Hugh MacLeod > Quotes

“Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on algebra, history, etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the 'creative bug' is just a wee voice telling you, 'I'd like my crayons back, please.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“The price of being a sheep is boredom. The price of being a wolf is loneliness. Choose one or the other with great care.”
― Hugh MacLeod

“The only people who can change the world are people who want to. And not everybody does.”
― Hugh MacLeod

“Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kidergarten. Then wen you hit puberty they take te crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on agebra, history, ect. Being suddenly hit years later with the 'creative bug' is just a wee voice telling you, 'I'd like my crayons back, please.”
― Hugh MacLeod

“Writer's block is just a symptom of feeling like you have nothing to say, combined with the rather weird idea that you should feel the need to say something. Why? If you have something to say, then say it. If not, enjoy the silence while it lasts. The noise will return soon enough.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“They're only crayons. You didn't fear them in Kindergarten, why fear them now?”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“Your idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to be yours alone. The more the idea is yours alone, the more freedom you have to do something really amazing. The more amazing, the more people will click with your idea. The more people click with your idea, the more it will change the world.”
― Hugh MacLeod

“You have to find your own shtick. A Picasso always looks like Picasso painted it. Hemingway always sounds like Hemingway. A Beethoven symphony always sounds like a Beethoven symphony. Part of being a master is learning how to sing in nobody else's voice but your own.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“Nobody can tell you if what you’re doing is good, meaningful or worthwhile. The more compelling the path, the more lonely it is. ”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“If you’re creative, if you can think independently, if you can articulate passion, if you can override the fear of being wrong, then your company needs you more than it ever did. And now your company can no longer afford to pretend that isn’t the case. So dust off your horn and start tooting.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“The old ways are dead. And you need people around you who concur. That means hanging out more with the creative people, the freaks, the real visionaries, than you're already doing. Thinking more about what their needs are, and responding accordingly. Avoid the dullards; avoid the folk who play it safe. They can't help you anymore. Their stability model no longer offers that much stability. They are extinct, they are extinction.”
― Hugh MacLeod

“If your business plan depends on suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail. Nobody suddenly discovers anything. Things are made slowly and in pain.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“I work extremely hard doing what I love, mainly to ensure that I don't have to work extremely hard doing what I hate.”
― Hugh MacLeod

“..The stuff you learn beforehand will never be one-tenth as useful as the stuff you learn the hard way, on the job.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination

“It's good to be young and full of dreams. Dreams of one day doing something 'insanely great.' Dreams of love, beauty, achievement, and contribution. But understand they have a life of their own, and they're not very good at following instructions. Love them, revere them, nurture them, respect them, but don't ever become a slave to them. Otherwise you'll kill them off prematurely, before they get the chance to come true.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“Art suffers the moment other people start paying for it.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“THE SEX & CASH THEORY - The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs: One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the task in hand covers both bases, but not often. This tense duality will always play center stage. It will never be transcended.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“Have a story. And make sure it’s a good one. A DAMN good one.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“Art suffers the moment other people start paying for it. 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.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“Anyone can be an idealist. Anyone can be a cynic. The hard part lies somewhere in the middle.”
― Hugh MacLeod, How to Be Creative

“If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“GOOD IDEAS ALTER THE BALANCE IN RELATIONSHIPS. THAT IS WHY GOOD IDEAS ARE ALWAYS INITIALLY RESISTED.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“Boring' can be a lot of fun. Especially if it's on your own terms.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“The hunger will give you everything and it will take from you, everything. It will cost you your life, and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. But knowing this, of course, is what ultimately sets you free.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props. Meeting a person who wrote a masterpiece on the back of a deli menu would not surprise me. Meeting a person who wrote a masterpiece with a silver Cartier fountain pen on an antique writing table in an airy SoHo loft would seriously surprise me.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“You do not own the molecules. They are stardust. They belong to God. What you do own is your soul. Nobody can take that away from you.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination

“Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kidergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take te crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on agebra, history, ect. Being suddenly hit years later with the 'creative bug' is just a wee voice telling you, 'I'd like my crayons back, please.”
― Hugh MacLeod

“When your dreams becoming reality, they're no longer your dreams.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

“But Andrew was right about one thing. Human beings need to tell stories. Historically, it's the quickest way we have for transmitting useful information to other members of our species. Stories are not simply nice things to have; they are essential survival tools.
And yes, the stories we tell ourselves are just as important as the stories we tell other people.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination

“Anyone can be an idealist. Anyone can be a cynic. The hard part lies somewhere in the middle—that is, being human.”
― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity