"Zoom in and obsess. Zoom out and observe. We get to choose."
— Rick Rubin, The Creative Act
One of the most significant challenges and powers in the creative process is knowing when to go deep and when to step back.
In this episode of Pattern Cognition, we reflect on one of the most potent insights from Rick Rubin's The Creative Act: "Zoom in and obsess. Zoom out and observe. We get to choose."
This quote isn't just poetic. It's practical. It's a lens through which artists, entrepreneurs, designers, and leaders can operate more intentionally.
Let's break it down:
- Zooming in is about precision. It's obsessing over the rhythm of a sentence, the color grading of a film, or the final mile of a logistics operation. This is where detail matters, craft matters, and mastery is built.
- Zooming out is about perspective. It's seeing how everything connects. It's strategy. It's pattern recognition. It's understanding how the product fits into the market or how your values shape your leadership.
- Most people get stuck in one mode — constantly grinding in the weeds or endlessly floating in the clouds. But the most effective creators and thinkers move fluidly between both.
- We get to choose — When we intentionally switch perspectives, we unlock a new kind of thoughtful and scalable creativity.
The Creative Choice
This principle applies whether we're writing a book, building a startup, launching a product, or designing a campaign. The most empowering part is that we have agency over our perspective.
When we intentionally switch between macro and micro views, we unlock a new kind of thoughtful and scalable creativity. This isn't about balance—it's about conscious choice and fluid movement between modes of thinking.
This episode offers a fast but foundational insight that can reframe your entire approach to creativity and execution.