26 quotes
American screenwriter and novelist (1943-)
“To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be.”
"Our job in this life is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it."
on Life
"Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it."
"Stay stupid. Follow your unconventional, crazy heart."
on Courage
"To labor in the arts for any reason other than love is prostitution."
on Art
"The enemy is Resistance."
on Inspirational
"A horse must be a bit mad to be a good cavalry mount, and its rider must be completely so."
on Wisdom
"When deliberating, think in campaigns and not battles; in wars and notcampaigns; in ultimate conquest and not wars."
on Leadership
"Fame Imperishable and glory that will never die -- that is what we march for!"
"He who whets his steel, whets his courage"
"We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause."
on Work
"He who whets his steel, whets his courage."
"It's not the writing part that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write."
on Writing
"The song we’re composing already exists in potential. Our work is to find it."
on Creativity
"It's not the writing part that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write.What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance."
"The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell."
"The awakening an artist must be ruthless, not only with herself but with others."
"If you're are paralyzed with fear it's a good sign. It shows you what you have to do."
on Fear
"The Muse honors the working stiff."
"...she (the artist, the writer) doesn't wait for inspiration, she acts in the anticipation of its apparition."
"Nothing is as empowering as real-world validation, even if it's for failure."
