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Breakthrough: How to Overcome Doubt, Fear and Resistance to Be Your Ultimate Creative Self
Break free of toxic success myths.
Transcend the suffering artist paradigm.
Actualize your immense creative potential.
If you've ever struggled with doubt, fear, procrastination, or disappointment while trying to create, this book is for you. Breakthrough goes where no other books on creativity dare to tread—exposing the toxic success myths that hold people back and revealing radical, perspective-shifting solutions. Through concise, friendly chapters that weave together personal experiences with guidance from research and nondual philosophical traditions, readers are given pragmatic ways to turn potential breakdowns into life-changing breakthroughs.
Transcend the suffering artist paradigm.
Actualize your immense creative potential.
If you've ever struggled with doubt, fear, procrastination, or disappointment while trying to create, this book is for you. Breakthrough goes where no other books on creativity dare to tread—exposing the toxic success myths that hold people back and revealing radical, perspective-shifting solutions. Through concise, friendly chapters that weave together personal experiences with guidance from research and nondual philosophical traditions, readers are given pragmatic ways to turn potential breakdowns into life-changing breakthroughs.
- GenresNonfiction
365 pages, Paperback
Published November 9, 2021
25 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Todd Mitchell
23 books107 followersTodd Mitchell is the author of several award-winning middle grade and YA novels including The Last Panther (Penguin Random House), The Traitor King (Scholastic), The Secret to Lying (Candlewick), and Backwards (Candlewick). He has two new books coming out in fall 2021—one for writers, artists, and creators titled Breakthrough: How to Overcome Doubt, Fear, and Resistance so that You Can Be Your Ultimate Creative Self, and a middle grade novel that's recently been optioned for film/TV development titled The Namer of Spirits.
He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he kayaks, mountain bikes, and teaches creative writing at Colorado State University. He loves speaking with young readers and writers. You can visit him (and learn about his squirrel obsession) at www.ToddMitchellBooks.com
About THE NAMER OF SPIRITS:
“A dangerous town carved out of unforgiving forest, a young girl who can name spirits and tame monsters, a race against time to save the natural world: The Namer of Spirits is what readers want and the world needs.”
—New York Times bestselling author Eliot Schrefer
About THE LAST PANTHER (winner of the Colorado Book Award, the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature, and a Green Earth Honor Book Award):
"BRILLIANT! A boldly original, profoundly wise, deeply moving book. It’s a rare gift to any reader, as well as to our planet."
—T. A. Barron, author of the Merlin Saga
"A powerful tale." —KIRKUS
"Difficult to put down. An important addition on a timely subject." —SLJ
About THE SECRET TO LYING (winner of the Colorado Book Award, for ages 14 & up):
"Engrossing and entertaining... a great read."
—PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY
About BACKWARDS (winner of the CAL Award, for ages 13 & up):
“[A] suspenseful paranormal novel. …at once thought-provoking and satisfying.” —School Library Journal
About THE TRAITOR KING (Scholastic Press, for ages 8 & up):
"Humor, menace, and mystery suffuse this fast-paced tale... This well-written tale is a must for most fantasy readers."
—School Library Journal
Other projects:
I co-wrote a graphic novel that came out with Vertigo Comics (part of D.C.), called A FLIGHT OF ANGELS (selected as a YALSA Top Ten Pick for Great Graphic Novels for Teens).
BROKEN SAVIORS, an alien invasion graphic novel series for ages 13 and up. You can read the first few issues of BROKEN SAVIORS on my website for free. Or find it in full HD on ComiXology!
http://www.toddmitchellbooks.com
He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he kayaks, mountain bikes, and teaches creative writing at Colorado State University. He loves speaking with young readers and writers. You can visit him (and learn about his squirrel obsession) at www.ToddMitchellBooks.com
About THE NAMER OF SPIRITS:
“A dangerous town carved out of unforgiving forest, a young girl who can name spirits and tame monsters, a race against time to save the natural world: The Namer of Spirits is what readers want and the world needs.”
—New York Times bestselling author Eliot Schrefer
About THE LAST PANTHER (winner of the Colorado Book Award, the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature, and a Green Earth Honor Book Award):
"BRILLIANT! A boldly original, profoundly wise, deeply moving book. It’s a rare gift to any reader, as well as to our planet."
—T. A. Barron, author of the Merlin Saga
"A powerful tale." —KIRKUS
"Difficult to put down. An important addition on a timely subject." —SLJ
About THE SECRET TO LYING (winner of the Colorado Book Award, for ages 14 & up):
"Engrossing and entertaining... a great read."
—PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY
About BACKWARDS (winner of the CAL Award, for ages 13 & up):
“[A] suspenseful paranormal novel. …at once thought-provoking and satisfying.” —School Library Journal
About THE TRAITOR KING (Scholastic Press, for ages 8 & up):
"Humor, menace, and mystery suffuse this fast-paced tale... This well-written tale is a must for most fantasy readers."
—School Library Journal
Other projects:
I co-wrote a graphic novel that came out with Vertigo Comics (part of D.C.), called A FLIGHT OF ANGELS (selected as a YALSA Top Ten Pick for Great Graphic Novels for Teens).
BROKEN SAVIORS, an alien invasion graphic novel series for ages 13 and up. You can read the first few issues of BROKEN SAVIORS on my website for free. Or find it in full HD on ComiXology!
http://www.toddmitchellbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 30, 2022
I LOVE this book. There are plenty of books out there on creativity, but none like this. With playfulness and sincerity, Mitchell pokes holes in the incomplete belief systems and easy platitudes about the creative process. The clarity, voice, humor, and honesty make this an essential read for anyone who is seeking inspiration about the creative life. No doubt I'll connect with it in various ways at various times in my life--which makes it quite a gift.
November 30, 2021
I came to this book late in my career, after four decades as a moderately successful children's book author, but at a time when I was experiencing a profound sense of creative despair. I just felt.... done.... that the world didn't need any more books from me, and that I didn't want to write any more books for a world that didn't seem to want them. BREAKTHROUGH did just what the title promised: it broke through my feeling of brokenness in my creative life and showed me a beautifully beckoning path forward. In short pithy chapters, studded with examples and inspirational observations from other creators, Todd Mitchell invites writers and other artists to revisit the notion of "success" as focused on external rewards rather than on the intrinsic joy of creation. At some level, sure, I knew this, but I didn't feel the force of this in a transformative way until it was presented so powerfully here. I think I'm finally ready now to relinquish the soul-crushing "comparison game" and embrace Todd's concept of success as "doing what you love and loving what you do." I wish I had read this book forty years ago - and then re-read it every year since - which is exactly what I plan to do every year from now on. This book is a gift.
January 14, 2022
Hey writers and other creative types, do you need an emotional and very supportive kick-in-the-pants?
Breakthrough: How to Overcome Doubt, Fear, and Resistance to Be Your Ultimate Creative Self, by Todd Mitchell, might be just the ticket.
Mitchell, who directs the Beginning Creative Writing Teaching Program at Colorado State University, knows the writing mind.
Very well.
Why should you read this book?
Mitchell makes it clear on Page 342, in the “About the Author” entry at the back:
“The reason why you should read this book is because Todd struggled with chasing success for decades, failed spectacularly, and experienced a breakdown that led to discovering far more fulfilling and effective ways to practice creativity.”
Yes, Mitchell has been there in the doldrums. He’s also ridden the highs. And he’s self-aware enough and analytical enough to break the journey down into memorable morsels of insight: Breakthrough is one of those books you can keep handy, open at random, and glean some goodies. Breakthrough offers 79 chapters in 338 pages; the chapters zip along.
“The Comparison Game is Bigger Than You Think.” “Your Ego Is Holding You Back.” “But Perseverance Isn’t Fun.” “A Simple Practice for Unlocking Observer Consciousness.”
And so on.
Mitchell focuses on the ego. See those words in the subtitle? Doubt. Fear. Resistance. Six of the chapter titles directly reference ego, but Mitchell comes back to the subject often—challenging writers and creatives to examine the power of the mind’s destructive self-messaging, its ridiculous conclusions, and the terrors it can create that prevent or inhibit creativity.
Mitchell pulls from a host of real-life examples from J.K. Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, John Grisham, S.E. Hinton, Stephen King, Monet, Van Gogh, David Foster Wallace, Joseph Campbell and Robert Louis Stevenson, to name a few. And he draws on a host of studies and research about the brain. Mitchell promotes what he calls “observer consciousness,” encouraging writers to step outside their rutted thoughts and observe their journeys in the third-person.
Breakthrough leans Zen Buddhism (that cover graphic serves as spoiler alert). There will be breathing exercises! But Breakthrough is heavily stirred with tales from Mitchell’s own journey and observing the experiences of his fellow writers and other creatives. He’s particularly good at tracking down the evils of “the comparison game,” which has probably pulled more writing careers into the ditch than any other evil trick of the mind.
“The comparison game thrives on seeing ourselves as separate from others,” he writes. “Therefore, the ultimate way to beat the comparison game is to transcend the ego-driven illusion of separateness and recognize how we’re all interconnected aspects of a greater whole.”
Mitchell knows the crap your cranium will conjure to block your progress. “Often, the voice that says what you’re working on is terrible and should be abandoned is coming from your ego. Oddly enough, so is the voice that tells you everything is brilliant, don’t change a word … Although these voices might seem contradictory, they both have the same goal—to get you to quit the creative process. The ego fears risk, change, and bringing new things into existence. It clings to what it already knows, so it uses both shame and pride to convince you to give up and leave things as they are.”
What Mitchell wants out of you writers is what many writing and writer teachers espouse—to write, write more, and go back to writing more. That’s probably because, in part, the more you write the more you are likely to let go of each paragraph’s (alleged) preciousness, the more you are willing to let the words on the page (the words you put there) work or not work of their own accord.
Mitchell also wants the creative act disconnected from the business of finding a publisher—and/or of finding success. He makes a great case that your writing career will fare better once you know that process of creating and refining your novel (or story) should be utterly disconnected from the process of finding an agent, landing a publisher, and crawling your way up The New York Times best-seller list. The more they are disconnected in your head, the better off you’ll be. (See above: keep writing.)
These paragraphs jumped out at me:
“We’ll never know all those creations and creators who remain overlooked. We live in only one reality. We only know the works that are lucky enough to be held up and praised in our reality. Undoubtedly, there are numerous amazing artists who work in obscurity, and numerous brilliant works that end up gathering dust in an attic somewhere until they’re thrown away. Other works might get published but don’t receive the attention they deserve (some of my favorite books, as well as my favorite bands, have come and gone with barely anyone noticing.
“The way to increase your chances of having something take off is to persevere and keep creating. Keep growing as a writer or artist, stay open to new possibilities, keep sending things out, and embrace the opportunities you encounter. That’s what you can do.”
Yes, reaching that state is “your ultimate creative self.”
Breakthrough: How to Overcome Doubt, Fear, and Resistance to Be Your Ultimate Creative Self, by Todd Mitchell, might be just the ticket.
Mitchell, who directs the Beginning Creative Writing Teaching Program at Colorado State University, knows the writing mind.
Very well.
Why should you read this book?
Mitchell makes it clear on Page 342, in the “About the Author” entry at the back:
“The reason why you should read this book is because Todd struggled with chasing success for decades, failed spectacularly, and experienced a breakdown that led to discovering far more fulfilling and effective ways to practice creativity.”
Yes, Mitchell has been there in the doldrums. He’s also ridden the highs. And he’s self-aware enough and analytical enough to break the journey down into memorable morsels of insight: Breakthrough is one of those books you can keep handy, open at random, and glean some goodies. Breakthrough offers 79 chapters in 338 pages; the chapters zip along.
“The Comparison Game is Bigger Than You Think.” “Your Ego Is Holding You Back.” “But Perseverance Isn’t Fun.” “A Simple Practice for Unlocking Observer Consciousness.”
And so on.
Mitchell focuses on the ego. See those words in the subtitle? Doubt. Fear. Resistance. Six of the chapter titles directly reference ego, but Mitchell comes back to the subject often—challenging writers and creatives to examine the power of the mind’s destructive self-messaging, its ridiculous conclusions, and the terrors it can create that prevent or inhibit creativity.
Mitchell pulls from a host of real-life examples from J.K. Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, John Grisham, S.E. Hinton, Stephen King, Monet, Van Gogh, David Foster Wallace, Joseph Campbell and Robert Louis Stevenson, to name a few. And he draws on a host of studies and research about the brain. Mitchell promotes what he calls “observer consciousness,” encouraging writers to step outside their rutted thoughts and observe their journeys in the third-person.
Breakthrough leans Zen Buddhism (that cover graphic serves as spoiler alert). There will be breathing exercises! But Breakthrough is heavily stirred with tales from Mitchell’s own journey and observing the experiences of his fellow writers and other creatives. He’s particularly good at tracking down the evils of “the comparison game,” which has probably pulled more writing careers into the ditch than any other evil trick of the mind.
“The comparison game thrives on seeing ourselves as separate from others,” he writes. “Therefore, the ultimate way to beat the comparison game is to transcend the ego-driven illusion of separateness and recognize how we’re all interconnected aspects of a greater whole.”
Mitchell knows the crap your cranium will conjure to block your progress. “Often, the voice that says what you’re working on is terrible and should be abandoned is coming from your ego. Oddly enough, so is the voice that tells you everything is brilliant, don’t change a word … Although these voices might seem contradictory, they both have the same goal—to get you to quit the creative process. The ego fears risk, change, and bringing new things into existence. It clings to what it already knows, so it uses both shame and pride to convince you to give up and leave things as they are.”
What Mitchell wants out of you writers is what many writing and writer teachers espouse—to write, write more, and go back to writing more. That’s probably because, in part, the more you write the more you are likely to let go of each paragraph’s (alleged) preciousness, the more you are willing to let the words on the page (the words you put there) work or not work of their own accord.
Mitchell also wants the creative act disconnected from the business of finding a publisher—and/or of finding success. He makes a great case that your writing career will fare better once you know that process of creating and refining your novel (or story) should be utterly disconnected from the process of finding an agent, landing a publisher, and crawling your way up The New York Times best-seller list. The more they are disconnected in your head, the better off you’ll be. (See above: keep writing.)
These paragraphs jumped out at me:
“We’ll never know all those creations and creators who remain overlooked. We live in only one reality. We only know the works that are lucky enough to be held up and praised in our reality. Undoubtedly, there are numerous amazing artists who work in obscurity, and numerous brilliant works that end up gathering dust in an attic somewhere until they’re thrown away. Other works might get published but don’t receive the attention they deserve (some of my favorite books, as well as my favorite bands, have come and gone with barely anyone noticing.
“The way to increase your chances of having something take off is to persevere and keep creating. Keep growing as a writer or artist, stay open to new possibilities, keep sending things out, and embrace the opportunities you encounter. That’s what you can do.”
Yes, reaching that state is “your ultimate creative self.”
November 2, 2021
Every creative soul out there should read this book! With empowering suggestions spanning the spiritual to the practical, Breakthrough will help readers reflect, connect, and find renewed joy in their creative endeavors. Highly recommended!
April 2, 2022
I received a complimentary review copy of Breakthrough. It's from the perspective of a different spiritual/meditative tradition than my own, so I went in intrigued to find out what Todd Mitchell had to say. Breakthrough turned out to be an excellent book for writers - a "follow your bliss" handbook designed specifically for creatives and especially for fiction writers. Empowering. The chapters on radical acceptance, particularly, are chapters I would recommend that every writer read. Todd Mitchell is a very noted and highly regarded author of middle-grade/YA fiction, and he is an excellent teacher. Very worth the read.
Stant Litore
Stant Litore
January 8, 2022
Dissection of the Butterfly
Todd Mitchell succeeds in dissecting the butterfly of creativity, revealing the delicate parts for the reader to take in and transform into inspired writing: the writer's desire to tell a story fulfilling the reader's wish for a transcendent experience. Breakthrough, Mitchell's book, is a bible of spiritual wisdom. He helps the writer to recognize what may be holding him back and then take concrete actions---creating a space for awareness. This book is indeed a breakthrough.
McClaren Peterson Davies, Author, Living Life Inside Out.
Todd Mitchell succeeds in dissecting the butterfly of creativity, revealing the delicate parts for the reader to take in and transform into inspired writing: the writer's desire to tell a story fulfilling the reader's wish for a transcendent experience. Breakthrough, Mitchell's book, is a bible of spiritual wisdom. He helps the writer to recognize what may be holding him back and then take concrete actions---creating a space for awareness. This book is indeed a breakthrough.
McClaren Peterson Davies, Author, Living Life Inside Out.
November 10, 2021
Todd Mitchell’s book couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Lately I’ve felt on the cusp of something, odd moments of knowing that I was holding myself back, that there was a shadowy curtain keeping me from being more genuine in my writing. As I read Breakthrough, I had that same surreal feeling.
What’s the difference in this book and all the others I’ve read? It’s the way Mitchell explains the workings of the ego and how our competitive consumer culture and worship of superstars condemns most of us to despair when we don’t achieve the highest honors or a six-figure book deal. Our ego is designed to protect us, and the inevitable failure of creative endeavors in a winner-take-all paradigm is just too scary.
That’s not to say that we shouldn’t try, and this is where Mitchell’s book starts to push away that shadowy curtain. We need to understand and use the protective selfishness of the ego. Mitchell compares the artist’s struggle to the transformative steps of The Hero’s Journey where “the villain is the one who serves their ego the most,” while “the hero is often someone who puts the pursuit of a greater good above the desires of the ego.” I like the vision of myself as the hero in my own story, fighting our personality-driven culture and my fearful ego to unlock my literary superpowers. Ka-pow!
Mitchell doesn’t spend a lot of time telling his story. Only three short chapters get into what he went through and how he found his way out. He offers his painful experience only as an example, acknowledging that we all have different challenges, which means we must find our own way beyond the ego. Fortunately, he offers plenty of ideas and methods to achieve greater creativity.
I struggled a bit with the whole ego thing, but for now, I’ll just do it, walk the walk, fake it to make it, hoping that experience will lead me to greater understanding. And I’m going to read Breakthrough again, thoughtfully, slowly, because I’m already feeling a change and I want more.
What’s the difference in this book and all the others I’ve read? It’s the way Mitchell explains the workings of the ego and how our competitive consumer culture and worship of superstars condemns most of us to despair when we don’t achieve the highest honors or a six-figure book deal. Our ego is designed to protect us, and the inevitable failure of creative endeavors in a winner-take-all paradigm is just too scary.
That’s not to say that we shouldn’t try, and this is where Mitchell’s book starts to push away that shadowy curtain. We need to understand and use the protective selfishness of the ego. Mitchell compares the artist’s struggle to the transformative steps of The Hero’s Journey where “the villain is the one who serves their ego the most,” while “the hero is often someone who puts the pursuit of a greater good above the desires of the ego.” I like the vision of myself as the hero in my own story, fighting our personality-driven culture and my fearful ego to unlock my literary superpowers. Ka-pow!
Mitchell doesn’t spend a lot of time telling his story. Only three short chapters get into what he went through and how he found his way out. He offers his painful experience only as an example, acknowledging that we all have different challenges, which means we must find our own way beyond the ego. Fortunately, he offers plenty of ideas and methods to achieve greater creativity.
I struggled a bit with the whole ego thing, but for now, I’ll just do it, walk the walk, fake it to make it, hoping that experience will lead me to greater understanding. And I’m going to read Breakthrough again, thoughtfully, slowly, because I’m already feeling a change and I want more.
November 28, 2021
Validating & Life-changing!!
There's so much in this book! Breakthrough starts in somewhat familiar territory by looking at how toxic success myths hold many creators back, and by encouraging creators to "learn to love the process" and create for intrinsic rather than extrinsic reasons. However, in the second half, it goes far beyond where most self-help "success" books go by delving into exactly how to attain the shifts in mindset that are necessary to make creativity more enjoyable, sustainable, and effective.
Some chapters contain pragmatic steps on how to overcome ego blocks like doubt and procrastination, and on how to get started with creative projects, build a creative habit, make revision more effective, and deal with things like criticism and rejection. The book also (and this is the thing that really sets it apart) looks at the root causes of what makes creativity difficult, and how to change such underlying causes.
Throughout its chapters, Breakthrough draws upon a wide-range of sources, from psychological research, to quotes from other writers, artists, and musicians (including some pages of a brilliant graphic essay from Lynda Barry), to deeper, mind-expanding insights from spiritual teachers and philosophers like Eckhart Tolle, Rupert Spira, Einstein, Marcus Aurelius, and others. (Note: Many of these quotes are in the footnotes, which I recommend reading).
Some short activities are included at the end of a few chapters to help readers apply concepts, and a meditation "quick start guide" is included at the end that has both basic and more advanced practices.
Overall, this book went deeper into the subject of creativity and how to change my mindset to make creative endeavors more effective, sustainable, and enjoyable, than any book I've ever read. For those who are ready for it, Breakthrough is life-changing. I'm keeping it by my desk to refer to whenever the challenges of creative living start to drag me down.
There's so much in this book! Breakthrough starts in somewhat familiar territory by looking at how toxic success myths hold many creators back, and by encouraging creators to "learn to love the process" and create for intrinsic rather than extrinsic reasons. However, in the second half, it goes far beyond where most self-help "success" books go by delving into exactly how to attain the shifts in mindset that are necessary to make creativity more enjoyable, sustainable, and effective.
Some chapters contain pragmatic steps on how to overcome ego blocks like doubt and procrastination, and on how to get started with creative projects, build a creative habit, make revision more effective, and deal with things like criticism and rejection. The book also (and this is the thing that really sets it apart) looks at the root causes of what makes creativity difficult, and how to change such underlying causes.
Throughout its chapters, Breakthrough draws upon a wide-range of sources, from psychological research, to quotes from other writers, artists, and musicians (including some pages of a brilliant graphic essay from Lynda Barry), to deeper, mind-expanding insights from spiritual teachers and philosophers like Eckhart Tolle, Rupert Spira, Einstein, Marcus Aurelius, and others. (Note: Many of these quotes are in the footnotes, which I recommend reading).
Some short activities are included at the end of a few chapters to help readers apply concepts, and a meditation "quick start guide" is included at the end that has both basic and more advanced practices.
Overall, this book went deeper into the subject of creativity and how to change my mindset to make creative endeavors more effective, sustainable, and enjoyable, than any book I've ever read. For those who are ready for it, Breakthrough is life-changing. I'm keeping it by my desk to refer to whenever the challenges of creative living start to drag me down.
December 7, 2021
I'm so happy this book exists! I've read countless pieces with advice telling writers (in my case) *what* to do--set word count or time goals, join NaNoWriMo (or not), outline, don't outline--you name it. But I feel like so much of this advice is like saying "go to the gym" or "eat more veggies." It doesn't investigate what's stopping us from just, you know, doing it. Let's face it: a lot of us have some deep and complicated feelings about our own creativity that need serious unpacking.
Luckily, Mitchell is here to help us. To find a meaningful practice, he argues, you have to first look at what's been stopping you from doing just that--often, this requires a huge shift in perspective that touches on identity, ego, and more. He walks us through this in an approachable, practical way that never comes off as didactic despite being thoroughly researched; instead, you'll feel guided by a friend, someone willing to share some of his own struggles and never waver in his immense respect for our collective creativity. This is a book I'll return to as a North Star when imposter syndrome sets in. Breakthrough is right up there with Art and Fear and anything Lynda Barry for me, books that go to the core of creative living. Highest recommendation!
Luckily, Mitchell is here to help us. To find a meaningful practice, he argues, you have to first look at what's been stopping you from doing just that--often, this requires a huge shift in perspective that touches on identity, ego, and more. He walks us through this in an approachable, practical way that never comes off as didactic despite being thoroughly researched; instead, you'll feel guided by a friend, someone willing to share some of his own struggles and never waver in his immense respect for our collective creativity. This is a book I'll return to as a North Star when imposter syndrome sets in. Breakthrough is right up there with Art and Fear and anything Lynda Barry for me, books that go to the core of creative living. Highest recommendation!
November 30, 2021
A must read for writers in any stage of their career.
January 15, 2023
Mitchell’s hard-earned credo is: “Don’t waste any more energy worrying about how you compare. Instead, allow yourself to do what only you can do, and focus on loving the process as you do.”
Easily said, that credo, less easily done. But this book helped me to more fully, more truly embrace that credo - and I mean “walk the walk and write every day” embrace it, and not just “talk the talk about writing someday” embrace it. That’s because Mitchell generously invites you into the long and painful process he underwent, himself, to let go of the resistance and fear that comes with creating.
Mitchell takes you on his journey deep into the noosphere (see more about this term below), and shows you how he pulled out and wove together the strands of a panoply of philosophies on how to live a good, creative life. He’s synthesized the research and reading of years and crystalized it in a way that is inspiring, empowering, and really authentic-feeling, because it’s anchored in the narrative of his own heroic – read as: sometimes terrifyingly paralyzed - journey as a creative writer, including that “all is lost” moment when he questioned whether or not to keep going and why or why not.
No matter what genre or medium you create in (or want to create in but are afraid to), Mitchell will be your guide of guides in this book. He will take you on a journey to visit many of the wise people who have come before us and are a little further along the path than we are.
The guides which Mitchell will take you are too numerous to list here. Three of my favorites include:
Philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin conceptualized the noosphere as a plane to which anyone might tap into to create: “Another way to think about creativity is to picture it as a sphere of ideas and possibilities that surrounds us, much like the atmosphere surrounds our planet. The French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin called such a sphere of thoughts, ideas, and consciousness the “noosphere” in his 1922 book, Cosmogenesis. He postulated that the noosphere evolves from the collective consciousness of humanity, and influences how people think, just as the biosphere evolves from the collective network of living organisms, and influences how organisms grow.”
Artist/writer Lynda Barry
Artist/writer Lynda Barry who has come to call her process “writing the unthinkable”: This process is “…the way to regain a connection with creativity (the way that seems ‘unthinkable’ to the ego mind which always wants to know things). To do it, the first step is to “stop judging whether something is good or bad, and to simply create without knowing what something is. Then, as Barry puts it, ‘that strange floating feeling of being there and not being there came back. One line led to another and a story slowly formed under my hands. To be able to stand not knowing long enough to let something alive take shape! Without the two questions [Is this good? Does this suck?] so much is possible.’”
Singer/Songwriter Dolly Parton
“Dolly Parton (someone who’s managed to stay amazingly creative throughout her life with over 60 albums, 47 Grammy nominations, and dozens of film roles) effectively summed up this approach in a recent interview when she said, ‘I don’t work for awards or rewards. I just work because I love what I do.’”
There are a lot of books out there on how to be a more creative person. A lot of them have great, but glibly delivered advice that might not “stick” with you because you might doubt that the writer has struggled in the same way that you are struggling right now to create. What really resonated with me is how honest and vulnerable Mitchell is in sharing how he has personally struggled to create - at first, for years, trying to over-control the process and feeling, understandably, overly attached to others’ perceptions of the finished work - and how he learned from the struggle to get less attached to the outcome and more in the flow of the process in order to create both more prolifically and more joyfully.
“All” we have to do, Mitchell writes, is learn to embrace the ordeal - of every step of the creative process, including sometimes, a reception that was not what we hoped - instead of fearing it:
“To love the process, it’s imperative to recognize that unexpected challenges are not only part of the process—they’re useful. You don’t need to fear the ordeal. You can accept the ordeal as a necessary step in the transformative journey. You can even embrace the ordeal and turn it into something exciting and rewarding because of the difficulty."
Easily said, that credo, less easily done. But this book helped me to more fully, more truly embrace that credo - and I mean “walk the walk and write every day” embrace it, and not just “talk the talk about writing someday” embrace it. That’s because Mitchell generously invites you into the long and painful process he underwent, himself, to let go of the resistance and fear that comes with creating.
Mitchell takes you on his journey deep into the noosphere (see more about this term below), and shows you how he pulled out and wove together the strands of a panoply of philosophies on how to live a good, creative life. He’s synthesized the research and reading of years and crystalized it in a way that is inspiring, empowering, and really authentic-feeling, because it’s anchored in the narrative of his own heroic – read as: sometimes terrifyingly paralyzed - journey as a creative writer, including that “all is lost” moment when he questioned whether or not to keep going and why or why not.
No matter what genre or medium you create in (or want to create in but are afraid to), Mitchell will be your guide of guides in this book. He will take you on a journey to visit many of the wise people who have come before us and are a little further along the path than we are.
The guides which Mitchell will take you are too numerous to list here. Three of my favorites include:
Philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin conceptualized the noosphere as a plane to which anyone might tap into to create: “Another way to think about creativity is to picture it as a sphere of ideas and possibilities that surrounds us, much like the atmosphere surrounds our planet. The French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin called such a sphere of thoughts, ideas, and consciousness the “noosphere” in his 1922 book, Cosmogenesis. He postulated that the noosphere evolves from the collective consciousness of humanity, and influences how people think, just as the biosphere evolves from the collective network of living organisms, and influences how organisms grow.”
Artist/writer Lynda Barry
Artist/writer Lynda Barry who has come to call her process “writing the unthinkable”: This process is “…the way to regain a connection with creativity (the way that seems ‘unthinkable’ to the ego mind which always wants to know things). To do it, the first step is to “stop judging whether something is good or bad, and to simply create without knowing what something is. Then, as Barry puts it, ‘that strange floating feeling of being there and not being there came back. One line led to another and a story slowly formed under my hands. To be able to stand not knowing long enough to let something alive take shape! Without the two questions [Is this good? Does this suck?] so much is possible.’”
Singer/Songwriter Dolly Parton
“Dolly Parton (someone who’s managed to stay amazingly creative throughout her life with over 60 albums, 47 Grammy nominations, and dozens of film roles) effectively summed up this approach in a recent interview when she said, ‘I don’t work for awards or rewards. I just work because I love what I do.’”
There are a lot of books out there on how to be a more creative person. A lot of them have great, but glibly delivered advice that might not “stick” with you because you might doubt that the writer has struggled in the same way that you are struggling right now to create. What really resonated with me is how honest and vulnerable Mitchell is in sharing how he has personally struggled to create - at first, for years, trying to over-control the process and feeling, understandably, overly attached to others’ perceptions of the finished work - and how he learned from the struggle to get less attached to the outcome and more in the flow of the process in order to create both more prolifically and more joyfully.
“All” we have to do, Mitchell writes, is learn to embrace the ordeal - of every step of the creative process, including sometimes, a reception that was not what we hoped - instead of fearing it:
“To love the process, it’s imperative to recognize that unexpected challenges are not only part of the process—they’re useful. You don’t need to fear the ordeal. You can accept the ordeal as a necessary step in the transformative journey. You can even embrace the ordeal and turn it into something exciting and rewarding because of the difficulty."
March 11, 2022
This book leads us out of the swamp of self-doubt and into the flourishing forests of creativity--the perfect companion for the dark nights of the writer's soul.
April 27, 2022
I love, love, love the idea of work as creative contribution. It has been so helpful to reframe my philosophical papers as unique things that wouldn't exist in the world unless I wrote them.
January 2, 2022
I'm very glad I read this book! Grateful for the practical tools and language it provides to tackle the fears and doubts I have about writing. I'm confident that I'll be coming back to this book (and all its many footnotes!) later on in my creative journey.
February 16, 2022
I can’t recommend Todd Mitchell’s book enough. Mitchell lays out an entire argument and hits on my own deep neurological blocks as I have struggled with my own writing. I struggled with lots of “if onlys” as he calls them. “If only I published a book, I’ll get to write what I want and I’ll be happy.” I have said and done this for years. Todd, in his fast and succinct chapters, dismantles the danger with this thinking. He amalgamates research, science, spiritualism, and personal experience to give what it means to be creative and what’s going in the skulls and hearts of those who create. His words whisper to you, the reader, what it might mean to create and why you want to create. Like Lewis Hyde argued in The Gift his book leaves a gift, a special dangling tidal wave of insights that help reframe what it means to be a writer, sculptor, songwriter, movie maker, painter, musician, or anyone who creates. Including this: "You don't have ideas. Ideas go through you." Yes, amazing. I’ll be unpacking it for days.
December 6, 2021
Like having your own personal creativity guru and writing teacher on your bookshelf. Highly recommend for anyone struggling through the writing process!
July 23, 2022
This book was exactly what I needed and when I needed it.
November 17, 2021
Loved this book and the harsh blows it dealt to my egoic self as I recognized myself in so many of the struggles described. Breakthrough provides creators of all types a quasi-spiritual perspective on creativity. If you’re looking for writing exercises and a guaranteed guide to “success”, you’re not in the right place. Instead you’re in for an uplifting journey through all the existential reasons you’re getting in your own way as a creator and as a human being (all with a massive dose of compassion). This is one I’ll be keeping close at hand for any time I start to feel frustrated or forlorn with my writing, or with life in general.
June 2, 2022
It is amazing to find what is just the right medicine needed for what ails one. Todd Mitchell's book is that for me right now and so much more.
I am a writer embarking on a new book project--aware of the baggage I have been lugging on my path and want to let go: the habitual self-sabotaging doubts; engagement in the self-defeating comparison game; limited, conditioned understanding of success and failure; and more. This baggage robs me of the joy in the creative process that I DO KNOW and that Todd Mitchell invites readers to remember, to allow, and to revel in.
This book has so much wisdom in it, truly life-changing wisdom without the emphasis being on "change" in the sense of fighting or resisting what is—including one's less-than-desirable habits of thought.
I experience "Breakthrough" as an embrace, a loving invitation, a reminder of the great gift of being called to create—and a delightful prod to remember and stay awake to the essence of who I am and the source of creativity. All from one who has walked the talk.
I am a writer embarking on a new book project--aware of the baggage I have been lugging on my path and want to let go: the habitual self-sabotaging doubts; engagement in the self-defeating comparison game; limited, conditioned understanding of success and failure; and more. This baggage robs me of the joy in the creative process that I DO KNOW and that Todd Mitchell invites readers to remember, to allow, and to revel in.
This book has so much wisdom in it, truly life-changing wisdom without the emphasis being on "change" in the sense of fighting or resisting what is—including one's less-than-desirable habits of thought.
I experience "Breakthrough" as an embrace, a loving invitation, a reminder of the great gift of being called to create—and a delightful prod to remember and stay awake to the essence of who I am and the source of creativity. All from one who has walked the talk.
November 8, 2021
This book is written for aspiring authors who need encouragement to get through the blocks that can inhibit writing.
It's a primer on how to define success (and I'd add - REAL success - as opposed to more conventional definitions of success).
It's about how to prime the pump of creativity, and includes quotes from famous philosophers. Most chapters also end with a how-to exercise that helps one participate in the kinds of activities described within the chapter.
It's a primer on how to find motivation and clear one's head to get rid of extraneous thoughts - including some meditation practices.
It's a self-help book for writers, and probably the book the author wishes he had access to before he decided to write it. It's got a personal touch, and is well worth reading.
It's a primer on how to define success (and I'd add - REAL success - as opposed to more conventional definitions of success).
It's about how to prime the pump of creativity, and includes quotes from famous philosophers. Most chapters also end with a how-to exercise that helps one participate in the kinds of activities described within the chapter.
It's a primer on how to find motivation and clear one's head to get rid of extraneous thoughts - including some meditation practices.
It's a self-help book for writers, and probably the book the author wishes he had access to before he decided to write it. It's got a personal touch, and is well worth reading.
March 8, 2023
An incredibly helpful book for writers or any creatives who are feeling stuck. Mitchell has been there and managed to dig his way out from under fear and doubt to find a satisfying creative life. Really needed to read this.
January 10, 2024
Short chapters burst with useful advice, playful anecdotes, and honest inspiration. At its core, the book inspires great patience, so valuable to artists, and often overlooked.
March 2, 2024
Must-read for creatives.
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