John S. Couch - The Art of Creative Rebellion: How to Champion Creativity, Change Culture and Save Your Soul

Praise for The Art of Creative Rebellion

This is a rigorous call to take creatively honest action! It is about untethering ourselves from daily shrinkage in our creative labors. The Art of Creative Rebellion is a generous testament to the importance of creativity as a life practice and moral commitment. John S. Couch eloquently offers truth, wisdom and wit while conveying how your work can (and really must) override predetermined expectations and output measurements. John puts his extraordinary life, attained perspectives and creative leadership in service to being infinitely useful to others.

Kristy Edmunds, Executive and Artistic Director, Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA

Its so easy, so predictable to travel from the freedom of a child to the conformity of an adult. If you want to buck that trend, it wont happen accidentally. This is the book to help you plan and deliver on a life thats courageously and creatively lived.

Michael Bungay Stanier, Bestselling Author of The Coaching Habit

The ideals and creative dreams of your youth havent been choked out by the constriction of corporate culturetheyre waiting to be reclaimed through a small act of conscious rebellion. John S. Couch shows us how to clear the distractions and reconnect to the spark within.

Aarron Walter, VP of Design Education, InVisionApp Inc

John S. Couch delivers a kindly roadmap for the individual creative soul. His fluid and engaging writing style confidently guides the reader to step up, stand their ground and achieve; all for a life well lived. Bravo!

Bonita Pietila, Producer/Original Casting, The Simpsons

John has built not just the primer for a creative job, but an exercise routine for a joyful soul.

Jonathan Miranda, Strategist and Hopeful Futurist, Salesforce

The Art of Creative Rebellion is a masterful koan on the essence of design. Like a true Zen teacher, John S. Couch writes with a poetic brush and sharp sword. This book is a call to arms for designers who seek to make a meaningful impact in an evolving world. I love this book!

Michael Margolis, CEO, Storied, and Author, Story 10x

John S. Couch wants to give his younger self the wisdom of a career in design among the top-level technocrats who shape our reality. While his time machine is on backorder, hes written it all down in this book, so the rest of us can benefit as well. Im looking forward to consulting Johns book often to get a fresh poke in the ribs and a gentle kick in the ass!

Stefan G. Bucher, Narrative Brand Designer

I wish Id have had The Art of Creative Rebellion as my bedside mentor as I started my career. John S. Couch challenges us at each turn to be more creative, more truthful and more honest with ourselves, our families and our colleagues.

Sanford R. Climan, Entertainment Media Ventures, Inc.

This book has the power to re-energize, reaffirm and reboot; a resounding carpe diem to save the soul and bring creativity back into the future of design.

Albert Shum, CVP of Design, Experiences & Devices Group, Microsoft

The Art of Creative Rebellion doesnt simply teach you how to keep the creative juices flowing during a lifetime of work; it also shows you how to navigate and survive the corporate world with your creative life force intact.

Thomas Rigler, 2019 Emmy-Winning Director, Executive Producer, and Nonfiction Showrunner, Rigler Creative

John S. Couch is like the Forrest Gump of designhes been involved in nearly every interesting moment of change in digital design history and has been generous enough to capture it for the benefit of others.

Jen Panasik, Managing Director, IDEO

A glimpse into the mind of a creative leader, The Art of Creative Rebellion offers a starkly honest assessment of what it means to live courageously in the business of design.

David Albertson, Albertson Design

John S. Couchs manifesto is the perfect inspiration for creatives of all typesfrom artists to writers, to entrepreneurs and scientists. We all have a creative rebel within us, and John shows the way to awaken our inner creators and makers.

Tim Chang, Partner, Mayfield Fund

The success of the human species depends on our ability to unlock creativity and solve the planets grandest challenges. The Art of Creative Rebellion is the definitive guide for those who desire to solve the unsolvable, think the unthinkable and manifest the impossible.

Dr. Daniel Cordaro, Chief Equanimity Officer, The Contentment Foundation

John knows what youre going through. The Art of Creative Rebellion is smart, helpful and filled with empathy and humor.

Elan Lee, Creator, Exploding Kittens and Throw Throw Burrito

Choose and go.

Copyright 2020 by John S. Couch

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

Cataloguing in publication information is available from Library and Archives Canada.ISBN 978-1-989025-94-9 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-989025-95-6 (ebook)

Page Two

www.pagetwo.com

Edited by Scott Steedman

Cover and interior design by Peter Cocking

Cover and interior paintings by John S. Couch

Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Distributed in the US and internationally by Publishers Group West, a division of Ingram

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www.john-couch.com

eBook by Bright Wing Media

For JC, Audrey and Austin

Contents

Introduction:How to champion creativity, change culture and save your soul

Landmarks

Double down on your true calling.

To paraphrase Chris Rock,

A job is not a career. A career is doing something that you love with passion, without concern for monetary return. And the irony, of course, is that done with truthfulness and courage, most of the time your passions will bear monetary rewards.

I have a theory that most peoples taste in music and literature, and maybe even art, is fixed and set in amber between the ages of thirteen and twenty-three. Those are the years when you are actually reading intently or listening with your whole being; and man, your favorite band is making the most important music in the worldtoo bad they (parent, teacher or old friend who is pushing thirty) just dont get it. As folks age, they tend to get busy with work, marriage, kids, so theres just no time or energy to read or get into new music. And they look back on those younger years with fondness. And they keep reliving those years. This explains Deadheads. The problem with this is that your ears, eyes and mind arent open to whats happening right now. You start talking about the good ol days , and by the age of thirty you are locked into the past.