Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

1.Ignore everybody.

Good ideas alter the power balance in relationships.

3. Put the hours in.

Doing anything worthwhile takes forever. Ninety percent of what separates successful people and failed people is time, effort, and stamina.

The world is full of highly talented, network-savvy, failed mediocrities.

7. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.

If you try to make something just to fit your uninformed view of some hypothetical market, you will fail. If you make something special and powerful and honest and true, you will succeed.

12. Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.

Your plan for getting your work out there has to be as original as the actual work, perhaps even more so. The work has to create a totally new market. There’s no point trying to do the same thing as 250,000 other young hopefuls, waiting for a miracle. All existing business models are wrong. Find a new one.

16. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is …

The more you need the money, the more people will tell you what to do. The less control you will have. The more bullshit you will have to swallow. The less joy it will bring. Know this and plan accordingly.

20. Sing in your own voice.

The really good artists, the really successful entrepreneurs, figure out how to circumvent their limitations, figure out how to turn their strengths into weaknesses.

25. Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.

If you have something to say, then say it. If not, enjoy the silence while it lasts. The noise will return soon enough.

26. You have to find your own shtick.

Put your whole self into it, and you will find your true voice. Hold back and you won’t. It’s that simple.

28. The best way to get approval is not to need it.

The best way to get approval is not to need it.

29. Power is never given. Power is taken.

You get the job because you walk into the editor’s office and go, “Hi, I’m the best frickin’ sportswriter on the planet.” And somehow the editor can tell you aren’t lying, either. You didn’t go in there, asking the editor to give you power. You went in there and politely informed the editor that you already have the power. That’s what being “ready” means. That’s what “taking power” means.

Not needing anything from another person in order to be the best in the world.

30. Whatever choice you make, the Devil gets his due eventually.

Anyone can be an idealist. Anyone can be a cynic. The hard part lies somewhere in the middle—that is, being human.

32. Remain frugal.

Part of being creative is learning how to protect your freedom. That includes freedom from avarice.

39. When your dreams become reality, they are no longer your dreams.

If you are successful, it’ll never come from the direction you predicted. Same is true if you fail.

40. None of this is rocket science.

“Work hard. Keep at it. Live simply and quietly. Remain humble. Stay positive. Create your own luck. Be nice. Be polite.”