To be an overnight success

It is said that to be an overnight success takes years of effort. So it has proved with me.
- Sir James Dyson

Pure perseverance

I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs
from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.
- Steve Jobs

You’ve got to be hungry

You’ve got to be hungry – for ideas, to make things happen and to see your vision made into reality.
- Dame Anita Roddick

Concentrate!

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand.
The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to focus.
- Alexander Graham Bell

Do something you believe in

First, you have to do something you believe in. I believed from the start that Clif Bar was a worthy product. Then, keep making it the best you can.
- Gary Erickson

Blessed are the weird people

Blessed are the weird people – poets, misfits, writers, mystics, painters and troubadours – for they teach us to see the world through different eyes.
- Jacob Nordby

The “earth” without “art” is just “eh”

Art is...

Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul – and you answer.

Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.

Follow your obsessions...

Follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.
- Frank Kafka

Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you.

An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.

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

Life is about creating yourself.

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

The thing about smart people...

The thing about smart people is that they seem like crazy people to dumb people.

My mind

What the hell is that?
Oh just my mind.