The Certain Way is a practical philosophy for creative people who want to thrive without selling out.
It’s based on a radical idea, from over a century ago, that thought, held with clarity and purpose, shapes reality. The idea came from a book by Wallace T. Wattles calledThe Science of Getting Rich
The book was written in 1910. I came across it some twenty years ago. Seeing through the outdated language and religious overtones, I found a powerful, grounded, systematic way of thinking that cuts through doubt, distraction, and scarcity. It worked for me.
No, I’m not a millionaire, but then I don’t want to be – that’s not the kind of lifestyle I aspire to. But Wattles showed me there is more to a rich life. Money is a big apart of it. Today, money is how you buy time and space, it buys food, shelter, education – all the things you need to fulfil your potential and be the person you are meant to be.
I re-imagined the book for the times we are living through, stripped of mysticism, rooted in nature, science, and creative action.
As everything around us speeds ever faster, I feel it would be mean not to share a philosophy that has worked for me.
I hope it may for you.
This site is where I expand on the ideas in the book and try to explain how I see the world and our place in it.
If you’re a maker, teacher, parent, artist, thinker or creator trying to hold on to your vision in a world of noise, this is for you.
This site is not about manifesting cars or asking for stuff from the catalogue of the universe. It is a practical way of getting to grips with your life.
I’m here to understand how ideas become form – and how certainty fuels the process.
Who Am I?
I’m Shoo – a writer, illustrator, and practical philosopher of creativity.
After decades in publishing and storytelling, I reached a point of burn-out, as many creatives have – burned out by the noise, the hustle, and the endless scramble of the digital world. The Certain Way is the result of what came next – a clear, practical philosophy for building form with purpose, discipline, and quiet confidence.
I’ve spent a lifetime’s career as a children’s author and illustrator and have had some success with my how to draw videos on Youtube – ShooRaynerDrawing and Drawstuffrealeasy