To accept you completely...

You don’t need someone to complete you.
You only need someone to accept you completely.

I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies

Having lots of friends means nothing to me. I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.

If I like you enough to show you the real me...

I’m not open to many people.
I’m usually quiet and I don’t really like attention.
So if I like you enough to show you the real me, you must be very special.

The miracle is to make a single friend...

Making a hundred friends is not a miracle.
The miracle is to make a single friend who will stand by your side
even when hundreds are against you.

Nothing compares to a beautiful conversation with a beautiful mind.

What’s a friend?

A friend is someone who think your life would be different if they didn't exist.
A friend is someone who NEVER leaves you out, you are ALWAYS included when you are with them.
A friend is there for you, no matter what.
Does this describe your friend?

Ordinary things can be made extraordinary

Even the most ordinary things can be made extraordinary simple by doing it with the right people.
- Nicholas Sparks

Sometimes the most ordinary things could be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people.
- Elisabeth Green

And if they can’t pick you up, they lay down right beside you

A real friend is someone who tries to pick you up when you've fallen,
and if they can’t pick you up, they lay down right beside you.

All we need is to be needed

We have so many needs in our life, but at the end of the day, all we need is to be needed.

Friendship is so weird

Friendship is so weird…
you just pick a human you’ve met and you’re like “yup I like this one” and you do stuff with them.

And you just click...

Sometimes you meet a person and you just click –
you’re comfortable with them, and you don’t have to pretend
to be anyone or anything.

The thing about friendship

You think relationships are difficult? Try friendships. Try counting on someone in order to convince them to join you in some nameless, shapeless platonic complication – forever. Convince an adult stranger that you are worth a healthy slice of their limited time and energy without the prize of sex or romance
- Laura Jayne Martin

Picture: ponderabout.com

Surround yourself with better people

The only way to get better is to surround yourself with better people.

Walk away...

Knowing when to walk away is wisdom.
Being able to is courage.
Walking away with your head held high is dignity.

The best revenge...

The best revenge is just moving on and getting over it.
Don’t give someone the satisfaction of watching you suffer.

Who’s worth your tears...

In life you’re going to be left out, talked about, lied to and used.
But you have to decide who’s worth your tears and who’s not.

Something that isn't after them...

Too many people go through life running from something that isn't after them.

“So what.”

Self-Disclosures
Sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years
when they could just say, “so what”.
That’s one of my favorite things to say.
“So what.”
- Andy Warhol

Picture: Ponderabout.com

Move the fuck on

You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks or even months over-analyzing a situation, trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could’ve, would’ve happened. Or you can leave the pieces on the floor and move the fuck on.

When you think everything is someone else’s fault...

When you think everything is someone else’s fault, you will suffer a lot.
- Dalai Lama

Turn your face towards the sun, and the shadows fall behind you.

Some people are so afraid of being hurt...

Some people are so afraid of being hurt that they’ll pass up the chance of being happy.

It is hard to fly when something is weighing you down.

If I got rid of my demons...

If I got rid of my demons, I’d lose my angels too.
- Tennessee Williams

Beauty of what you love...

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do
- Rumi

Life is art of drawing with no eraser.

You’ll have a whole eternity to think inside the box.

Life is about creating yourself.

When you buy from an independent artist

When you buy from an independent artist you are buying more than just a painting or a novel or a song. You are buying hundreds of hours of experimentation and thousands of failures. You are buying days, weeks, months, years of frustration and moments of pure joy. You are buying nights of worry about paying the rent, having enough money to feed the children, the birds, the dog. You aren’t just buying a thing; you are buying a piece of heart, a part of a soul, a private moment in someone’s life. Most importantly, you are buying that artist more time to do something they are truly passionate about; something that makes all of the above worth the fear and the doubt; something that puts the life into the living.
- Rebekah Joy Plett

Nothing is original...

Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration, or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said:
“It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.”
- Jim Jarmusch

Steal like an artist...

1. Steal like an artist.
2. Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started.
3. Write the book you want to read.
4. Use your hands.
5. Side projects and hobbies are important.
6. The secret: do good work and share it with people.
7. Geography is no longer our master.
8. Be nice. (The world is a small town.)
9. Be boring. (It’s the only way to get work done.)
10. Creativity is subtraction.

Picture: Steallikeanartist.com

How to break out of the creative rut

It’s a myth that only highly intelligent people are creative. 

Research shows that once you pass an IQ of about 120, intelligence and creativity are not related. What keeps people from tapping into creativity are bad habits picked up throughout the years. Here’s a look at 7 of the most common creative blocks and how to break them down. 

Fearing ambiguity

People want things to make sense.

They tend to break down issues into black and white boxes for clarity.

This can lead to disaster.

But there are some things we’ll never understand. If you can embrace the chaos and lack of clarity,

you can have an advantage over others, you can become a better innovator, you can create some amazing ideas. 

Separating work and play

Letting your mind be at play may be the most effective way to think creatively. Unfortunately, people hear the expression “work hard and play hard” and make them different tasks.

Remember, when you’re a creative thinker, play and work are the same thing. 

Creating and editing simultaneously

Thinking creatively and logically at the same time won’t get you the best results.

When you create, you’re thinking ahead and considering all possibilities. When you evaluate, you judge and pick apart ideas, throwing out those that won’t work.

Remember: think creatively first, edit later.

Otherwise, you’ll stifle innovative ideas before they have the chance to grow. 

Worrying about mistakes

If you try too hard to avoid failure, you’ll also avoid success.

Don’t be afraid of mistakes because you learn from them.

Think about these things:

What’s the worst that can happen if I’m wrong? How can I benefit if I’m right? 

Often times, the potential positives outweigh the negatives. 

The more chances you take (and mistakes you make), the more you’ll succeed. 

Not believing in yourself

Without confidence, you won’t be able to be creative or solve problems. 

To gain confidence, understand how creativity works.

Failure helps you learn. Great ideas can initially seem crazy. Nothing is impossible.

Every person has the ability to become creative.

Just tear down the mental barriers you’ve formed and tap into your inherent abilities. 

Letting others discourage you

You won’t be able to avoid every naysayer in the world. They’ll tell you:

Be sensible. Conform. Don’t rock the boat.

This advice will stifle your creativity.

The solution: ignore them. They’ll have less to say when you succeed and display your creative prowess. 

Being overwhelmed with information

Believe it or not, it’s possible to think about a problem so much that you lose the ability to act. You end up filling your brain with too much information.

Be aware of when you should stop collecting information and when you should start acting. Just like it’s possible to overeat, it’s also possible to overthink.

If you recognize that any of these habits have slowed you down in the past, you can work toward overcoming them in order to embrace and explore your creative side.

You have remarkable power which you are not using.

What the heart can inspire

In art the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can inspire.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Trying to draw

What I’m trying to draw / what my brain keeps telling me to draw.

Every artist was first an amateur.

Choose carefully.

You become like the 5 people you spend the most time with. Choose carefully.

It happens to everyone as they grow up...

It happens to everyone as they grow up. You find out who you are and what you want, and  then you realize that people you’ve known forever don’t see things the way you do. So you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on.

Those who love you are not fooled...

Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.

Those who loved you unconditionally

Spend your time with those who loved you unconditionally,
not with those people who loved you only in your good times.

Love me or leave me alone

Your options:
1. love me.
2. leave me alone.

A true soul mate is...

“People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.

A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave.

A soul mates purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master...”

― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

The people who are there for you unconditionally

True friends are the people who are there for you unconditionally.
They are the people who never question you and support you
no matter what the circumstances are. They are the people worth living for.

Accepts you the way you are

A friend is someone who understands you past,
believes in your future and accepts you today the way you are.

A true friend is someone who accepts your past, supports your present and encourage your future

.

Someone who knows all of your flaws

The best thing in life is finding someone who knows all of your flaws, mistakes, and weaknesses and still thinks you’re completely amazing.

Love the person who saw you when you were invisible.

Doesn’t leave you when you fail.

A true friend is that one person
who’s proud of you when you succeed
and doesn't leave you when you fail.

True friends simply value you

True friends do not value you for what you can do for them – they simply value you.