I collected some thoughts and quotes for my writing students and thought I’d share them with you as well…
1. Practice playfulness
“Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature.” – Tom Robbins
2. Find time for idleness
“We owe most of our great inventions and most of the achievements of genius to idleness – either enforced or voluntary.” – Agatha Christie
3. Pay attention to the natural world
“Nature has been for me, for as long as I can remember, a source of solace, inspiration, adventure; a home, a teacher, a companion.” – Lorraine Anderson
4. Let go of “the way its always been”
“Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties.” – Gail Sheehy
5. Adopt creativity rituals
“For some of us, a ritual can be a simple routine that readies us for inspiration.” – Gail McMeekin
6. Follow your fascinations
“Satisfaction of one’s curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life.” – Linus Pauling
7. Risk failure
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
8. Move past mistakes
“When you make a mistake, don’t look back at it long. Take the reason of the thing into your mind and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.” – Mary Pickford
9. Be uniquely yourself
“You can’t copy anybody and end up with anything. If you copy, it means you’re working without any real feeling.” – Billie Holiday
10. Keep going
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton
11. Be patient
“Remember the farmer who was so eager to assist his crops that he went out at night and tugged on the new shoots. There is no way to push the river; equally you cannot hasten the harvest. Be mindful that patience is essential for the recognition of your own process which, in its season, leads to the harvest of the self.” – Ralph Blum
12. Be courageous
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anais Nin
13. Be persistent
“Diamonds are only chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs, you see.” – Minnie Richard
14. Be confident
“No one can give you authority. But if you act like you have it, others will believe you do.” – Karin Ireland
15. Look fear in the face
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
16. Find support and encouragement
“Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher.” – Oprah Winfrey
17. Find mentorship
“Successful people realize the importance of a mentor or an advocate.” – Donna Brooks & Lynn Brooks
18. Find partnerships
“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” – African proverb
19. Get over your fear of rejection
“Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.” – Marilyn Savant
20. Don’t take it personally
“When you want something, go back and go back and go back, and don’t take ‘No’ for an answer. And when rejection comes, don’t take it personally. It goes with the territory. Expose yourself to as much humiliation as you can bear, then go home and do it all again tomorrow.” – Betty Furness
21. Step out of your routine
“When I look at the same old things, I think the same old thoughts, but when the furniture is changed, my thinking changes… Routine is the enemy of creative thinking.” – Stanley Marcus
22. Be inspired by others
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.” – Jim Jarmusch
23. Find creative practices that stimulate you
“Our discretionary time should be filled with choices of constructive activities that provide a contrast to what we do most of the time. The shifting of mental gears appears to kindle new thought patterns and thereby make our lives more fulfilling.” – Howard Hendricks
24. Believe in yourself
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.” – Martha Graham
25. Love life
“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” – Osho
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