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Kindle Notes & Highlights
To create is to bring something into existence that wasn’t there before.
To live as an artist is a way of being in the world. A way of perceiving. A practice of paying attention.
If you have an idea you’re excited about and you don’t bring it to life, it’s not uncommon for the idea to find its voice through another maker. This isn’t because the other artist stole your idea, but because the idea’s time has come.
Artists who are able to continually create great works throughout their lives often manage to preserve these childlike qualities. Practicing a way of being that allows you to see the world through uncorrupted, innocent eyes can free you to act in concert with the universe’s timetable.
There’s a time for certain ideas to arrive, and they find a way to express themselves through us.
Source makes available. The filter distills. The vessel receives. And often this happens beyond our control.
The act of creation is an attempt to enter a mysterious realm. A longing to transcend. What we create allows us to share glimpses of an inner landscape, one that is beyond our understanding. Art is our portal to the unseen world.
Look for what you notice but no one else sees.
Living life as an artist is a practice. You are either engaging in the practice or you’re not.
The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world.
it’s better to follow the universe than those around you.
the need for patience is ever-present.
it’s the little details that make the big things come about.
Creativity-supporting habits can begin the moment you arise each day. These might include looking at sunlight before screenlight, meditating (outdoors if possible), exercising, and showering in cold water before beginning creative time in a suitable space.
It’s helpful to set scheduled office hours, or uninterrupted periods of joyful play that allow your imagination to soar.
It’s in the interest of your art to create an easily achievable schedule to start with.
Create an environment where you’re free to express what you’re afraid to express.
Crafting can be daunting. It’s helpful to think of it as another opportunity for play.
In the end, you are the only one who has to love it. This work is for you.
The work is done when you feel it is.
When we share our works and our ideas, they are replenished. If we block the flow by holding them all inside, the river cannot run and new ideas are slow to appear.
The works we do are at most chapters. There will always be a new chapter, and another after that.
With the objective of simply doing great work, a ripple effect occurs. A bar is set for everything you do, which may not only lift your work to new heights, but raise the vibration of your entire life. It may even inspire others to do their best work. Greatness begets greatness. It’s infectious.
If you are open and stay tuned to what’s happening, the answers will be revealed.
Most often, the hints of inspiration and direction from Source are small. They appear as tiny signals traveling through the void of space, quiet and subtle, like a whisper.
In addition to meditation, we might softly hold on to a question and go for a walk, swim, or drive. The question isn’t being worked on, just loosely held in awareness. We are posing it gently to the Universe and opening ourselves to receive an answer.
Maybe the best idea is the one you’re going to come up with this evening.
Think to yourself: I’m just here to create.
Your path is unique, for only you to follow. There is no single route to great art.
The call of the artist is to follow the excitement. Where there’s excitement, there’s energy. And where there is energy, there is light.
A work of art is not an end point in itself. It’s a station on a journey. A chapter in our lives. We acknowledge these transitions by documenting each of them.
