QuoteProject
The enemy of creativity... is fear. We're all born creative, it takes a little while to become afraid. A surprising insight: an enemy of fear is creativity. Acting in a creative way generates action, and action persuades the fear to lighten up.
Seth Godin
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Fear hinders creativity, but embracing creativity can help overcome fear.

This quote by Seth Godin highlights the relationship between creativity and fear. It suggests that while fear can suppress our natural creativity, engaging in creative actions can counteract that fear and allow us to express ourselves more freely. Godin's insight points to the idea that overcoming creative blocks often involves facing and diminishing our fears through action.

Themes

CreativityFearActionExpressionOvercoming

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about unlocking creative potential in the workplace.

More from Seth Godin

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
Not adding value is the same as taking it away.
Seth GodinRead
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
Seth GodinRead
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.
Seth GodinRead
The danger of the Web is that you can go from idea to public announcement in under ten minutes.
Seth GodinRead
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.
Seth GodinRead

Similar quotes

Ad agencies do all kinds of market research that ask people what they think they want, and instead, you should be creating things that you want. If you do something and you get it, the rest of the world will get it, too. Trust your own instincts, your own intellect, and your own sense of humor.
George LoisRead
You can only generate ideas when you put pencil to paper, brush to canvas... when you actually do something physical.
Twyla TharpRead
I just went and got an agent because I thought I can create my own world - you can't right your own life, but you can escape to a world where you can have control.
Helena Bonham CarterRead
When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life.
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiRead
Sometimes ideas are coming so fast that I have to stop doing one song to get another. But I don't forget the first one. If it works, it will always be there. It's like the truth: it will find you and lift you up. And if it ain't right, it will dissolve like sand on the beach.
PrinceRead
Usually when I start a new project there's a fear of the unknown; maybe it's a band I've never been in the studio with before. People are so different. It's almost like you need to go through the process, discover and unlock what it is that makes that band that band. And a lot of times they don't know it.
Rick RubinRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.