The only thing a master can teach is how to learn about yourself. There are no secrets. They are only techniques to waken yourself.
Being essentially a creator, I never set out to shock, always thinking about creating my work and not about the benefits it could produce.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of creativity over commercial gain. It suggests that true artists focus on their craft rather than the rewards it may bring.
Alejandro Jodorowsky's quote reflects the mindset of a true creator who prioritizes the process of creation over the potential benefits or fame that may come from their work. This perspective encourages artists to immerse themselves fully in their creative endeavors, suggesting that authentic art should stem from passion and ingenuity rather than a desire for shock value or commercial success.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about artistic integrity, one might quote Jodorowsky to emphasize the importance of focusing on the creation itself rather than the audience's reaction.
More from Alejandro Jodorowsky
All quotes βRevolutions are of no us;, it is necessary to work on transforming the brain: on sowing a different knowledge/awareness, on creating a new conscience, that is like a magic box full of brains.
I didn't want to make cinema so a person forgets himself and has a lot of fun. 'I forget myself, I am a little poor consumer.' I wanted to make a picture where someone who sees it say, 'This is me! This is me!'
I have an ambition to live 300 years. I will not live 300 years. Maybe I will live one year more. But I have the ambition. Why you will not have ambition? Why? Have the greatest ambition possible. You want to be immortal? Fight to be immortal. Do it. You want to make the most fantastic art or movie? Try. If you fail, is not important. We need to try.
All the pictures I could never do, I'll do it in comics. All the comics I do are the pictures I could never do.
I ask of cinema what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs.
Similar quotes
I want to tell stories that are true and that resonate and move people, that highlight both the tremendous beauty and ugliness available in the human experience.
I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That's all I know.
My elaboration of the story always conforms to the reality at its source. It is always close to the world, the life, the reality it describes. No matter where I go, Iβm still holding up a mirror.
Producing a series is like being Lewis and Clark: You know where you're going, you just don't know how you're going to get there. When people say, 'You should create a bible for your show,' I say, 'You don't want a bible. It'll prevent you from making discoveries along the way.' And that's what happened on 'The X-Files.'
THERE ARE TWO THINGS that don't have to mean anything, one is music and the other is laughter.
I think that when you decide to dedicate yourself to creative endeavors and surround yourself with people who are creative, you very quickly learn how hard it is to survive doing those kinds of things, not to mention make a living at them.