Now available for purchase.
“In this profound, delightful work, Nichtern humorously explores balancing one’s spirituality with earning a living. Readers new to Buddhism will find a welcoming introduction to basic Buddhist tenets, and any general reader working in a creative field will relish Nichtern’s helpful tips on sustaining a long-term artistic practice.” -Publisher’s Weekly
A friendly, funny, practical guide for creatives and entrepreneurs, written by David Nichtern, a four-time Emmy award-winning and two-time Grammy-nominated composer-guitarist-producer who has worked with Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Jerry Garcia, Lana Del Rey, and Krishna Das, among many others. Also a beloved and highly regarded Buddhist teacher, David teaches readers how to integrate their creative process with their spiritual practice and livelihood.
“How do I make a living doing what I love?”
“Am I a sellout as an artist if I want to be successful?”
“How do I integrate my spiritual principles with the art of running a business? And actually, um, how do I run a business?”
Wondering how to reconcile your calling with your need to make a living wage, or what to do once your art starts selling, or how to achieve success in your field, or what it even means to be successful? David Nichtern offers his lived, learned experience as an entrepreneur, musician, and Buddhist teacher to first help you figure out what “success” means to you and then show you how to get there. He offers advice on the creative process and principles of business and ethics—everything from “listen to the muse!” to “protect your intellectual property!”—and provides mindfulness exercises to help you integrate inspiration and aspiration, vocation and avocation—to go from surviving to thriving.
Whether you’re a baker trying to grow from the farmer’s market to a brick-and-mortar or a CEO exploring how taking care of your employees can be the same as taking care of your business—if you’re trying to align your spiritual, creative, and financial pursuits and discover what it means to truly live well, this book is for you.
What people are saying:
“Great book about spirituality and success by David Nichtern”
—Judd Apatow, filmmaker, actor and comedian“The big question has always been whether or not three aspects of our lives—creative expression, economic well-being, and spiritual growth—are separate and compartmentalized. In this excellent book, David Nichtern demonstrates that you can integrate all of them into one holistic life, guiding us through ikigai principles of do what you love, do what you are good at, do what the world wants, and do what the world is willing to pay for. I have always enjoyed David’s music. Now we get to enjoy his words of wisdom in this book.” — Gopi Kallayil, chief evangelist, brand marketing for Google, and author of The Internet to the Inner-net and The Happy Human
“Growing up, I always worried that in order to be spiritual one needed the rules to live a simple, quiet life. As I gained a self and success I realized that none of us live simple lives. We ALL need help to understand that a modern life demands flexibility and freedom. David’s new book gives us guidance and the tools to do so but mostly permission to be ambitious and still.” — Jamie Lee Curtis, actress, author and entrepreneur
“David Nichtern wonderfully shares the fruit of a long career and a wide variety of life experiences, along with his devoted meditation practice and exploration. Sound, tested, business planning and advice would seem to be an odd pairing with Buddhist teaching and guidance on how to establish a meditation practice. But Creativity, Spirituality, and Making a Buck proves this not to be the case. Tools like Tibetan lojong slogans, pithy bits of Buddhist wisdom teachings, can totally change your day.” — Sharon Salzberg, author of Real Happiness and Real Love
“Everybody has a hungry heart. We are hungry for so many different kinds of food. The table is set and the meal is laid out for us . . . but how do we put that food into our mouths and TASTE IT? In this book, David Nichtern guides us with wisdom, joy, and humor to make our whole lives a tasty meal to be enjoyed and shared with others.” — Krishna Das, Grammy-nominated kirtan artist and author of Chants of a Lifetime
“So many books about spirituality lack an acknowledgment of the day-to-day world, while most books about success lack an ethical and spiritual compass. David Nichtern figured out how to harmonize two essential modern human agendas. With humor and compassion for people who are uncomfortable with spiritual language, with impeccable logic and an open heart, David Nichtern explains how to intertwine spiritual and ethical principles with the pragmatic issues of day to day life. “I first knew David Nichtern as a great guitar player and record producer. Then it turned out he was a big-deal teacher of Buddhism and now he has written this irresistible book. I’ll have whatever he’s having.” — Danny Goldberg, former president of Atlantic Records, manager of Nirvana, and author of In Search of the Lost Chord
“As much as David loves helping people connect to their Buddha nature, he loves helping young creatives turn their passions into their careers just as much. In this wonderful book, he gives away secrets most of us professional-artist types keep to ourselves. Lucky for you, his heart is big enough to share with everyone.” — Pete Holmes, author of Comedy Sex God
“Could you use a nudge to boost your creativity, income or even your spiritual life? David Nichtern makes the perfect noodge. In Creativity, Spirituality, and Making a Buck he offers, as promised, solid steps to boost your creative spirit, your spiritual impulses, and your income. And in a day when there are zero public funds for creativity, creatives can use this as a handbook for funding themselves. Best: Nichtern waxes engaging and clever, wise, and funny—making this a book anyone can not only benefit from but also enjoy reading.” — Daniel Goleman, author of Altered Traits: How Meditation Transforms Your Mind, Brain, and Body
“This is a wonderful book! If I were to create a workbook, this is what it would look like—it’s so simple yet so effective. I highly recommend it!” — Anita Morrjani, author of the New York Times bestseller Dying to Be Me
“David is a master at helping us untangle the neurotic knots that often can get in the way of the creative process. This book will help you shake off some of the weird, superstitious bullshit you might be attaching to your dreams and give you some down-to-earth practices that can help ground your art and spirituality in a stable framework based on Buddhist principles. If, like me, you’ve attached a menagerie of irrational ideas and inefficient methods to your creative process then this book could help you find a more stable, efficient, and powerful way to bring your ideas into the world.” — Duncan Trussell, comedian and host of the Duncan Trussell Family Hour podcast
