You Are Creative: A Five-Stage Process to Unlock Ideas, Solve Problems, and Find Possibility Everywhere

Creativity isn't a lightning bolt--it's a way of moving through life. Learn a simple, repeatable process shaped by real stories from the operating room, the boardroom, and the studio.

We often romanticize creativity as the result of a sudden epiphany. But that is a myth. In You Are Creative, engineer-turned-surgeon-turned-sculptor Emilio DiIorio shows a truer path: creativity as a lived practice. Drawing from a lifetime that spans aerospace labs, medical school, orthopedic operating rooms, the CEO's office, and a thriving arts career, DiIorio offers a grounded guide that replaces hype with experience and helps you create on purpose--no matter your job title.

At the heart of the book is a practical, five-stage creative process (Preparation, Incubation, Insight, Evaluation, Implementation) brought to life with personal anecdotes and everyday applications. You'll see how ideas really form, how to keep momentum when doubt creeps in, and how to carry a project from first spark to finished work.

Inside, you'll trade limiting myths about creativity for practices that make you more effective--and more fully human. Move from blank page to finished work with the clear five-stage process: preparing and incubating intentionally, generating and winnowing ideas without getting stuck second-guessing, and, finally, getting the work out there. The framework applies across daily problem-solving in fields as diverse as medicine, engineering, and entrepreneurship.

Accessible and encouraging, You Are Creative is your invitation to begin practicing creativity in every aspect of your life. Through relatable stories and step-by-step guidance, DiIorio gives readers the confidence and structure to build things that matter--and to find more meaning in the making.

Author: Emilio DiIorio
Publisher: Matt Holt Books
Published: 09/01/2026
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.14h x 5.92w x 1.11d
ISBN: 9798902680130


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 08/01/2026

About the Author
Emilio DiIorio is a renowned artist and sculptor, former systems engineer, orthopedic surgeon, and CEO who has studied the science and art of creativity throughout his career. He has a degree in engineering from New York University and attended NYU's Stern School of Business. Following business school, DiIorio studied anatomy at the University of Ghent before deciding to enroll in medical school. He completed his medical degree in orthopedic surgery at Boston University and the Lahey Clinic. After four decades in practice as an orthopedic surgeon, DiIorio became the founder and CEO of a health network in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. In 2019, he sold the company and continues the practice and study of sculpture, the fine arts, and the creative process, which he has pursued for decades while serving as a physician and entrepreneur. He currently owns and operates Atelier Lucca--sculpture studios, gardens, and a private art gallery in the Lehigh Valley--where he sculpts and works alongside his team and his wife and cofounder, Amanda. He divides his time between homes in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania; and New York City.