an excellent way to break the curse of knowledge and get feedback on what you can do differently and better?
Sell it.
What is there to lose? If you have never sold a piece of art, this will feel like a high risk, high reward type move. But you aren’t risking anything. You already have $0 from your art.
Life change always requires patience. There is no true success without work, no flight without a cocoon, no summit without the climb. These little moments, the little wins, are the key elements to leveraging The Law of Early Diffusion. The patience to serve a few is often rewarded with a few more to serve, and then a few more, and so on. From this moment on, please promise me something. If you want to be something, just be it. Do you want to be a writer? Cool. All a writer does is write. If you can do that, you’re a writer.
To improve quality every day: Do something to the best of your ability.Then do a little bit more Those are the only two steps.
Are you an average writer? Write as much as you can. Then add 100 words.
Average painter? Paint as well as you can. Then start a new canvas.
Average intelligence? Read as much as you feel like reading. Then turn the page. Average musician? Practice as much as you can. Then do 10 more minutes worth. Still feel average?
Repeat this process. Then do it again.
Then do it forever. Creation is an intimate, personal experience full of mystery. Selling is an objective, logical process which I can sum up in 12 words: Put stuff people want in front of the people who want them. It might be helpful to think about it this way: Any money given to you is simply a donation. These are the people who care about who you are and what you do the most. Your art resonates with them on a deep level.
For now, let’s start with the best way to build rapport with your potential customers:
Be real. That’s it. When you are real about your results, you earn unspeakable trust.Be real about your actions. When we are a part of the dirty details, we will respect you that much more.
Art is always more than art.
It is dreams and hopes. It is pain and triumph. It is the very essence of the human race splattered on canvas. Your work must tell a story – why are you creating the things you are creating. Tell us how you were inspired and where you want this art to go. Tell us the dreams you have for the art. “Without vision, people perish.”
A focus on legacy is required to reach great heights – probably more now than ever before. It is not optional.
Be real about your legacy. Without it, what separates you from just another artist trying to cash in on his talent? The goal of your career should still be making the best art you can possibly make. What is my art?
You will not succeed until you start.
You will not start until you plan.
You will not plan until you dream.
You will not dream until you believe. I beg you: believe in yourself. Without belief, no dream is worth planning, no plan is worth starting, no start will succeed.
November 13, 2020
For my entire life, I've loved creating. Whether it's writing, making videos on my YouTube channel, or some other form of creativity, I just have things in my brain that I need to get out to the world. That's why I'm so glad I came across the work of Todd Brison. Recently, I read his first book The Creative's Curse during a time when I was kind of in a creative slump, and it was super inspiring. So, I picked up this book and loved it as well.
The Unstoppable Creative is more about developing a practice and how to get your work out there. What I love about Todd's method is that he doesn't overwhelm you with advice. He knows that there's compound interest in creating small, meaningful practices. If you're an artist, writer, musician, or any other type of creator, I guarantee you'll benefit from this book.
The Unstoppable Creative is more about developing a practice and how to get your work out there. What I love about Todd's method is that he doesn't overwhelm you with advice. He knows that there's compound interest in creating small, meaningful practices. If you're an artist, writer, musician, or any other type of creator, I guarantee you'll benefit from this book.
June 17, 2020
If your talent is a weight you carry around in a bag made of guilt you probably need this book. Mark it up with highlights and come back to it often. Let Brison kick your butt (in a pleasant but firm manner) until you can't help but act. You won't live forever but your art might. But only if you do the work. Todd Brison has a plan for getting it done. There are other books like this but you might find you need them all to keep you from sluffing off. Inactivity is pleasant but there is no reward in it, and we all want a rewarding life. Read this book and go for it.
April 18, 2023
Practical and useable points to keep the Creative Focus
Easy to get off-track. Sometimes we wonder what or where the track is. This book is packed full of ideas to stay in touch with the Muse. She really is the unstoppable creative.
Easy to get off-track. Sometimes we wonder what or where the track is. This book is packed full of ideas to stay in touch with the Muse. She really is the unstoppable creative.
April 26, 2019
My review of this and Todd's previous book.
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July 3, 2020
A good book to inspire anyone struggling with their creative aspirations. A kick-in-the-pants “You can do it if you really want to” guide.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews