James Victore > Quotes

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“I have zero interest whatsoever in designing a beer label to look like a fucking beer label or making a box of cookies look like it's supposed to be a box of cookies.”
― James Victore, The Design Activist's Handbook: How to Change the World (Or at Least Your Part of It) with Socially Conscious Design

“Krishna tells Arjun, “You are not entitled to the fruit of your labor—only the labor itself.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“Your job in life is to overcome yourself every day.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“Learn to enjoy struggle. The reward will take care of itself.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“We can drown in our flaws or, by owning them, we can find our strengths.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“Whether they confess it or not, the public wants to be intellectually challenged, not spoon-fed a common, boring, or “right” answer.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“We want creative freedom and agile lives, yet we attach ourselves to the very things that restrict our movement.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“You can choose to fight with the philistines, or you can accept the world the way it is and be happy.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“Make the work you want to make, dance like a fool, and leave your ego at the door.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“Asking questions is the path to knowledge, and asking for help is how you progress.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“Fear paralyzes you. It shrinks your sphincter, constipates your thinking, and stops all movement. The antidote to fear is action.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

“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.”
― James Victore, Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life