The problem with taking offense is that it's really hard to figure out what to do with it after you're done using it. Better to just leave it on the table and walk away. Umbrage untaken quietly disappears.
Seth GodinRead
As creators, our pursuit of perfection might be misguided, particularly if it comes at the expense of the things that matter.
Interpretation
The drive for perfection can lead us to overlook what is truly important in our creative endeavors.
Seth Godin's quote highlights the potential pitfalls of striving for perfection in creation. While aiming for excellence is commendable, it is crucial to recognize that this obsession may divert our attention from the core values and essential aspects of our work, ultimately undermining the very purpose of our creativity.
In practice
This quote can be used in a creative writing workshop to encourage participants to focus on what matters most in their narratives.
The problem with taking offense is that it's really hard to figure out what to do with it after you're done using it. Better to just leave it on the table and walk away. Umbrage untaken quietly disappears.
Not adding value is the same as taking it away.
Excellence isn’t about meeting the spec, it’s about setting the spec. It defines what the consumer sees as quality right this minute, and tomorrow, if you’re good, you’ll reset that expectation again
Living with doubt ... is almost always more profitable than living with certainty. _x000D_ People don't like doubt, so they pay money and give up opportunities to avoid it. _x000D_ Entrepreneurshi p is largely about living with doubt. If you need reassurance, you're giving up quite a bit to get it. On the other hand, if you can get in the habit of seeking out uncertainty, you'll have developed a great instinct.
The danger of the Web is that you can go from idea to public announcement in under ten minutes.
Art isn't only a painting. Art is anything that is creative, passionate and personal. Art is the unique work of a human being created to touch another. Art is created to have an impact, to change someone else.
And that's what people want to see when they go to the theater. I believe at the end of the day, they want to see themselves - parts of their lives they can recognize. And I feel if I can achieve that, it's pretty spectacular.
People tell me they open my e-mails first, because they aren't demands and you don't need to reply. They're simply for pleasure.
In Britten or Berg, there's a tension between the sweet and the sour, between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the tonal and the atonal, the happy and the sad. That, to me, is what all western art is about - that tension. It's why we want to say anything at all.
I've heard some writers say things like, 'Well, I'm a professional writer. I only start books I know I can finish.' I look at it maybe the other way: I only want to write books I'm not sure I can write.
I would like to paint the way a bird sings.
What I've learned how to do as I've gotten older is to take all of the information that I have, and push it aside, and try to distill each song into an emotional theme. The hardest thing that I've ever had to learn how to do in playing music is use the sound of my instrument to create an emotional effect.
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