these 4 quotes sum up my 2024 (here’s why)

2024 is almost over.

And while most people spend these final days looking forward and thinking about the next 12 months…

I’m doing the opposite.

Because I find there’s a heckuva lot more value to be gleaned from reviewing the past.

To wit:

This year was my first time tracking all the books I read.

And in poring over my notes from all 18 nonfiction books I managed to finish in 2024…

Two clear themes emerge:

Creativity & mindset.

Both of which paid out big dividends for me this year.

So I thought I’d share my top 4 book recs + my favorite quote from each one…

To help you enjoy a similar windfall in 2025.

Here goes:

***

1. Hegarty on Creativity (by John Hegarty)

This little pocket book is full of creative nuggets from an advertising legend.

It reminds me of Steven Pressfield’s books.

Short, powerful, and the type of thing you could reread once a year and still get something new out of each time.

Favorite quote:

“Originality is dependent on the obscurity of your sources.”

2. Mind Shift (by Erwin McManus)

Discipline has always been one of my strengths.

But self-belief?

Not so much.

That’s what drew me to this book.

Before you can achieve anything, you have to believe it’s possible.

And finding your way to that place of self-belief often requires plucking the weeds from your garden of your mind.

In other words:

Uninstalling the limiting beliefs keeping you stuck so you can shift your mind.

Favorite quote:

“No one can eat the mushroom for you. You have to go first if you want to bring new ideas to life and create the future.”

3. The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life (by Boyd Varty)

How do you know if you’re on the right path?

This has been a constant source of stress for me over the years.

I’m ruthlessly reevaluating every move I make in my quest to bend reality to my will.

For better and for worse.

But this book taught me to better trust my intuition.

Because it turns out, finding your way in life is a lot like tracking lions in the desert.

Favorite quote:

“The journey to transformation is a series of first tracks. I don’t know where I’m going but I know exactly how to get there.”

4. The Creative Act (by Rick Rubin)

In the first few years of my career…

I completely rejected the notion of being creative or seeing myself as an artist.

It felt so squishy and snobby and pretentious.

Like something reserved only for people with inflated egos who are allergic to hard work and think capitalism is evil.

But that changed this year.

I finally began to embrace my identity as a creative person whose livelihood depends on my ability to make good art and sell it.

A big part of that has been honing in on how the creative process works, at least for me.

Which is what made reading this book so cool.

It made tangible a process I’d intuitively grasped but never been able to properly describe.

Words are powerful.

Especially when they light the path to your final destination.

So this book is a must-read for any publisher IMO.

Whether you see yourself as a “creative” or not ;)

Favorite quote:

“Imagine a flower in an open meadow. Now take that flower and slip it into the barrel of a rifle. Or place it on a gravestone. Notice in each case how you feel. In new surroundings, the same object can take on considerably different meanings. The context changes the content.”

***

Anyway, there you have it.

Four books & quotes to sum up the banner year that was my 2024.

I intend to double down on these themes next year…

So if you’ve got any book recommendations on creativity, mindset, or making art, reply and lemme know.

I’ll add ‘em to my list for 2025 :)

Jim Hamilton