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Every Tool's a Hammer

Life Is What You Make It

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About this listen

 In this New York Times bestselling “imperative how-to for creativity” (Nick Offerman), Adam Savage—star of Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters—shares his golden rules of creativity, from finding inspiration to following through and successfully making your idea a reality.

Every Tool’s a Hammer is a chronicle of my life as a maker. It’s an exploration of making, but it’s also a permission slip of sorts from me to you. Permission to grab hold of the things you’re interested in, that fascinate you, and to dive deeper into them to see where they lead you.

Through stories from forty-plus years of making and molding, building and break­ing, along with the lessons I learned along the way, this book is meant to be a toolbox of problem solving, complete with a shop’s worth of notes on the tools, techniques, and materials that I use most often. Things like: In Every Tool There Is a Hammer—don’t wait until everything is perfect to begin a project, and if you don’t have the exact right tool for a task, just use whatever’s handy; Increase Your Loose Tolerance—making is messy and filled with screwups, but that’s okay, as creativity is a path with twists and turns and not a straight line to be found; Use More Cooling Fluid—it prolongs the life of blades and bits, and it prevents tool failure, but beyond that it’s a reminder to slow down and reduce the fric­tion in your work and relationships; Screw Before You Glue—mechanical fasteners allow you to change and modify a project while glue is forever but sometimes you just need the right glue, so I dig into which ones will do the job with the least harm and best effects.

This toolbox also includes lessons from many other incredible makers and creators, including: Jamie Hyneman, Nick Offerman, Pixar director Andrew Stanton, Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro, artist Tom Sachs, and chef Traci Des Jardins. And if everything goes well, we will hopefully save you a few mistakes (and maybe fingers) as well as help you turn your curiosities into creations.

I hope this book serves as “creative rocket fuel” (Ed Helms) to build, make, invent, explore, and—most of all—enjoy the thrills of being a creator. Creativity Entrepreneurship Personal Development Professionals & Academics Science Science & Technology Small Business & Entrepreneurship Business Inspiring Management Leadership
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For anyone that follows Adam and has a love for making this is ear candy. For those that aren't sure what making is, it will surely whet your whistle. True to his nature, Adam delivers a fast and list like writing style and performance, cultivated over a lifetime of ever increasing zest for detail and order. Thanks Adam for going through the crap load of work to deliver this masterpiece and for showing how great a sharing life can really be.

What a great book!

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Very entertaining, helpful, and insightful.

Great for fans of Adam, creators, or anyone working on any project. some really great tips and wisdom in here! Thanks to Adam for sharing!

Excellent for any project!

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I really enjoyed this book. I never realized I was missing checkboxes from my life. My to-do lists just got amazing. I'm actually looking forward to listening to this again, which is something I don't do often.

Great book, excellent narration

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I am not sure that Adam Savage even knows what this book is about.

In a better portion of the book, he describes his career about making, motivations, and practices and how an aspiring maker can take inspiration about that.

But after the 2/3 mark, the book changes completely. Suddenly talking about specific types of glue, types of materials (wood/acrylic), and when to use (or not use them). I found it interesting, but it blurred the focus of the book in my opinion

Interesting, but it lacks a focus

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Interesting as a maker. I also think Adam has some great insight for managers.

Great read

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