Page 6: "...must live their creative lives as a means of fighting back against the ruthless furnace of this world." "Without bravery... they would never be able to realize the vaulting scope of their own capacities. Without bravery, they would never know the world as richly as it longs to be known."
Page 8: "Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?"
Page 9: "Creative life: living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear."
Page 18: "Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them."
Page 23: "...you do not need your fear in the realm of creative expression."
Page 25: "It seems to me that the less I fight my fear, the less it fights back. If I can relax, fear relaxes, too."
Page 27: "And you have treasures hidden within you...And bringing those treasures to light takes work and faith and focus and courage and hours of devotion, and the clock is ticking, and the world is spinning, and we simply do not have time anymore to think so small."
Page 41: "You can nourish healthier relationships in order to keep yourself undistracted by self-invented emotional catastrophes." "You can measure your worth by your dedication to your path, not by your successes or failures."
Page 71: "...merely making things, and then sharing those things with an open heart and no expectations?"
Page 88: "Let inspiration lead you wherever it wants to lead you. Keep in mind that for most of history people just made things, and they didn't make such a big freaking deal out of it."
Page 91: "I don't want to be afraid of bright colors, or new sounds, or big love, or risky decisions, or strange experiences, or weird endeavors, or sudden changes, or even failure."
Page 97: "Everything reminds us of something. But once you put your own expression and passion behind an idea, that idea becomes yours."
Page 98: "Just say what you want to say, then, and say it with all your heart."
Page 101: "Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart. The rest will take care of itself."
Page 103: "Work hard, make the most of your opportunities, and grow, grow, grow."
Page 105: "You must be willing to take risks if you want to live a creative existence."
Page 107: "...open your eyes wide and let the world educate you to the fullest extent."
Page 116: "...it's a mighty act of human love to remind somebody that they can accomplish things by themselves, and that the world does not automatically owe them any reward, and that they are not as weak and hobbled as they may believe."
Page 133: "They never stressed about their creativity, and they never competed against themselves; they merely lived within their inspiration, comfortably and unquestioningly."
Page 135: "It matters./It doesn't matter. Build space in your head for this paradox."
Page 142: "...everybody imitates before they can innovate."
Page 143: "It's a simple and generous rule of life that whatever you practice, you will improve at."
Page 146: "...education isn't over when they (universities) say it's over; your education is over when you say it's over." "So when can you start pursuing your most creative and passionate life? You can start whenever you decide to start."
Page 150: "'What are you passionate enough about that you can endure the most disagreeable aspects of the work?'"
Page 154: "You can look after yourself in this world while looking after your creativity at the same time."
Page 156: "...their creativity matters to them enough that they are willing to make all kids of extra sacrifices for it."
Page 166: "...in order to stay in the game, you must let go of your fantasy of perfection." "'So many of us believe in perfection, which ruins everything else, because the perfect is not only the enemy of the good; it's also the enemy of the realistic, the possible, and the fun." "Perfectionism...often stops people from beginning their work."
Page 168: "--a man who seems not ready for the task, not good enough for the task, somehow grows immediately into his potential through the wild leap of faith itself."
Page 170: "Why am I here? What have I been called to do? How am I getting in my own way? How can I best live out my destiny?" "...be satisfied with even the smallest progress, and treat the outcome of it all as unimportant."
Page 172: "We all need something that helps us to forget ourselves for a while--to momentarily forget our age, our gender, our socioeconomic background, our duties, our failures, and all that we have lost and screwed up. We need something that takes us so far out of ourselves...that we forget to resent our enemies, forget to brood over our insecurities."
Page 173: "...if greatness should ever accidentally stumble upon you, let it catch you hard at work."
Page 183: "...conventional success would depend upon three factors--talent, luck, and discipline--and I knew that two of those three things would never be under my control...The only piece I had any control over was my discipline. Recognizing that, it seemed like the best plan would be to work my ass off. That was the only card I had to play, so I played it hard."
Page 193: "...that no doesn't always mean no, and that miraculous turns of fate can happen to those who persist in showing up."
Page 245: "The creators who most inspire me, then, are not necessarily the most passionate, but the most curious."
Page 247: "...they quit as soon as things aren't easy anymore, as soon as it gets painful, or boring, or agitating. They quit as soon as they something in their minds that scares them or hurts them. So they miss the good part, the wild part, the transformative part--the part when you push past the difficulty and enter into some raw new unexplored universe within yourself."
Page 252: "Someday it might all make sense to you--why you needed to go through this botched-up mess in order to land in a better place. Or maybe it will never make sense...Move on, anyhow. Whatever else happens, stay busy."
Page 263: "You did the best with what you knew, and you worked with what you had, in the time that you were given."
