
Creativity
A Short and Cheerful Guide
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Narrated by:
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John Cleese
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By:
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John Cleese
About this listen
The legendary comedian, actor, and writer of Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, and A Fish Called Wanda fame shares his key ideas about creativity: that it’s a learnable, improvable skill.
"Many people have written about creativity, but although they were very, very clever, they weren't actually creative. I like to think I'm writing about it from the inside." (John Cleese)
You might think that creativity is some mysterious, rare gift - one that only a few possess. But you’d be wrong. As John Cleese shows in this short, practical, and often amusing guide, it’s a skill that anyone can acquire.
Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, Cleese shares his insights into the nature of the creative process and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing. What do you need to do to get yourself in the right frame of mind? When do you know that you’ve come up with an idea that might be worth pursuing? What should you do if you think you’ve hit a brick wall?
We can all be more creative. John Cleese shows us how.
©2020 John Cleese (P)2020 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Creativity...is...[a] meditation on how anyone, whether breaking into TV or leading a corporate giant, can tap into his or her creative gifts.” (The Wall Street Journal)
“A versatile entertainer shares encouraging advice.... His candor is endearing. An upbeat guide to the creative process.” (Kirkus Reviews)
“[A] humorous and practical guide.... Whether you’re hoping to write a novel or paint a masterpiece, you’re sure to feel inspired.” (OK!)

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Story
On March 17, 2005, Spamalot debuted on Broadway to rapturous reviews for its star-studded creative team, including creators Eric Idle and John Du Prez, director Mike Nichols, and stars Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Sara Ramirez, Tim Curry, and more. But long before the show was the toast of Broadway and the winner of three Tony Awards, it was an idea threatening to fizzle before it could find its way into existence. Now, Eric Idle shares original journal entries and raw email exchanges, revealing the sometimes bumpy, always entertaining, path to the show’s unforgettable run.
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Not my cup of tea
- By Amazon Customer on 10-18-24
By: Eric Idle
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Diaries 1969-1979
- The Python Years
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Abridged
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Michael Palin's diaries begin in the late 1960s when he began writing for hugely popular programs. He recounts how Monty Python emerged and triumphed. From the success and cult status brought by Monty Python, Palin shares stories from their world tours, their stay at hotels recently trashed by Led Zeppelin, their battles over censorship, and how individually the Pythons went their separate ways. Yet at the same time they were working on the now celebrated series of films, including The Holy Grail....
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The Diary of a Sometime Python
- By tru britty on 03-28-15
By: Michael Palin
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There and Back
- Diaries 1999-2009
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 27 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Over the next ten years, we watch through Michael's eyes as the world reels from the successive shocks of September 11, the 7/7 bombings and the global financial crash. With the warmth and gentle empathy that have endeared millions of fans to him over the decades, Michael documents the day-to-day detail of living in a world buffeted by such powerful winds of change.
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I never knew he lived so close to me .
- By Jamesh75 on 10-29-24
By: Michael Palin
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Creative Quest
- By: Questlove
- Narrated by: Questlove, Fred Armisen, Tariq Trotter, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In Creative Quest, Questlove synthesizes all the creative philosophies, lessons, and stories he's heard from the many creators and collaborators in his life, and reflects on his own experience, to advise listeners and fans on how to consider creativity and where to find it. He addresses many topics - what it means to be creative, how to find a mentor and serve as an apprentice, the wisdom of maintaining a creative network, coping with critics and the foibles of success, and the specific pitfalls of contemporary culture.
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Questlove once again is my fairy godmother
- By Richard on 04-26-18
By: Questlove
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Travelling to Work
- Diaries 1988–1998 (Volume 3)
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 23 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Travelling to Work is the third volume of Michael Palin's widely acclaimed diaries. After the Python years and a decade of filming, writing and acting, Palin's career takes an unexpected direction into travel, which will shape his working life for the next 25 years. Yet, as the diaries reveal, he remained ferociously busy on a host of other projects throughout this whirlwind period.
By: Michael Palin
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Play
- How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul
- By: Stuart Brown, Christopher Vaughan MD
- Narrated by: Michael Hinton
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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We've all seen the happiness on the face of a child while playing in the school yard. Or the blissful abandon of a golden retriever racing across a lawn. This is the joy of play. By definition, play is purposeless, all-consuming, and fun. But as Dr. Stuart Brown illustrates, play is anything but trivial. It is a biological drive as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition. We are designed by nature to flourish through play.
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Message and content great, professional reader too serious for a book called Play!
- By Sara B aka Mommy on 10-26-17
By: Stuart Brown, and others
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Find Your Artistic Voice
- The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic
- By: Lisa Congdon
- Narrated by: Maggi-Meg Reed
- Length: 3 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author, artist, and illustrator Lisa Congdon brings her expertise to this guide to the process of artistic self-discovery. Featuring advice from Congdon herself and interviews with a roster of established artists, illustrators, and creatives, this one-of-a-kind book will show listeners how to identify and nurture their own visual identity, navigate the influence of artists they admire, push through fear and insecurity, and appreciate the value of their personal journey.
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Almost perfect...
- By Ana Corina on 01-16-21
By: Lisa Congdon
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Big Magic
- Creative Living Beyond Fear
- By: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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People of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear.
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Biggest Inspiration In a Long Time
- By Gillian on 09-23-15
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Creativity, Inc. (The Expanded Edition)
- Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
- By: Ed Catmull, Amy Wallace - contributor
- Narrated by: Ed Catmull
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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The co-founder and longtime president of Pixar updates and expands his 2014 New York Times bestseller on creative leadership, reflecting on the management principles that built Pixar’s singularly successful culture, and on all he learned during the past nine years that allowed Pixar to retain its creative culture while continuing to evolve.
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Ode to culture of creativity
- By J Kuo on 02-06-24
By: Ed Catmull, and others
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The Steal Like an Artist Audio Trilogy
- How to Be Creative, Show Your Work, and Keep Going
- By: Austin Kleon
- Narrated by: Austin Kleon
- Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Read by then author, this is an audio compilation of Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work and Keep Going, the bestselling and transformative series on how to unlock your creativity, find community and an audience in the digital age, and stay focused, creative and true to yourself—for life. Includes full text from Steal Like an Artist, on the ten things nobody ever told you about being creative; Show Your Work, on how to take that critical next step on a creative journey; and Keep Going, for anyone trying to sustain a productive life.
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A boring non focus ramble
- By Kenneth Noel on 06-07-21
By: Austin Kleon
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Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
- A Sortabiography
- By: Eric Idle
- Narrated by: Eric Idle
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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We know him best for his unforgettable roles on Monty Python - from the Flying Circus to The Meaning of Life. Now, Eric Idle reflects on the meaning of his own life in this entertaining memoir that takes us on an unforgettable journey from his childhood in an austere boarding school through his successful career in comedy, television, theater, and film.
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I'm Famous...and You're Not...
- By Constant Reader on 10-15-18
By: Eric Idle
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The Creative Act
- A Way of Being
- By: Rick Rubin
- Narrated by: Rick Rubin
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable. Over the years, he has learned that being an artist isn’t about your specific output, it’s about your relationship to the world.
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Rick is Art
- By Ira Henke on 01-17-23
By: Rick Rubin
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Flow
- The Psychology of Optimal Experience
- By: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. In this new edition of his groundbreaking classic work, Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance.
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Wisdom
- By Dimples400 on 04-17-25
What listeners say about Creativity
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- @toygrapherx
- 01-25-24
John Cleese's style
Direct to the point. short and sweet. funny and layback. Direct advise coming from a true creative.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-06-22
I will probably listen to this one again.
A fun little book that took the sticky notes on creativity that I keep in various places in my mind and arranged them in a common sense pattern. I don't believe I learned anything new but I do have a clearer perspective on my own creative process. It's only an hour long if you only listen to it once.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-17-23
Great for professional fools! DO READ!
I enjoyed the performance. I lOve the book it helped me creatively. It well accomplishing it goal, it was also a fun listen. Read it you are in arrest in developing as a creative.
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- Chris
- 08-07-23
Short, sweet creative book on creativity
This is a book that is read better by the author than most people might read it to themselves. It’s not a bird by bird but it is a cliff notes versions. I appreciate the comedy throughout but especially at the end. It is condensed with appreciation of the art of creativity. Highly recommend a listen.
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- Monica Olsen
- 12-12-23
Delightful delivery by the author himself
I like his cheeky attitude while talking about creativity so that something that could’ve been boring was instead fun to listen to.
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- Brendan
- 01-05-22
A wonderful primer on the creative mindset
This is a simple, elegant book that contextualizes and destigmatizes creativity and the creative mindset. It’s thoughtfully written and beautifully performed by John Cleese. I’ve read many books on the creative process, and this is easily my favorite. It’s practical and concise.
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- Crystal W
- 01-25-23
Inspiring and Encouraging
I am very glad the author agreed to narrate his book. He jests at the end that he has no idea why he did, since it only takes an hour to read. True. However, I already purchased and read the book, but wanted to hear Mr. Cleese's voice, rather than the voice in my head. He does, indeed, emphasize and interpret his words differently. (Must be the accent. ;-) Also, as a purely practical point, not everyone is capable of reading the printed words. Regardless of how you access this book, I highly recommend it and also think it makes an excellent present. Thank you!
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- ElTorroph3
- 10-11-22
Creativity How To
In this very short but enlightening novel we get the best view at the creative process and how to be creative.
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- Kathleen Marcath
- 01-18-22
Delightfully read!
Just stop all that thinking! Take a break and have some fun, allow your brain to give you all you need in what ever creative or problem solving manner you are seeking. This is the take away for me. Thanks for a creative fun look at life.
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- Rae
- 01-11-23
Epic for creatives
Love love love every single thing about this book
- the perspectives offered are what separate the ordinary from the extraordinary!
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