“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
This famous quote from novelist Jack London may be motivating, but it’s not particularly instructive. What concrete steps can we take to generate more good ideas? How can we ensure that our next big project is a success? And ultimately, what does it mean to live a life of creativity? By addressing these questions and more, the five superb books below pick up right where London left off.
Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most
By Adam Alter
Whether you’re muddling through a midlife crisis, wrestling writer’s block, trapped in a thankless job, or trying to remedy a fraying friendship, Anatomy of a Breakthrough is the roadmap we all need to escape our inertia and flourish in the face of friction. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Adam Alter, in the Next Big Idea App
Awaken Your Genius: Escape Conformity, Ignite Creativity, and Become Extraordinary
By Ozan Varol
Extraordinary people carve their own paths as leaders and creators. They stand out from the crowd because they embody their own shape and color. We call these people geniuses—as if they’re another breed. But genius isn’t for a special few. It can be cultivated. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Ozan Varol, in the Next Big Idea App
The Practice: Shipping Creative Work
By Seth Godin
From the bestselling author of Linchpin, Tribes, and The Dip comes an elegant little book that will inspire artists, writers, and entrepreneurs to stretch and commit to putting their best work out into the world. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Seth Godin, in the Next Big Idea App
The Creativity Factor: Using the Power of the Outdoors to Spark Successful Innovation
By Garry Pratt
The Creativity Factor clarifies how creativity is a key ingredient of effective leadership, highlighting strategies to help you cultivate your creative capabilities—like moving meetings and team-building exercises out of the office and into the great outdoors. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Garry Pratt, in the Next Big Idea App
The Science of Stuck: Breaking Through Inertia to Find Your Path Forward
By Britt Frank
Bringing together research-backed solutions and empowering personal stories, this book is a hands-on road map for moving forward with purpose, confidence, and the freedom to become who you’re truly meant to be. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Britt Frank, in the Next Big Idea App
The Key Ideas in 15 Minutes
“If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books,” Roald Dahl once famously said. The only trouble is, reading even one book from cover to cover takes hours—and you may not have many hours to spare.
But imagine for a moment: What if you could read a groundbreaking new book every day? Or even better, what if you could invite a world-renowned thinker into your earbuds, where they personally describe the 5 key takeaways from their work in just 15 minutes?
With the Next Big Idea App, we’ve turned this fantasy into a reality. We partnered with hundreds of acclaimed authors to create “Book Bites,” short audio summaries of the latest nonfiction that are prepared and read aloud by the authors themselves. Discover cutting-edge leadership skills, productivity hacks, the science of happiness and well-being, and much more—all in the time it takes to drive to work or walk the dog.
Go Deeper with a Next Big Idea Club Membership
The Next Big Idea App is free for anyone to try—and if you love it, we invite you to become an official member of the Next Big Idea Club. Membership grants you unlimited access to Book Bites and unlocks early-release, ad-free episodes of our LinkedIn-partnered podcast. You also gain entry to our private online discussion group, where you can talk big ideas with fellow club members and join exclusive live Q&A sessions with featured authors.
For a more focused learning experience, we recommend a Hardcover or eBook Membership. Every few months, legendary authors and club curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink select two new nonfiction books as the must-reads of the season. We then send hardcover copies straight to your doorstep, or eBook versions to your favorite digital device. We also collaborate with the authors of selected books to produce original reading guides and premium video e-courses, 50-minute master classes that take you step by step through their most life-changing ideas. And yes, it’s all available through the Next Big Idea App.
Learn Faster, from the World’s Leading Thinkers
Whether you prefer to read, listen, or watch, the Next Big Idea is here to help you work smarter and live better. Wake up with an always-fresh Idea of the Day, the perfect shot of inspiration to go with your morning coffee. Then dive into one of our Challenges, hand-picked collections of Book Bites that form crash courses in subjects like communication, motivation, and career acceleration. Later, watch the playback of an interview with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, or philosopher John Kaag. And be sure to check the “Events” tab in the app, so that you can join an upcoming live Q&A and personally chat with the next featured thought leader.
If you’re hoping to grow as a person or as a professional, we hope you’ll join us and tens of thousands of others who enjoy the Next Big Idea. Get started by downloading the app today!
