Every Tool's A Hammer: Life Is What You Make It

by Adam Savage

obsession is often the seed of real excellence. It inspires new ideas, it demands they be brought to fruition with exacting care, and it drives them to completion.

the tragedy of war is that it’s often envisioned by idiots and executed by professionals.

“Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.”

I am the empirical test that demonstrates that building something with haste can take twice as long as building it with planning and forethought.

Deadlines and goals are very useful tools.

TRYING TO BE A HERO IS A TERRIFIC WAY TO END UP BECOMING THE VILLAIN

trying to be the hero is a terrific way to end up becoming the villain.

Help is expertise. It’s wisdom. It’s learning enough to understand and admit to what you don’t know. It’s how you learn to do new things and how you deepen your skill set.

“There’s something really gratifying about building something that you couldn’t possibly have made on your own because of the sheer scope of the work, but more so because you don’t have all the knowledge to do it. My biggest satisfaction comes out of projects that have required lots of people’s expertise and hands and labor to make happen. Then we can look at the finished product and say that we did this together, that this is not just something that I made.”

I saw how necessary it is to give proper, contextual feedback to the people you work with—to acknowledge their work, to appreciate their effort, and to correct their mistakes.

In fact, the better you get and the more experience you acquire, the better you are at understanding objectively where your work and your wisdom fall short.

DEADLINES! They are the chain saw that prunes decision trees. They create limits, refine intention, and focus effort.

creativity does not move in a straight, unbroken line.

“My actions are my only true belongings: I cannot escape their consequences. My actions are the ground on which I stand.”

“You have to give everyone complete autonomy within a narrow bandwidth,”

Pepakura