Feck Perfuction Quotes

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

Krishna tells Arjun, “You are not entitled to the fruit of your labor—only the labor itself.

Your biggest fear is not spiders or sharks—it’s you. It’s the fear of expressing who you are—lest someone actually see you.

Newton’s first law tells us, an object at rest—like your ass—tends to stay at rest.

Bad art makes you say, “Wow! Huh?” Good art makes you say, “Huh? Wow!” Looking at bad art is like eating fast food. You’re excited about the thought of it, but when it hits your stomach, the relationship ends quickly. Good art is seen, but not immediately understood—“Huh?” Then comes the “Aha!” moment when the subtext, the real meaning, unfolds and our mind expands.

most of us suffer from hanging on too long to things that don’t work, to ways that are old-fashioned, clichéd, and not particular to us. Our fear of the future and the unknown has us holding on, white-knuckled, to our tiny ideas, closed to the expanse of possibilities that life has to offer.

inspiration without action is bullshit.

As Oscar Wilde put it, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” Ouch.

Setting your own terms for success is how you form a purpose-driven life.

Your fear should never keep you from doing what you need to do. It’s just a reminder that it won’t always be easy. It’s also a reminder that that’s the way life works. With courage comes fear.

Your purpose on this planet isn’t to become a millionaire, build a 401K, or even get a good job—your purpose is to figure out who or what you are.

When you accept your weirdness and believe in your gifts is when things get really weird. That’s when your cause inspires others. When people see their own struggle reflected in yours, you create the potential for shared humanity. Your weirdness speaks to them. That’s when you find those people who accept you precisely because you’re weird and different.

Your voice is who you are. Maybe not the “you” you carry around every day, but the one yelling from inside, demanding to be heard. Your voice is the way you see the world and how you translate it back. When you train your voice and allow it to grow and be heard, that beautiful sound will carve a path for you to follow for life. Conversely, if you fail to use your voice, others will be in charge of it. And you. Never give in, never surrender. Your voice is your most powerful tool.

Every job—especially every creative job—has two parts, an Objective and a Subjective. The Objective is to satisfy the commercial request: sell the product, attract customers, do what’s asked of you, get the job done. The Subjective is the much more engaging—but often left out—ingredient of play. It’s how you sell and how you attract customers. For

The more vulnerable and authentic you can be in expressing your opinion, the deeper the connection you have with others. This is the value of your opinion—what is most personal and unique to you is the very thing that, if you risk expressing it, will speak volumes to others. The hardest part is to trust that your story and opinions have value.

Heroes are the reluctant ones with the courage to face their dragons.

Set unobtainable goals; then, when you don’t achieve them, drive yourself into depression. You can give it a fancy name like “True Perfectionist,” but I prefer “Self-Hating Narcissist.

Everything about your life is a test. All things, both good and bad. They are a test of your character. They test whether you can accept challenges with grace and then grow because of them, or whether you choose to whine, curse the fates, and let your anger spill out, tainting everything and everyone around you. Obstacles, fear, the naysayers: These are all just tests of your resolve, of how determined you are to succeed.

Whether they confess it or not, the public wants to be intellectually challenged, not spoon-fed a common, boring, or “right” answer.

taught me is the truth of that beautiful line: If you focus on the reward, you’ll never be happy. The fruit—the money, the fame, the whatever—will never be enough. Even further, focusing on the reward means not focusing on the work.

Learn to enjoy struggle. The reward will take care of itself.

They say if you love your work, the rest is easy. I say there’s still a lot to do, but love makes the efforts and late nights and extra duties worth it. Love gives your work a purpose. It also guarantees that you’ll still care for your work when TSHTF.

Asking questions is the path to knowledge, and asking for help is how you progress.

Dream big—if you want a pony, ask for a unicorn.

The things that made you weird as a kid are the source of your character and creative powers.

If you focus on your flaws, they’ll flourish right in front of you.

Words have power. The problem with repeating negative mantras to yourself is that you start to believe them. Then others believe them. Watch your words.

Your fear should never keep you from doing what you need to do. It’s just a reminder that it won’t always be easy. It’s also a reminder that that’s the way life works. With courage comes fear. With change comes reticence.

The secret of the universe is that no one knows shit. No one has the right answer, because no one has your answer.

We can drown in our flaws or, by owning them, we can find our strengths.

The first rule of business is fun. Why fun? Without fun, there is no commitment, no enthusiasm or energy for the hard work ahead. Long hours are a drudgery and perseverance in the long term is shaky. Fun is knowing how to play and incorporating joy and wonder into your work. It means being open to mistakes as innovation and reminds us that we don’t have to work, we love to work. Without fun, you are merely one of the Working Dead, going through the motions, loitering for a payday.

We have no control over the needs, emotions, or tastes of other people. Even with all the market research and focus groups in the world at your command, pinpointing what will make them happy is still a guess—an expensive guess.

My guess is that the world wants you. It wants your weirdness. It wants your complexity and screwball perspective. It wants your opinion, your humor, and your history. It wants all that’s beautiful and powerful inside of you.

Confidence is not something we’re born with. It’s more a habit than a hardwired personal quality. It is not bestowed like a gift. And for most of us, it’s not easy.

Fear paralyzes you. It shrinks your sphincter, constipates your thinking, and stops all movement. The antidote to fear is action.

We want creative freedom and agile lives, yet we attach ourselves to the very things that restrict our movement.

There is no license to be bold, and waiting for outside consent will only make you old. You and I don’t need anyone’s permission to be creative, sexy, or even weird. We just decide to be.

The secret of the universe is that no one knows shit. No one has the right answer, because no one has your answer. We want to know. We seek answers in books and seminars. We look for guidance from teachers, heroes, gurus, and even the internet. We’ve gotten so used to looking around that we’ve stopped looking inside.

Everyone is making it up as they go; some just fail more successfully.

The search for comfort and security rarely yields the desired fruit. We want the easy way, but the easy way is a trap. Complacency is the enemy, and settling down is settling. Our desire for an easier life gets us stuck in a smaller one, judging everything by the comfort and ease it brings, not by what it costs our soul. We willingly kill time “just chillin’,” while the muscles of our instinct and intuition grow flabby. We’ve got games, toys, and instant messaging but are spiritually and emotionally empty. We look around the internet and ogle others’ creativity but put off developing our own. The search for meaning is replaced by shopping on the weekend. Even our food is calorie-rich but nutrient-weak. The answer is to burn it all down and trust that you can build a better, roomier life.

A plan is your true North. It keeps you from wandering aimlessly through life. You now have a quest. It helps define what is and isn’t you. It gives you parameters of what you will and will not do, jobs you will or will not take. More than anything, your plan is a vision of who you can be and an acceptance of the idea that you are worthy of a beautiful and meaningful life. Have a plan.

Your job in life is to overcome yourself every day.

We slip into a mediocre life. We quit our goals, lose our “crazy” aspirations, and choose the “easy way.” The consolation prize is a flat screen TV and a bag of chips. From the outside, this looks like success, but it’s actually settling for less—comfort disguised as success.

You are not entitled to the fruit of your labor—only the labor itself.

It’s not bad, it’s a part of you—but it’s not all of you. Your ego wants you safe, but safety isn’t interesting or fun or creative. To be freely creative is to be completely and honestly you, not a sphinctered-down version of yourself. Worrying what others may think is the death knell of creative work. You have to be willing to make a fool of yourself, or at least go out on that ledge. Creativity wants to let go of control and to present authenticity and vulnerability.

For great artists, writers, scientists, the process of creation is the reward. The process of learning and growing, and all the intermittent victories and defeats are the reward. Learn to enjoy struggle. The reward will take care of itself.

Make the work you want to make, dance like a fool, and leave your ego at the door.

If you want more in your life, you may have to accept less. Accepting less means less clutter and less meaningless stuff. Less distraction, less servitude to work, less debt, less greed, and less craving.

You can choose to fight with the philistines, or you can accept the world the way it is and be happy.

Our preconceived notions of “the way it is” are the source of our frustrations and anxiety; they have us fighting the flow of “the way it might be.

The beginning of trusting yourself is merely understanding that your thoughts are in your head for a purpose. They matter, and they are valid. Listen to your own opinions, rather than the nagging echoes of fearful friends and family. Too often those thoughts that creep into our heads are fear-driven, wild prognostications of failure, carnage, and financial ruin, that usually begin with, “What if . . . ?” But where your thoughts go, you go. It takes faith in yourself and your abilities to see these thoughts as the imposters they are. When the fog of doubt is cleared, the imposters banished, we can begin to see more clearly our true nature and instincts. Then, with a little faith in yourself, you can raise your sights, look up from the abyss of failure, and take the next step. Then the one after that. Trusting yourself gives you the faith that people will hear your message, be inspired by your cause, and rise to your challenge.

Seeking others’ approval of your work is a common mistake most creators make. Often I receive requests from young designers asking my opinion of their work. My stock answer is that what I think of your work is not important.

You have no idea what the public will like or respond to. The critical or financial success you seek will come from your ability to follow through with the work you love.

am a big fat fake. I suspect you may be a fake as well. As for me, I’ve made a few attempts at an education,* read a few books, asked lots of questions, and now (voilà!), I’m an “Artist, Designer, and Writer.” Why? Mostly because I said so.

Do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t work. Besides sending mixed messages, it instills distrust and lack of conviction. You can’t expect greatness from others when all you express is your confusion and pain.

Lead by example, see yourself reflected in others, and be responsible for your actions and your legacy.

The visual arts are an intellectual field, and the visuals we use are the teaspoon of sugar that helps get larger ideas across. There are pathways to communication and understanding other than the brain—the heart and the groin are both equally good.