Most dangerously of all, such...

Most dangerously of all, such thinking assumes that if you cannot win, then you must not continue to play. - P70

At the very least, she could have tricked everyone into forgetting that she’d once been Harper Lee. She could have tricked herself into forgetting that she’d once been Harper Lee, which might have been artistically liberating. - P71

Just because creativity is mystical doesn’t mean it shouldn’t also be demystified—especially if it means liberating artists from the confines of their own grandiosity, panic, and ego. - P72

It was a tale of enchantment, written under enchantment, and even a stranger could feel the fairy dust in it. - P73

When that assistance does arrive—that sense of the moving sidewalk beneath my feet, the moving sidewalk beneath my words—I am delighted, and I go along for the ride. In such instances, I write like I am not quite myself. I lose track of time and space and self. - P74

All I know for certain is that this is how I want to spend my life—collaborating to the best of my ability with forces of inspiration that I can neither see, nor prove, nor command, nor understand. - P78

This is the contract that say...

This is the contract that says, I shall destroy myself and everyone around me in an effort to bring forth my inspiration, and my martyrdom shall be the badge of my creative legitimacy. - P38

so if you prefer a short life of tragic glamour to a long life of rich satisfaction (and many do), knock yourself out. - P39

Adifferent way is to cooperate fully, humbly, and joyfully with inspiration. - P40

You can measure your worth by your dedication to your path, not by your successes or failures. - P41

And at the end of your days, you can thank creativity for having blessed you with a charmed, interesting, passionate existence. - P41

(As Joan Didion said, "I don’t know what I think until I write about it.") - P45

It was like poking a stick at a cast-off snakeskin: The more I messed with it, the faster it fell apart and turned to dust. - P47

Because this is the other side of the contract with creativity: If inspiration is allowed to unexpectedly enter you, it is also allowed to unexpectedly exit you. - P47

Trust in the miraculous truth that new and marvelous ideas are looking for human collaborators every single day. - P48

(What was there for Harper Lee to be afraid of, after all? Possibly just this: That she could not outdo Harper Lee.) - P68

I believe the creative proces...

I believe the creative process is both magical and magic. - P34

Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest. - P34

The idea, sensing your openness, will start to do its work on you. It will send the universal physical and emotional signals of inspiration (the chills up the arms, the hair standing up on the back of the neck, the nervous stomach, the buzzy thoughts, that feeling of falling into love or obsession). - P36

The simplest answer, of course, is just to say no. - P37

Creativity is a path for the ...

Creativity is a path for the brave, yes, but it is not a path for the fearless, and it’s important to recognize the distinction. - P22

Bravery means doing something scary. Fearlessness means not even understanding what the word scary means. - P22

But you do not need your fear in the realm of creative expression. - P23

Creativity and I are the only ones who will be making any decisions along the way. - P25

Then we head off together—me and creativity and fear—side by side by side forever, advancing once more into the terrifying but marvelous terrain of unknown outcome. - P25

And you have treasures hidden within you—extraordinary treasures—and so do I, and so does everyone around us. - P26

Now that we’re done talking about fear, we can finally talk about magic. - P31

I think this is probably a ve...

I think this is probably a very good way to become a poet. Or to become anything, really, that calls to your heart and brings you to life. - P3

He got by somehow, making a living here and there. - P4

("We must risk delight," he wrote. "We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world.") - P5

He told them that they must live their most creative lives as a means of fighting back against the ruthless furnace of this world. - P6

"Do you have the courage?
Do you have the courage to bring forth this work?
The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes." - P7

Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you? - P7

The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them. - P8

The courage to go on that hunt in the first place—that’s what separates a mundane existence from a more enchanted one. The often surprising results of that hunt—that’s what I call Big Magic. - P8

No, when I refer to "creative living," I am speaking more broadly. I’m talking about living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear. - P9

A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life. Living in this manner—continually and stubbornly bringing forth the jewels that are hidden within you—is a fine art, in and of itself. - P12

Because creative living is where Big Magic will always abide. - P12

If you already have the courage to bring forth the jewels that are hidden within you, terrific. - P12

Because creative living is a path for the brave. - P12

We all know that fear is a desolate boneyard where our dreams go to desiccate in the hot sun. - P12

You’re afraid of unleashing your innermost demons, and you really don’t want to encounter your innermost demons. - P14

As the saying goes: "Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them." - P18