Rick Rubin won't give you answers, but he will show you the way.

"You're so goddamn free," the rapper Tyler, the Creator says to Rick Rubin in the opening scene of the 2019 Showtime documentary Shangri-La. This is high praise coming from an artist who has such an unapologetic approach to creation.

What Rubin has accomplished as a music producer from his early days at Def Jam to collaborating with the greatest artists of all time, Run-DMC, Kanye West, Adele, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, Lana Del Rey, Ed Sheeran—is hard to believe. It's easier to think of artists that Rick hasn't worked with. 

When it comes to the work, though, it's never about Rubin. 

In his later thinking, the American psychologist Abraham Maslow argued that there is a higher level of development than self-actualization—something he calls self-transcendence. 

According to Maslow, self-transcendence brings the individual to what he termed "peak experiences" in which they transcend their own personal concerns and see from a higher perspective. When I watch Rubin work with artists, he has clearly achieved this higher state of emotional and spiritual consciousness that Maslow describes. 

He's become a beautiful vessel things can easily flow through— a mirror that artists can see their true selves in when they're with him. People ask better questions when they are around him. They can be vulnerable and work fearlessly. They listen more. They are better versions of themselves.

As Natalie Maynard of the Dixie Chicks put it, Rubin "has the ability and the patience to let the music be discovered, not manufactured."

It's not a coincidence that Rubin is so successful. A tremendous amount of practice goes on behind the scenes. Reaching an effortless state of being requires a hell of a lot of effort.

He's been meditating for 44 years.

After complaining of a sore neck at 14 years old, his doctor recommended he learn how to meditate. He tried Transcendental Meditation, and he's been a life-long student of the practice. 

Rubin knows that if you want to change the world, you have to start with yourself. It's no surprise that his collaborative magic involves the heart more than the head. He knows that being in tune with his feelings creates the space for beautiful things to happen. 

David Lynch, a fellow TMer, puts it so well when he states, "most of us go through our lives wearing a suffocating rubber clown suit of negativity. Log enough meditation, and that suit will dissolve." 

I believe that his meditation practice is directly responsible for one of his superpowers—removing any focus on the expectations of the external world so that he and his artists can do their best work.

He pays attention. 

Rubin admits his approach to profoundly understanding people is not just reserved for artists. He believes that if you are open and pay attention to people, they will tell you what they need. 

But this state of openness required a conscious deconstruction of his ego. And he supports artists in doing the same. He helps them see what they already have inside of them so they can pay attention. 

He's open to exploring.

Rick has no interest in making people follow some strict way of working. He wants them to be more fully authentic in service of the work. There is no defined "Rick Rubin Way". Rubin talks about never judging an idea based on the description of the idea. Because the distance between what you think it is and what is going on in someone's head can sometimes be far apart. His approach is try them all and let the work speak for itself.

He says, "I never decide if an idea is good or bad until I try it. So much of what gets in the way of things being good is thinking that we know. And the more that we can remove any baggage we're carrying with us, and just be in the moment, use our ears, and pay attention to what's happening, and just listen to the inner voice that directs us, the better." 

He values his environment. 

Rubin knows the proper environment is critical to creating great work. I can't help but feel a deep sense of peace when I see white walls, clean lines, and starkness in his famous music studio, Shangri-La. The studio's Director of Operations, Eric Lynn tells Architectural Digest: "One of the things that Shangri-La does well with its minimalist design is taking away the distractions of clutter— there's not a television, there's not a clock telling you what time it is. It's like a blank canvas." 

Nietzsche wrote, "For if we think of genius as something magical, we are not obliged to compare ourselves and find ourselves lacking." 

Most cling to the belief that masters like Rubin are born, not made. I think that's our ego talking. 

It’s clear to me that Rubin has put in a lot of work to pull this off. I can’t help but wonder what is possible if we did the same.

Rick Rubin doesn't want you to be reading this essay about him. But I am glad you did.