There are few things more frustrating than being stuck in a creative rut. Maybe you’ve been lacking the inspiration to draw, paint, or sculpt. Maybe you need to finish a paper for class, but writer’s block is making progress impossible. Or maybe you need to present a new idea to your boss next week, but you have no clue what to say.
Whatever creativity may look like for you, we come bearing good news: You have the power to escape that rut. With a little help from the seven inspiring books below, it’s only a matter of time before your creative energy comes roaring back.
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
By Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
A life-altering journey through the science of neuroaesthetics, which shows how our brains and bodies transform when we participate in the arts—and how this knowledge can both improve our health and help us build stronger communities. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross, 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
Start More Than You Can Finish: A Creative Permission Slip to Unleash Your Best Ideas
By Becky Blades
Using digestible data, humorous and honest personal experience, interviews with artists and entrepreneurs, and assignments to help you get started, Start More Than You Can Finish challenges the tropes our dads, moms, and third-grade teachers told us about finishing. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Becky Blades, in the Next Big Idea App
Emotion by Design: Creative Leadership Lessons from a Life at Nike
By Greg Hoffman
A former Nike Chief Marketing Officer shares his philosophy and principles on how to create an empowering brand that resonates deeply with people by unlocking the creativity within your organization and unleashing it out into the world. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Greg Hoffman, in the Next Big Idea App
Leading with Heart: Five Conversations That Unlock Creativity, Purpose, and Results
By John Baird and Edward Sullivan
In this Wall Street Journal bestseller, two veteran executive coaches help today’s leaders learn how to retain and inspire their teams through the one thing their research has found works: leading with heart. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-authors John Baird and Edward Sullivan, 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
Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential
By Tiago Forte
A revolutionary approach to enhancing productivity, creating flow, and vastly increasing your ability to capture, remember, and benefit from the unprecedented amount of information all around us. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Tiago Forte, 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!
