Deadlines. Writer’s block. The dream assignment that, at that last moment, got canceled. The business decision you made that seemed oh so smart at the time…but turned out not to be. The failure of your precious creative juices to show up on demand. The client whose idea of “a few changes” to your work is quantitatively different than your own. That brilliant idea you had at 3 a.m. that didn’t seem quite so game-changing in the harsh light of day.
There are all kinds of reasons why creatives get stressed, discouraged or just plain pissed off. We’ve all been there. If you need to re-charge your batteries, perhaps some of the words on this page will help to jump-start your creative or business mojo.
Only those who fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.- Robert F. Kennedy
Those who say it cannot be done
should not interrupt those doing it.
Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up – Pablo Picasso
The primary math of the real world is one and one equals two. The layman (as, often, do I) swings that every day. He goes to the job, does his work, pays his bills and comes home. One plus one equals two. It keeps the world spinning. But artists, musicians, con men, poets, mystics and such are paid to turn that math on its head, to rub two sticks together and bring forth fire. Everybody performs this alchemy somewhere in their life, but it’s hard to hold on to and easy to forget. People don’t come to rock shows to learn something. They come to be reminded of something they already know and feel deep down in their gut. That when the world is at its best, when we are at our best, when life feels fullest, one and one equals three. It’s the essential equation of love, art, rock ‘n’ roll and rock ‘n’ roll bands. It’s the reason the universe will never be fully comprehensible, love will continue to be ecstatic, confounding, and true rock ‘n’ roll will never die.
- musician Bruce Springsteen in his autobiography, "Born to Run"
If you haven't read it...you should!
Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
– Chinese good luck tantra totem
My muse must come to me on union time. – dancer/choreographer George Balanchine
The late, great George Duke
We take tangible and intangible elements from the known world and combine them with elements from the spiritual world in order to reach deeper levels of connection and understanding between the two. We spin the undeveloped yarn of ideas into reality – it is the ultimate act of creating something from nothing in this world. In short, we are the storytellers and conduits of possibilities. I paint my musical canvas with many diverse elements, for that is the way of life and definitely the way I roll, so enjoy the ride.
- musician George Duke, from his 2013 album "DreamWeaver"
Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. - former football coach Lou Holtz
ORIGINALITY: if everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking.
You have to understand that you're not gonna please everybody all of the time, and if you try to you're gonna end up with vanilla. - Bryan Nesbitt, designer of the PT Cruiser
Genius isone percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration. - Thomas Edison
Adversity makes or breaks you, but it primarily reveals you.
Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them; disagree with them; glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. - Steve Jobs/Apple Inc.
Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it. – Salvador Dali
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity. – Charles Mingus
You don’t take a photograph, you make it. – Ansel Adams
Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things – Ray Bradbury
Curious that we spend more time congratulating people who have succeeded than encouraging people who have not. - Neil deGrasse Tyson
I think Chuck Close said, ‘Inspiration is for amateurs; us professionals, we just go to work in the morning.’ The one thing that we really love about that quote is that it relieves you of all that pressure. It is not waiting for hours for this moment where inspiration strikes: it’s just about showing up and getting started and then something amazing happens…or it doesn’t happen. And all that matters is that you’re able to have the chance for something to happen and for that you have to sit at your desk and draw and make decisions and hope for the best.
cr8vstrategy doesn’t have a monopoly on creative coolness: what great inspirational quotes have you seen on the subject of creativity, the creative process or coping with running your own business? Send it & it just might find its way onto this page! Please include your name, company and job title.
