Hugh MacLeod Quotes

But Andrew was right about one thing. Human beings need to tell stories. Historically, it's the quickest way we have for transmitting useful information to other members of our species. Stories are not simply nice things to have; they are essential survival tools.
And yes, the stories we tell ourselves are just as important as the stories we tell other people.

Stuff designed to make them sound clever and make us part with our money. Which is fine, but their shtick isn’t the whole story. Buzzwords are not the word of God. The Internet doesn’t work the way it does because some clever person in New York or Shanghai has decided she needs your money. No, it’s something far more universal and egalitarian. The Internet works best when we’re all trying to share stuff. Not just the corporations and the Internet millionaires, but you, me, everybody else on this planet.

Writer's block is just a symptom of feeling like you have nothing to say, combined with the rather weird idea that you should feel the need to say something. Why? If you have something to say, then say it. If not, enjoy the silence while it lasts. The noise will return soon enough.

Part of being a Master is learning how to sing in nobody else's voice but your own.

The best way to get approval is not to need it.

The old ways are dead. And you need people around you who concur. That means hanging out more with the creative people, the freaks, the real visionaries, than you're already doing. Thinking more about what their needs are, and responding accordingly. Avoid the dullards; avoid the folk who play it safe. They can't help you anymore. Their stability model no longer offers that much stability. They are extinct, they are extinction.

GOOD IDEAS ALTER THE BALANCE IN RELATIONSHIPS. THAT IS WHY GOOD IDEAS ARE ALWAYS INITIALLY RESISTED.

Anyone can be an idealist. Anyone can be a cynic. The hard part lies somewhere in the middle — that is, being human.

Have a story. And make sure it’s a good one. A DAMN good one.

Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kidergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take te crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on agebra, history, ect. Being suddenly hit years later with the 'creative bug' is just a wee voice telling you, 'I'd like my crayons back, please.

Art suffers the moment other people start paying for it.

You do not own the molecules. They are stardust. They belong to God. What you do own is your soul. Nobody can take that away from you.

Art suffers the moment other people start paying for it. The more you need the money, the more people will tell you what to do. The less control you will have. The more bullshit you will have to swallow. The less joy it will bring.

Nobody can tell you if what you’re doing is good, meaningful or worthwhile. The more compelling the path, the more lonely it is.

When your dreams becoming reality, they're no longer your dreams.