1) "These are a few of the most common labels that we slap on and may have a hard time seeing beyond; but, as you will see, there is so much more to each of us than these one-liners. Acknowledging, and owning, these labels is the first step in transforming them from creativity-halting excuses into a fascinating part of your unique story: You may be a parent from a small town who is also an insanely talented painter, or a self-taught musician who works in a cubicle by day and plays in blues clubs at night. Decide which part of the fine print you're proud of and which bits are slowing you down."
2) [Kim Werker] "'We hear so much these days about how valuable failure is, about how we should embrace it as a growth and learning opportunity. And, sure, failure's great, but it's great after the fact (and, let's be totally honest, sometimes it's only great after a decade, or after therapy, or both). Nobody goes into starting a project---whether it's small, like a sketchbook spread or a journal entry, or huge, like writing a book, preparing for a gallery show, or scoring a film---thinking about how valuable it might be to fail. That would be nuts.
'Of course, you can play the mind trickery of telling yourself that the brand-new project will be an amazing experience no matter how it turns out. But that's still an exhausting amount of mind trickery. I know, because that used to be the way I went into a project when I was in a cold sweat, staring at a blank page. I was a master mind-tricker. Not the most impressive skill to boast.
'Now, I just throw one project under the bus right off the bat. I make something that's intentionally ugly. Grotesque, even. Because that's what an epic failure would be, right? So I make something totally revolting, and then I gloat a little over how capable I am of spectacularly failing, and then I start over, knowing that whatever it is I do from that point forward will have to be better than my ugly thing.
'That knowledge is freeing, my friends. And free is a fabulous way to feel at the very beginning of a project.'"
3) [Dealing with the inner critic] "Step One: Identify 'The Voice' -- It's important to acknowledge that this voice is not part of you. It's a collection of negative words and experiences that derive from external sources. That voice doesn't belong in your head, unless it can learn to support you.
Step Two: Pinpoint the Attack -- What, and when, is your inner critic attacking? Unless you pay attention to this, it may feel like your inner critic is there 24/7, but I can almost guarantee that that's not the case. It preys on insecurity."
4) "All of these quick experiments are both beginnings and endings. Think of this process as a cycle. When you finish one thing successfully, it doesn't mean that you're done, and it definitely doesn't mean that everything from here on out will be easy. Even the creative greats are always still learning, hitting roadblocks, trying again, evolving their work. Wouldn't it be boring, anyway, to master your craft in the first week? Push yourself out of your comfort zone, and never not be making, trying new things, picking those crumpled pages off the floor. The art show, the published novel, the hit song is not the 'success.' Those events are just the celebration and the cherry on top of all your hard work. True success is loving the process, being creative every day, and failing like a genius.
'When we stop fearing failure, we start being artists.' -Ann Voskamp, Author"
