The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly?

“You get to keep making art as long as you are willing to make the choices that let you make your art.”

“Write like you talk. Often.”

“When your art fails, make better art.”

“Your job isn’t to do your job. Your job is to decide what to do next.”

“Art has no right answer. The best we can hope for is an interesting answer.”

“We’ve been trained to prefer being right to learning something, to prefer passing the test to making a difference, and most of all, to prefer fitting in with the right people, the people with economic power. Now it’s your turn to stand up and stand out.”

“Seizing new ground, making connections between people or ideas, working without a map—these are works of art, and if you do them, you are an artist, regardless of whether you wear a smock, use a computer, or work with others all day long.”

“Creating ideas that spread and connecting the disconnected are the two pillars of our new society, and both of them require the posture of the artist.”

“strategy is empty without change, empty without passion, and empty without people willing to confront the void.”

“Correct is fine. But it is better to be interesting.”

“Art is the unique work of a human being, work that touches another.”

“Start Your Journey Before You See the End”

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. —Ralph Waldo Emerson”

“Don’t worry about your stuff. Worry about making meaning instead.”

“Do What You Want; these are the 4 most frightening words brought to us by the Connection Revolution. If you want to sing, sing. If you want to lead, lead. If you want touch, connect, describe, disrupt, give, support, build, question—Do It. You will not be picked. But, if you want to pick yourself—go for it. The cost is that you own the results.”

“Commit to the frightening work of flying blind”

“Everyone is lonely. Connect.”

“«Quejarse es estúpido. Actúa u olvídalo.» Stefan Sagmeister”

“The craftsman and the artist say, “Here, I made this.” The workingman is asked to follow instructions.”

“Change is powerful, but change always comes with the possibility of failure as its partner. “This might not work” isn’t merely something to be tolerated; it’s something you must seek out.”

“The industrialist (your boss, perhaps) demands that everything be proven, efficient, and risk free. The artist seeks none of these. The value of art is in your willingness to stare down the risk and to embrace the void of possible failure.”

“It’s what we wrestle with every single day. The intersection of comfort, danger, and safety. The balancing act between vulnerability and shame. The opportunity (or the risk) to do art. The willingness to take responsibility for caring enough to make a difference and to have a point of view.”

“out that expending emotional labor, working without a map, and driving in the dark involve confronting fear and living with the pain of vulnerability. The artist comes to a détente with these emotions and, instead of fighting with them, dances with them. The linchpin connects as a result of the indispensable nature of her contribution. The artist, on the other hand, connects because that’s what art is. The artist touches part of what it means to be truly human and does that work again and again.”

“Being an artist isn’t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. It’s an attitude we can all adopt. It’s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do those things, you’re an artist.”

“Art isn’t a result; it’s a journey. The challenge of our time is to find a journey worthy of your heart and your soul.”

“Alas, there isn’t a pain-free way to achieve your goals.”

“There’s still a safety zone, but it’s not in a place that feels comfortable to you. The new safety zone is the place where art and innovation and destruction and rebirth happen. The new safety zone is the never-ending creation of ever-deeper personal connection.”

“Those places that felt safe—the corner office, the famous college, the secure job—aren’t. You’re holding back, betting on a return to normal, but in the new normal, your resistance to change is no longer helpful.”

“We assume that what makes us comfortable also makes us safe.”

“Like the fox, we’ve been trained to stay inside the fence, because inside the fence is where it’s safe—until it’s too late.”