Should Hugh swear so much?
Hugh MacLeod's new book on creativity is out today.
It's brilliant, and if you're willing to be pushed, it will push you.
Some people avoid Hugh's work because he's unafraid (even eager) to write about sex and to use language that looks good on Jack Nicholson. I have no problem with this, but a lot of people do, certainly at work.
So, the question: Should Hugh leave it out?
One school of thought says that if he wants to sell boatloads of books to frightened corporations, then yes, of course, he should and he must.
The other says, wait, you only get to write a classic book like this once in your life, how dare you make it less than you think it needs to be just to sell a few hundred thousand more copies.
JD Salinger took the latter advice. So did Hugh.
It's not commerce, it's art.
The irony, as most multimillionaire authors will tell you, is that it's art that creates the commerce, not the other way around. Hugh set out to write a book that matters, not a book that will please everyone.