“The need for space is psychological as well as physical: you must have an unfettered mind to create anything worthwhile.”
Robert Greene, The Daily Laws (Page 336)
“The true artist has no public; he works for the sheer joy of it, with an element of playfulness, of casualness. Art reaches its greatest peak when devoid of self-consciousness. Freedom discovers man the moment he loses concern over what impression he is making or about to make.”
Bruce Lee, Striking Thoughts (Page 140)
“[Hemingway] would always end a writing session only when he knew what came next in the story. Instead of exhausting every last idea and bit of energy, he would stop when the next plot point became clear. This meant that the next time he sat down to work on his story, he knew exactly where to start. He built himself a bridge to the next day, using today’s energy and momentum to fuel tomorrow’s writing.”
Tiago Forte
“One of the most common narratives on the internet is that you have to ‘go all in’ and ‘have no backup plan’ in order to be successful. People will cite the success of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Steve Jobs to further drive home their point. But this is simply survivorship bias. Instead of looking at Musk, Bezos, and Jobs, ask yourself this question instead: ‘How many people have tried to do what these three did, and failed?’ If 3 out of a million make it, it’s probably not the right choice for you. Instead, think about how you can start small and don’t flush years of your productive time down the drain on one ‘big’ idea.”
Justin Welsh
“The only reason Alan [Watts] talks about mysticism, philosophy, or Eastern traditions is because he enjoys it. He sees himself like a ‘spring bubbling from the side of the mountain’ – if a traveller drinks from the spring and enjoys it, that’s fine. But that’s not the purpose of the spring. The spring just exists.”
Ali Abdaal
“To live is to express, and to express you have to create. Creation is never merely repetition. To live is to express oneself freely in creation.”
Bruce Lee, Striking Thoughts (Page 6)
“Art has such an impact on people that many strange things can happen in their souls: mysteries become clearer; opaque things become evident; complicated things become simple; what is probable becomes necessary. A real artist always simplifies.”
Henri Amiel, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 196)
“[Bruce Lee’s] answer to problems was to turn a stumbling block into a stepping stone. For instance, when he was confined to bed rest for six months because of a back injury, he used that opportunity to compile his training methods and his philosophical thoughts into several volumes.”
Linda Lee Cadwell, via Striking Thoughts (Page xvii)
“In the end, without skill or talent, I’ve given myself over entirely to poetry. Po Chü-i labored at it until he nearly burst. Tu Fu starved rather than abandon it. Neither my intelligence nor my writing is comparable to such men. Nevertheless, in the end, we all live in phantom huts.”
Bashō, Narrow Road To The Interior (Page 182)
“Make 3 Types of Content: Your audience is filled with people in different stages of familiarity with your brand and products. To speak to your cold, warm, and hot audience create content specifically for them. Cold audience: Showcase your expertise and help them solve problems. Warm audience: Explain what you do, who you serve, and how you’re different. Hot audience: Share proof that you’re awesome and give them a reason to buy now.”
Katelyn Bourgoin, Why We Buy (Email)
“Criticizing is easy and fast. Creating is difficult and slow. The two hours you spent on a book or movie usually took two years to produce. Anyone can tear down someone else’s work. The true test of insight is whether you can help them improve it or build something of your own.”
Adam Grant, Twitter
“The greatest impediment to creativity is your impatience, the almost inevitable desire to hurry up the process, express something, and make a splash.”
Robert Greene, The Daily Laws (Page 93)