In his career as a producer Don Hahn has had an up close view as talented artists, animators and filmmakers crafted films like “The Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast” along with live-action documentaries like the Disney Nature films “Oceans” and “Earth.” Currently he is acting as the executive producer on the Tim Burton directed feature film of “Frankenweenie.” Never one to stay idle, Hahn spent the past few months writing about creativity in his new book, “Brainstorm – Unleashing Your Creative Self.” “I've always been interested in the topic of creativity and I wanted to write a book that says creating is not just something we choose to do, its a lifestyle choice in everything we do,” Hahn said. In the book Hahn outlines the six parts of being more creative, including dealing with the forces, real or imagined, that can conspire to frustrate the creative process. The six chapters are: Beginnings, Passion, Spirit, Forces, Fear and Loss and finally, Rebirth. Hahn champions creative people in whatever career they are in, from artist to writer and even to businesses. At one point in the book, Hahn talks about unleashing those forces within any organization by freeing up the workers. “The revolution in creativity comes when those leaders support and challenge the creative team instead of dictating to the team,” Hahn wrote in the book. Throughout the book Hahn uses examples from the various films he's been associated with about how a group of people can feel empowered to be creative. He also cites the need for creative people or people in any work environment to feel safe to speak up honestly about ideas. He cites Pixar as a company that creates a safe work environment for that honesty, saying that honesty makes them a successful company where others fail. As for places that fail he says in the book, “The sad result: a new idea is edited before it is spoken, and a leader feels validated for doing it.” The book was published by Disney Editions. Video by Mark Eades, ocregister.com/video.