Grammy award-winning record producer Rick Rubin, 63, says his success comes down to discipline and showing up.
On Sunday’s episode of the “David Senra” podcast, Rubin reflected on the work ethic of great artists, and why consistency has been key to his own success.
“I don’t like to quit. I like to see things through. When I start something, I like to see what it can be,” the cofounder of Def Jam Recordings and founder of American Recordings told podcast host David Senra.
Despite his zen-like public image, Rubin agrees he’s someone who works a lot — even when he doesn’t feel like it.
“I’m a lazy workaholic,” Rubin said. “I have to force myself to do it. But I do force myself. My demeanor would be to do nothing.”
Rubin said what motivates him is getting to the final product, even if the process itself can be difficult.
“That’s the point. So, I love the beautiful thing, and it takes a lot of work to get to the beautiful thing,” he said, adding that it’s “a great feeling” when he gets to share the music he helped create with the world.
“But all of the work up until then, it’s like, ‘Oh my god, I have to go to the studio today,'” Rubin said.
“It’s such a beautiful day. Wouldn’t it be nice to just go out and have lunch with friends? But my whole life has been, you know, most of my life in the first 25 years was in a dark room for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week in New York City, working on music,” he added.
Rubin said parts of the creative process can be “boring,” and there are times when he’d “rather not be there.”
But the most addictive part of making music is the “moment of revelation,” when a project suddenly goes from “nothing to something really good,” especially after a long stretch of trial and error, he said.
Rubin also pointed to Eminem, whom he previously described as the “most obsessive artist” he’s ever worked with, as an example of the relentless discipline some artists bring to their craft.
“It feels like his entire life is centered around writing words. He’s totally preoccupied with that. So, he always has a notebook. He’s always making little notes,” Rubin said.
The record producer recalled once asking Eminem whether all the writing in his notebooks was for a new song.
“He’s like, ‘No, I’m just like keeping active, keeping active in the skill set,'” Rubin said, recalling the rapper’s response.
Still, Rubin said diligence and discipline are essential to greatness, even if not every successful artist obsesses over their craft.
“Work ethic is always a part of it, but for some people, work ethic is the reason they are who they are. And there are other people who are just incredibly talented and have enough work ethic to get over the finish line,” Rubin said.
Rubin isn’t the only entrepreneur who has spoken about the importance of having a strong work ethic.
Selena Gomez, who founded Rare Beauty in 2019, previously said her grandpa taught her the importance of being early.
“My papa used to say, ‘If you are on time, you’re already late.’ So that means I get to places 30 minutes before, or my team has had to trick me because I show up so early, but I like to be prepared, and to say hi and not be rushed,” she said.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang previously said he runs the company seven days a week, and part of what keeps him going is the fear of failure.
“I have a greater drive from not wanting to fail than the drive of wanting to succeed,” Huang said, adding that he’s “always in a state of anxiety.”
