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Utilize the ugly parts.

6 Behind-The-Scenes Brandon Stanton Quotes from Humans on Struggle and Connection

6 Behind-the-Scenes Brandon Stanton Quotes from Humans on Interviewing, Struggle, and Connection

Excerpt: Brandon Stanton’s new book, Humans, is a masterpiece. These quotes from Humans give a behind-the-scenes look at how he works and thinks.

“There’s an old cliché that ‘everyone has a story,’ but there’s a reason it’s a cliché. Every person has a story because everyone has a struggle. The heart of a story is the struggle—the obstacle that has been faced, and hopefully overcome. It can be an obvious physical feat, like climbing a mountain or rescuing someone from drowning. It can be a mental battle: like depression, or addiction, or schizophrenia. It can be comedic or tragic. But none of these particular elements are the reason that struggles are crucial to a story. Struggles are crucial because they’re transformative. Struggles change people. And a well-told story merely follows the arc of that transformation.”
Brandon Stanton, Humans (Page 277)

Iain Thomas Quote on Being Gifted and What That Really Means

“Being gifted doesn’t mean you’ve been given something. It means, you have something to give.”
Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You

Beyond the Quote (344/365)

The question is, will you give it? Or, maybe better yet, do you even know what your gift is? My belief is that we all have a gift. And while you might hesitate at that thought and think to yourself, “Does he even know who he’s talking to? I’m the least gifted person I know”—I stand firmly in my position. Even if you think to yourself about how gifted and talented you already know you are—that isn’t exactly what I’m talking about—I’m talking about a specific gift.

For all those going through hell:

Paul Hogan Quote on Dealing With A Mental Health Diagnosis

“The one quick comment I would make has to do with this idea that we who live day-to-day with whatever [mental health] diagnosis we have are acting courageously or are brave to face the world. I don’t experience it as an act of courage or bravery; I experience it more as an act of defiance. When I swing my legs over the edge of the bed to face the day, what drives me is a refusal to lay back down; a defiance of the diagnosis. Defiance is often rooted in anger and I certainly feel and show that anger from time to time. People sometimes feel the anger is directed towards them—but it isn’t. Defiance is a strategy for engaging this thing. Of course defiance takes huge amounts of energy to sustain and of course, since I never actually will overcome this thing, that means that from time-to-time I need to back down; move away; rest. It’s like wrestling with a bear. Sometimes you get the bear; sometimes the bear gets you. But that’s okay, because sometimes, you get the bear.”
Paul Hogan

Beyond the Quote (72/365)

I do not have a mental health diagnosis and I, therefore, have never had to confront the challenges associated with having one. I have known people who have had them, my dad being one of them, and have witnessed the challenges first hand, but it has always been from the outside looking in. I know that it is an entirely different world from the outside looking in than it is from the inside looking out. But it is through our attempt to share, to the best of our ability, what the hell is going on from the inside looking out that we may ever gain insight and move forward in our own lives. After all, what is insight other than thoughts of value that are gained from peering into each other’s inner worlds? Insight is what illuminates the way.

“The more deeply we dive into our own stories, the more we feel like we’re going through it alone. But I’m here to remind you that you’re not alone, even though we each have to do the work ourselves. The deeper we dive, the more beauty we can discover as well. No on else shares our unique experiences, and therefore no one else can show us the light at the end of the tunnels we dig; we can only share our stories and remind ourselves that we already have everything we need to find that light. These are the things no one else can teach us.” ~ Humble the Poet, Things No One Else Can Teach Us (Page 6)