Running with the Elephants: A Review of Let the Elephants Run by David Usher

David Usher

Creativity is a strange beast. For some it is hard to come up up with the simplest ideas for some while others while for others these ideas can come easily. Because of this, there is there is a myth that those who are creative are born with that ability. In his book, Let the Elephants Run: Unlock Your Creativity and Change Everything, singer and song writer David Usher takes a look at this myth and explores one can tap into their hidden creativity whether it comes naturally or not. This blog is going to see if this book has a memorable message or if it would be better for elephants to forget.

Let the Elephants Run: Unlock Your Creativity and Change Everything is Usher's first venture in writing (well, in nonfictional prose). He opens Let the Elephants Run with the example of his own childhood; how Usher can remember that his love of creating things stemmed from his childhood and that many of us start out like this as well.¹ This love for creativity dwindles as life goes on and “layer upon layer of life begins to separate us from our child's mind.”² Throughout Let the Elephants Run, Usher argues that curiosity and passion is still accessible, that creativity is not something inherent (or blessed by a fairy godmother) but something learn-able.³ To Usher, all it takes is to “take the time, make the commitment, and learn how.”⁴

One of the things that works in Let the Elephants Run is Usher's writing ability, particularly in his use of examples when discussing his points. An example of this is seen when Usher discusses a concept that he calls “Pink Elephant Thinking”, to allow your imagination to run on its own and utilize what ideas what it has to offer.⁵ Usher elaborates on this concept with how he uses the Pulse Sensor Open Source Heart-Rate Sensor to use an audience member's heart-rate to set up the beat for his shows. (See what I did there?) The process started with Usher wanting to take his and his band's usual method of them setting the tone and timbre of their shows and turn it around so that the audience could “power the band.”⁶ Because Usher wanted to make this happen, he searched the web until he found a Kickstarter for the Pulse Sensor Open Source Heart-Rate Sensor. The next step was programming the sensor, this was answered by Robert Brooks, who also had an interest in this endeavour.⁷ The lesson from this example is the benefits of Pink Elephant Thinking, if Usher hadn't acted on the curiosity, he would have lost out on something that has proven beneficial to his concerts.

Usher also uses a unique design in his book. Rather than using a regular layout where the reader would merely read on how to be creative, Usher has Let the Elephants Run, Usher formats his book to to make the reader more active in their creativity. Throughout the book, Usher presents his audience with different activities or actions ranging from just writing ideas down, forming an idea web (having a central concept that branches off to different topics), or examining your own abilities to determine if you are introverted or extroverted to allow readers to practice and hone their creative abilities. In the first activity, Usher explains that he wants his readers to write and take notes in the book because “learning to be creative is itself a creative act.”⁸ In this way, Usher wants to make his audience active in their learning experience because in doing so when reading Let the Elephants Run it lays a foundation in developing a person's creativity.

In closing, Let the Elephants Run: Unlock Your Creativity and Change Everything is the perfect book for someone wanting to improve their creativity or just wanting to tap into their unknown talent. Usher proves himself skilful in prose as he is in music. The best part is how Usher gives his book a unique edge by making his readers more active in their education with different activities to build a base in becoming creative. Much like the book title suggests, let the elephants run and let those creative juices flow!

Bibliography

"David Usher." Wikipedia. July 07, 2018. Accessed July 08, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Usher.

"Let the Elephants Run." House of Anansi Press. Accessed July 08, 2018. https://houseofanansi.com/products/let-the-elephants-run-digital.

Usher, David. Let the Elephants Run: Unlock Your Creativity and Change Everything. Toronto: House of Anansi. 2015.

Notes:

1David Usher, Let the Elephants Run: Unlock Your Creativity and Change Everything, (Toronto:House of Anansi Press Inc., 2015), 7.

2Ibid.

3Ibid., 8.

4Ibid.

5Ibid., 91.

6Ibid., 93.

7Ibid., 94.

8Ibid., 12.