What does it mean to be an artist?
While many people think that creativity might be something just for famous writers, looking at urban innovation as an example shows that we can all think outside the box when the motivation is there, much like Saul Bellow writes in Herzog:
Genius cannot let the world be.
For more inspiration, here are some of my favourite Seth Godin quotes from his 2024 blog posts, together with a recommended title from Blinkist.
Blank pages beg to be filled, and it helps to have them around. ~ The blank page
Learn more: The Power of Writing It Down
Change is always risky, because innovation doesn’t come with a guarantee. ~ The challenge of a risky scheme
Learn more: The Brain that Changes Itself
Creativity is about hope and possibility. It gives us a chance to make things better. ~ I fixed it for you
Learn more: Creativity Rules
Each thing is not going to top everything that came before it. Progress is rarely smooth. ~ Not your best ever
Learn more: Superagency
Generous creativity is the only way things can get better. ~ The hubris of creativity
Learn more: The Creative Brain
If you’re not happy with the spec, change it. But once there’s a spec, good enough is good enough. ~ PW 3: Errors and productivity
Learn more: Make Your Art No Matter What
It’s hard to make a great sequel. Better to spend our time to make a remarkable original. ~ The grey goo
Learn more: Do Bigger Things
Nothing is for everyone, and identifying the dreams, desires and expectations of the audience is essential to discovering if you’ve actually solved a problem. ~ Game design and strategy (Bongo part 3)
Learn more: The Net and the Butterfly
Scientists mostly discover, engineers and artists invent. ~ Invention or discovery?
Learn more: Invention and Innovation
Take the time you’ve freed up and do work that the AI can’t do. ~ Getting AI to do your work
Learn more: The AI-fication of Jobs
The people behind a well-published work rarely get the credit they deserve. It’s difficult and requires persistence and care. ~ To be well published
Learn more: Read Write Own
The secret of successful product development isn’t an innovation that bursts forth as a polished and finished product. Instead, it’s sticking with something that is almost useless, nurturing and sharing and improving until we can’t imagine living without it. ~ It just barely works
Learn more: Anatomy of a Breakthrough
We shouldn’t always color inside the lines, but creative work is better when there are lines. ~ Boundaries and limits
Learn more: How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci
When an innovator suggests a counter-intuitive or even nutty concept, it might pay to listen carefully. ~ The grid of inquiry
Learn more: Get the Picture
Write a book because you can and because it might make a difference. But don’t listen to your publisher’s suggestions simply to sell more copies. You probably won’t. ~ Books don’t sell
Learn more: The Science of Storytelling
Writing a book is good for you. It clarifies your thinking and it’s generous as well. You might not publish it professionally, but sharing it with people you want to teach and lead is a useful practice. ~ The first draft of your first non-fiction book
Learn more: The Storytelling Edge
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