
The Rise
Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $14.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Sarah Lewis
-
By:
-
Sarah Lewis
About this listen
It is one of the enduring enigmas of the human experience: many of our most iconic, creative endeavors - from Nobel Prize-winning discoveries to entrepreneurial inventions and works in the arts - are not achievements but conversions, corrections after failed attempts.
The gift of failure is a riddle. Like the number zero, it will always be both a void and the start of infinite possibility. The Rise - a soulful celebration of the determination and courage of the human spirit - makes the case that many of our greatest triumphs come from understanding the importance of this mystery.
This exquisite biography of an idea is about the improbable foundations of creative human endeavor. The Rise begins with narratives about figures past and present who range from writers to entrepreneurs; Frederick Douglass, Samuel F. B. Morse, and J. K. Rowling, for example, feature alongside choreographer Paul Taylor, Nobel Prize-winning physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, Arctic explorer Ben Saunders, and psychology professor Angela Duckworth.
The Rise explores the inestimable value of often ignored ideas - the power of surrender for fortitude, the criticality of play for innovation, the propulsion of the near win on the road to mastery, and the importance of grit and creative practice. From an uncommonly insightful writer, The Rise is a true masterwork.
©2014 Sarah Lewis (P)2014 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
-
High Conflict
- Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out
- By: Amanda Ripley
- Narrated by: Amanda Ripley
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
High conflict is what happens when discord distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud, the kind with an us and a them. In this state, the brain behaves differently. We feel increasingly certain of our own superiority, and everything we do to try to end the conflict, usually makes it worse. Eventually, we can start to mimic the behavior of our adversaries, harming what we hold most dear. In this book, New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley investigates how good people get captured by high conflict—and how they break free.
-
-
Perspective and Tools for Conflict-Drenched Times
- By Mark Patterson on 05-19-21
By: Amanda Ripley
-
The Garden Within
- Where the War with Your Emotions Ends and Your Most Powerful Life Begins
- By: Dr. Anita Phillips, Sarah Jakes Roberts - foreword
- Narrated by: Anita Phillips, Sarah Roberts
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this game-changing book, trauma therapist and mental health expert Dr. Anita Phillips reveals how embracing emotion is the key to living your most powerful life. Just as gardens thrive in good ground, the abundant life you’ve been seeking can only be grown in the soil of your heart.
-
-
EXCELLENCE PERSONIFIED!!!
- By Latosha Henderson on 12-01-23
By: Dr. Anita Phillips, and others
-
Hidden Potential
- The Science of Achieving Greater Things
- By: Adam Grant
- Narrated by: Adam Grant, Maurice Ashley, R. A. Dickey, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in a world that’s obsessed with talent. We celebrate gifted students in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But admiring people who start out with innate advantages leads us to overlook the distance we ourselves can travel. We underestimate the range of skills that we can learn and how good we can become. We can all improve at improving. And when opportunity doesn’t knock, there are ways to build a door.
-
-
Nope
- By Anna OConnor-McClure on 10-27-23
By: Adam Grant
-
Disruptive Thinking
- A Daring Strategy to Change How We Live, Lead, and Love
- By: T. D. Jakes
- Narrated by: T. D. Jakes, Kyle Chapel, Inger Tudor
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this book for leaders, thinkers, doers, and creators, Bishop T.D. Jakes illuminates the pathway to encouraging and unleashing disruptive thinking and provides the wisdom and practical skills we need to evolve our most original and potentially transformational ideas from vision to reality. Through his insight into how our minds and emotions work and through his experiences as a pastor, entrepreneur, and creator, Bishop Jakes leads us into a new way of relating to and transforming the world around us for good.
-
-
What an inspiration!!!!
- By Dana F. on 05-14-23
By: T. D. Jakes
-
The Light We Carry
- Overcoming in Uncertain Times
- By: Michelle Obama
- Narrated by: Michelle Obama
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with listeners, considering the questions many of us wrestle with: How do we build enduring and honest relationships? How can we discover strength and community inside our differences? What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt or helplessness? What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much?
-
-
Very Disappointing—Too Ego-filled
- By Patricia Webb on 11-29-22
By: Michelle Obama
-
Atlas of the Heart
- Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience
- By: Brené Brown
- Narrated by: Brené Brown
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances - a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.
-
-
Perfect
- By Mandy on 02-16-22
By: Brené Brown
-
High Conflict
- Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out
- By: Amanda Ripley
- Narrated by: Amanda Ripley
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
High conflict is what happens when discord distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud, the kind with an us and a them. In this state, the brain behaves differently. We feel increasingly certain of our own superiority, and everything we do to try to end the conflict, usually makes it worse. Eventually, we can start to mimic the behavior of our adversaries, harming what we hold most dear. In this book, New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley investigates how good people get captured by high conflict—and how they break free.
-
-
Perspective and Tools for Conflict-Drenched Times
- By Mark Patterson on 05-19-21
By: Amanda Ripley
-
The Garden Within
- Where the War with Your Emotions Ends and Your Most Powerful Life Begins
- By: Dr. Anita Phillips, Sarah Jakes Roberts - foreword
- Narrated by: Anita Phillips, Sarah Roberts
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this game-changing book, trauma therapist and mental health expert Dr. Anita Phillips reveals how embracing emotion is the key to living your most powerful life. Just as gardens thrive in good ground, the abundant life you’ve been seeking can only be grown in the soil of your heart.
-
-
EXCELLENCE PERSONIFIED!!!
- By Latosha Henderson on 12-01-23
By: Dr. Anita Phillips, and others
-
Hidden Potential
- The Science of Achieving Greater Things
- By: Adam Grant
- Narrated by: Adam Grant, Maurice Ashley, R. A. Dickey, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in a world that’s obsessed with talent. We celebrate gifted students in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But admiring people who start out with innate advantages leads us to overlook the distance we ourselves can travel. We underestimate the range of skills that we can learn and how good we can become. We can all improve at improving. And when opportunity doesn’t knock, there are ways to build a door.
-
-
Nope
- By Anna OConnor-McClure on 10-27-23
By: Adam Grant
-
Disruptive Thinking
- A Daring Strategy to Change How We Live, Lead, and Love
- By: T. D. Jakes
- Narrated by: T. D. Jakes, Kyle Chapel, Inger Tudor
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this book for leaders, thinkers, doers, and creators, Bishop T.D. Jakes illuminates the pathway to encouraging and unleashing disruptive thinking and provides the wisdom and practical skills we need to evolve our most original and potentially transformational ideas from vision to reality. Through his insight into how our minds and emotions work and through his experiences as a pastor, entrepreneur, and creator, Bishop Jakes leads us into a new way of relating to and transforming the world around us for good.
-
-
What an inspiration!!!!
- By Dana F. on 05-14-23
By: T. D. Jakes
-
The Light We Carry
- Overcoming in Uncertain Times
- By: Michelle Obama
- Narrated by: Michelle Obama
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with listeners, considering the questions many of us wrestle with: How do we build enduring and honest relationships? How can we discover strength and community inside our differences? What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt or helplessness? What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much?
-
-
Very Disappointing—Too Ego-filled
- By Patricia Webb on 11-29-22
By: Michelle Obama
-
Atlas of the Heart
- Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience
- By: Brené Brown
- Narrated by: Brené Brown
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances - a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.
-
-
Perfect
- By Mandy on 02-16-22
By: Brené Brown
-
How to Work with (Almost) Anyone
- Building the Best Possible Relationship
- By: Michael Bungay Stanier
- Narrated by: Michael Bungay Stanier
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Your happiness and your success depend on your working relationships. Every working relationship can be better. This book shows you how to build the best possible relationship.
-
-
Challenge to Listen To
- By Amazon Customer on 02-12-25
-
All Hope Is Found
- Rediscovering the Joy of Expectation
- By: Sarah Jakes Roberts
- Narrated by: Sarah Jakes Roberts
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Undoubtedly, there are moments when hope is obscure. That's because hope has many hiding places. It hides behind heartbreak, camouflages in stress, and disguises itself in grief. It only takes a few disappointments before our expectations are hijacked by doubt and disbelief. Hope is easy to lose and hard to find, but there is never a season when hope is out of reach. Inspiring you towards the pursuit of hope with a lens of compassion, Sarah serves as a guide who exposes the hidden hope that awaits you each day.
-
-
“Heaven hears what your heart whispers” -Sarah Jakes-Roberts
- By Anonymous on 09-20-23
-
The Infinite Game
- By: Simon Sinek
- Narrated by: Simon Sinek
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Finite games, like football or chess, have known players, fixed rules, and a clear endpoint. The winners and losers are easily identified. Infinite games, games with no finish line, like business or politics, or life itself, have players who come and go. The rules of an infinite game are changeable, while infinite games have no defined endpoint. There are no winners or losers - only ahead and behind. The question is, how do we play to succeed in the game we’re in? In this revelatory new audiobook, Simon Sinek offers a framework for leading with an infinite mindset.
-
-
I love Sinek but...
- By Amazon Customer on 11-11-19
By: Simon Sinek
-
Woman Evolve
- Break Up with Your Fears and Revolutionize Your Life
- By: Sarah Jakes Roberts
- Narrated by: Sarah Roberts
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who would imagine being friends with Eve - the woman who’s been held responsible for the fall of humanity (and cramps) for thousands of years? Certainly not Sarah Jakes Roberts. That is, not until Sarah discovered she is more like Eve than she cares to admit. Everyone faces trials, and everyone will mess up. But failure should not be the focus. Your focus should not be on who you were but rather the pursuit of who you can become.
-
-
Truly a blessing to women all over the world
- By wendy on 05-03-21
-
BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0)
- Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company
- By: Jim Collins, William Lazier
- Narrated by: Jim Collins, Paul Michael
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
BE 2.0 is a new and improved version of the book that Jim Collins and Bill Lazier wrote years ago. In BE 2.0, Jim Collins honors his mentor, Bill Lazier, who passed away in 2005, and reexamines the original text of Beyond Entrepreneurship with his 2020 perspective. The book includes the original text of Beyond Entrepreneurship, as well as four new chapters and 15 new essays. BE 2.0 pulls together the key concepts across Collins' 30 years of research into one integrated framework called The Map.
-
-
Very very very good
- By Amazon Customer on 05-15-22
By: Jim Collins, and others
-
The Creative Habit
- Learn It and Use It for Life
- By: Twyla Tharp
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All it takes to make creativity a part of your life is the willingness to make it a habit. It is the product of preparation and effort, and is within reach of everyone. Whether you are a painter, musician, businessperson, or simply an individual yearning to put your creativity to use, The Creative Habit provides you with 32 practical exercises based on the lessons Twyla Tharp has learned in her remarkable 35-year career.
-
-
A much-needed shout-out to good habits
- By cvstuart on 03-27-13
By: Twyla Tharp
-
The Fifth Discipline
- The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization
- By: Peter M. Senge
- Narrated by: Peter M. Senge
- Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peter Senge's groundbreaking ideas on building organizations have made him a household name among corporate managers. His theories help businesses to clarify their goals, to defy the odds, to more clearly understand threats, and to recognize new opportunities. He introduces managers to a new source of competitive advantage, and offers a marvelously empowering approach to work.
-
-
Abridged books are inadequate
- By Greg on 02-26-08
By: Peter M. Senge
-
Rest Is Resistance
- A Manifesto
- By: Tricia Hersey
- Narrated by: Tricia Hersey
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What would it be like to live in a well-rested world? Far too many of us have claimed productivity as the cornerstone of success. Brainwashed by capitalism, we subject our bodies and minds to work at an unrealistic, damaging, and machine‑level pace—feeding into the same engine that enslaved millions into brutal labor for its own relentless benefit. In Rest Is Resistance, Tricia Hersey, aka the Nap Bishop, casts an illuminating light on our troubled relationship with rest and how to imagine and dream our way to a future where rest is exalted.
-
-
What an experience
- By makeba jones on 10-26-22
By: Tricia Hersey
-
The Urgent Life
- My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival
- By: Bozoma Saint John
- Narrated by: Bozoma Saint John
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Bozoma Saint John's husband, Peter, died of cancer, she made one big decision: to live life urgently. Bozoma was no stranger to adversity, having lost her college boyfriend to suicide, navigated an interracial marriage, grieved a child born prematurely—a process that led to her and Peter's separation—and coparented the daughter who she and Peter shared.
-
-
I Really wanted to love it
- By Anonymous User on 03-06-23
-
The Art of Gathering
- How We Meet and Why It Matters
- By: Priya Parker
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every day, we find ourselves in gatherings, Priya Parker says in The Art of Gathering. If we can understand what makes these gatherings effective and memorable, then we can reframe and redirect them to benefit everyone, host and guest alike. Parker defines a gathering as three or more people who come together for a specific purpose. When we understand why we gather, she says - to acknowledge, to learn, to challenge, to change - we learn how to organize gatherings that are relevant and memorable.
-
-
Would have liked a different narrator
- By Marta on 08-26-18
By: Priya Parker
-
The Disordered Cosmos
- A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred
- By: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the leading physicists of her generation, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is also one of fewer than one hundred Black American women to earn a PhD from a department of physics. Her vision of the cosmos is vibrant, buoyantly nontraditional, and grounded in Black and queer feminist lineages. Dr. Prescod-Weinstein urges us to recognize how science, like most fields, is rife with racism, misogyny, and other forms of oppression. She lays out a bold new approach to science and society, beginning with the belief that we all have a fundamental right to know and love the night sky.
-
-
Stunning
- By Amazon Customer on 04-05-21
-
David and Goliath
- Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Explore the power of the underdog in Malcolm Gladwell's dazzling examination of success, motivation, and the role of adversity in shaping our lives, from the best-selling author of The Bomber Mafia. Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn't have won. Or should he have?
-
-
The Art of (Unconventional) War
- By Cynthia on 10-04-13
By: Malcolm Gladwell
What listeners say about The Rise
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John Zajaros
- 01-01-15
Excellent, well worth the time!
I work with exceptional children every day. One of the greatest challenges I face in taking them to that elusive "next level" is convincing them that failure is an integral ingredient in any recipe for success.
I particularly enjoyed Lewis's perception as it relates to grit! Grit, or whatever name you give it, is crucial for long term success.
Great book! And again, well worth the time!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- N.Knox
- 09-25-19
Motivational
Great reseach, interviews and storytelling. Well read.
Thoughtful, useful information you can apply. I re-read Chapter 8 three times.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
- KatieBourgeois
- 01-16-21
Absolutely stunning!
This book is so thoughtful and beautifully written. It will stir the soul of both creatives and philosophers.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 01-23-21
Loved It
I needed a dictionary for most of it, but found her insights and definitions of success vs mastery original and informative. This is something I can see my self referencing over and over again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- RN
- 02-15-21
Perfection
I really enjoyed this book. Lewis shares ideas by using the power of story with an element of surprise. Each section is the perfect length and I was so happy to see she narrated it. Her voice is captivating with a flow that just works! Bravo!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kelly J. Kanary
- 11-23-21
Artistic science
This is an inspiring mix of science and art. Sarah brings us the art of story which springs from her scientific endeavor to understand how and why we rise in life. I will listen and read again and again because the story is captivating and the lessons are many. Thank you, Sarah Lewis.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dee Louise
- 03-04-22
Stellar Storytelling and So Thought Provoking
I am an artist who loves to see activism incorporated into my craft. Often I'm involved in shows that use history, science and elegant storytelling to evoke inner shifts and self reflection as folks leave the theater. And this book does that as well. I have come back a few times to re-read specific sections just to share with other folks or refresh my own thirst and drive to continue to create art. Please do yourself the favor of reading The Rise, it can assist you in any endeavor. Thank you Professor Lewis.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Marcus
- 04-23-18
Solid body of work but...
But... What is she talking about? I often feel lost when listening. this book reads like it has been written in the other's voice and the voice of people who think like her. This book feels like a collection of thoughts not a book to challenge and change thinking. I might of just picked up the wrong book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gary Anderson
- 06-25-24
Good, But Not Great
Ms. Lewis makes a good case for the benefits of the arts in the lives of the artists. However, she doesn't go deeper into examining what impact exposure to art has on its audience. This is an incomplete discussion.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- james kenly
- 06-13-16
Inspiring and artful
To be honest, I started this book with low expectations. It isn't by a familiar business-book author, I had no peer recommendations, and the subject matter, while right up my alley, is just artsy enough that there was a reasonable likelihood of it being a tangent into la la land. Instead. This is an artful, researched and compelling study of creative excellence, touching on and teasing out many niches of sociological and psychological academia (including emerging work on grit).
I thoroughly enjoyed the book as well as the performance and I strongly recommend to anyone pursuing creative thinking in a more traditional business setting. Also, for those who need a nudge to celebrate failure as a stepping stone to success.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful