Last week's list of quotes were for those days where we just want to pat ourselves on the back and say "Babe, you got this". This week we're going deeper, to those days where we need to be reassured that we are not alone, to be comforted by the fact that someone else has experienced the same human condition as us as some point during their creative journey.
“The artist is a collector of things imaginary or real. He accumulates things with the same enthusiasm that a little boy stuffs his pockets. The scrap heap and the museum are embraced with equal curiosity. He takes snapshots, makes notes and records impressions on tablecloths or newspapers, on backs of envelopes or matchbooks. Why one thing and not another is part of the mystery, but he is omnivorous.”
― Paul Rand, Paul Rand: A Designer's Art
"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."
― Franklin D. Roosevelt - First Inaugural Address
"Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."
― Dr Seuss - Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
“The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.”
― Jessica Hische: Humble Pied
"If you're going to try, go all the
way.
otherwise, don't even start.
if you're going to try, go all the
way.
this could mean losing girlfriends,
wives, relatives, jobs and
maybe your mind.
go all the way.
it could mean not eating for 3 or 4 days.
it could mean freezing on a
park bench.
it could mean jail,
it could mean derision,
mockery,
isolation.
isolation is the gift,
all the others are a test of your
endurance, of
how much you really want to
do it.
and you'll do it
despite rejection and the worst odds
and it will be better than
anything else
you can imagine."
― Charles Bukowski - Roll The Dice: What Matters Most is How Well You Walk Through the Fire
"Competition is a by-product of productive work, not its goal. A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others."
― Ayn Rand: Letters of Ayn Rand
“As is so often the case with a legend, every incident has two possible interpretations, the plausible and the one that is molded to suit the making of the myth. Man is a romantic at heart and will always put aside dull, plodding reason for the excitement of an enigma. As Doc had pointed out, mystery, not logic, is what gives us hope and keeps us believing in a force greater than our own insignificance.”
― Bryce Courtenay, The Power of One
"Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
“Difference in opinions has cost many millions of lives: for instance, whether flesh be bread, or bread be flesh; whether the juice of a certain berry be blood or wine.”
― Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels
“Vincent had ten major ideas every week: three brilliant, five good, and two ridiculous.”
― Jean-Dominique Bauby, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
What are some of your favourite literary quotes? Do you have any go-to authors?
We would love to hear from you in the comments.
