A couple of days ago my friend Steve tweeted a link with this great quote by Ira Glass.With the immediacy of social media I expanded the circle of sharing by retweeting and posting the link on Facebook.
Then I got to thinking. While many forms of social media are fantastic for being able to quickly share stuff with others, I felt like this particular piece of information needed a more permanent home. Facebook and Twitter are what I consider fleeting instantaneous forms of sharing but this blog offers something a little more—the ability to call it back without a tiresome search method.
Permanence.
Inspiration.
A shelf life.
So I’m putting it here.
It’s good stuff. Especially when you are feeling like you can’t do anything right.
That’s a great quote. Thanks for sharing it! I’m surprised at the people who don’t realize who Ira Glass is, though. First off, he’s a guy. And he was the host of This American Life on NPR. Anyway, inspiring stuff!
[Reply]
Gina Reply:
June 2nd, 2011 at 1:14 pm
He still is the host of This American Life.
[Reply]
I stumbled upon this or StumbleUpon stumbled upon this. I am glad to meet you. I am an artist mother and teacher. Great quote by Ira Glass. Just what I needed to hear today. I bookmarked your website. Anne Lamott has a great book that talks about this concept too in writing. “Bird by Bird” – my favorite book. I also love “Operating Instructions.” I am about to go on a long journey to the Rocky Mountains to say goodbye to my dying mother. I live in North Carolina. I am going to write about my experience on my blog http://www.memomuse.wordpress.com. I am leaving my one year old son for 1 week. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. Thank you for the serendipitous quote.
[Reply]
Leah Reply:
May 24th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
I stumbled here as well! And I can definitely apply this to my writing.
[Reply]
Alex Reply:
July 16th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Hehe hurray for StumbleUpon it lead me here too.
[Reply]
April Reply:
September 10th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
Stumbled! Thanks for this, it will be great to remember while I become a better writer/journalist.
[Reply]
Audrey May Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Wow. StumbleUpon must really like this page. That’s how I ended up here as well.
I’ll definitely keep this quote in mind while working on my photography and other creative pursuits.
[Reply]
Truly the way it is! I think of myself an octopus with many many arms and each one has a special job/task/desire/want/think, and I know if I approached each of these “arms” as being the one I most favored and wanted to perfect, I’d run out of lifetime if I wanted the other arms to stay alive. So, I construct my thinking/approach to accept “imperfect but serviceable” and my life has becomes full of so many interesting things that I’ll regret leaving it behind much more than the average human. (So much to do and so little time).
And thank you Ira Glass, you put into an arrangement of words the feeling I always had about “getting really good at something”. Now I can just print it out and hand them out when someone asks me what I’ve been doing and why isn’t it ready.
[Reply]
Very inspiring. Also as I am not your friends on facebook I would not have had the opportunity to have been cheered by this thought. I honestly felt that it was only me who felt this way.
Thanks
[Reply]
So true! Always thought that I could maximize at least one of my efforts and become perfect in something if I stuck to it. However, I consider myself much like an octopus with many arms and each arm is relagated to a particular interest. But, there are not enough hours in the year to concur something for each arm and in fairness to them, I give them equal time. This of course limits me to being “pretty good” in a lot of things – the easy ones – more so. So, I go through life knowing Ira Glass hit the nail on its head while I wale away at the various nail points.
[Reply]
It took me years of going to writer’s workshops, submitting regularly and letting the rejection letters pile high before I started getting things published. Now after seven or eight years of consistent writing, people are finally starting to see my “genius.” When I look back on some of those older pieces I think, no wonder these weren’t published and thank God they weren’t.
[Reply]
gobarnto Reply:
May 24th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Good for you Doug,
If it weren’t for guys and gals like you, us Jacks (of all trades) wouldn’t have good stuff to read.
[Reply]
Barbara Sherman Reply:
September 2nd, 2011 at 8:34 am
Ted Guiss, aka Dr. Seuss, submitted his first book, MElligot’s Pool, to 28 before he got a taker. Here’s to those who never quit!!!
[Reply]
Well, I won’t have to stand on my head any more.This not liking my own work is normal. Thank You and my head thanks you too. Although ,standing on one’s head does give you a certain something. HA,HA,HA ,HA.
[Reply]
Well it got said just before, and a few times, and I’d feel bad if I didn’t join in to be honest. It seems true, because I am in that place. Thanks for sharing; hopefully I can heed it to its end. x
[Reply]
I am a teacher, and I can’t WAIT to share this with my incoming gifted English students next year! Thanks for sharing!
[Reply]
I have been stuck with that feeling ever since i got my graphic designer diploma. but after I read this piece I feel more relaxed and far less stressed out. Thank you soooooo much! So much!
[Reply]
Came across this thanks to stumbleupon..thanks for the inspiring quote and post. Although I know that I have a natural knack for the written word, I often have doubts as to whether I could ever really aspire to carve some sort of career out of it.
I started my own blog (http://inthevestibule.com) a couple of weeks ago purely in order to motivate me to write, explore and discover. It’s working so far, in large parts due to other bloggers such as yourself. Thanks again
[Reply]
[...] couple of links StumbleUpon sent me. 201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity | Write to Done Nobody Tells This to Beginners « artistmotherteacher.com Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in [...]
stumbleupon brought me to this and it was exactly what i needed today. I wrote about this post in my own blog called BPositive BFree if you want to check it out! (http://bpositivebfree.blogspot.com) Thanks for the inspiration today! It was a much needed moment and I’m thankful to have found this
[Reply]
That’s a bunch of bullshit. The thing that pretty much everyone tells you but nobody really hears is:
Just be happy. Be happy about every little good thing you do — even if it’s just a one tune or one brush stroke or one sentence. Just be happy.
[Reply]
César Padilla Reply:
May 30th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Although I agree with the philosophy that you have to be happy and that happiness can come from extremely simple things like a chord, a single brush stroke or a sentence, I don’t agree with labeling Ira Glass’s message as “bullshit”.
Artists are happy creating, and any advice that will motivate someone to believe in themselves and keep on trying to create their particular style of art should be treasured. Many people will quit because in the beginning their work is not extraordinary. This robs the world and the artist from the great works the artist could have created if he didn’t give up initially.
I completely understand your point, I just believe Ira’s argument and yours are two sides of the same coin.
[Reply]
Juha Keränen Reply:
May 30th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Yeah, both are for people on a different level. And I’m not talking about level as an artist, but a level as a person.
[Reply]
Jonathan Reply:
July 23rd, 2011 at 11:43 pm
If you don’t speak the language (English) well, you probably shouldn’t be critical of what might be either extraordinary words or “bullshit”, Juha.
Try being a little more Zen, and a little less of a typist.
[Reply]
Juha Keränen Reply:
July 24th, 2011 at 1:51 am
I speak it well enough. Thanks for your concerns.
[Reply]
Gregory Scott Reply:
December 8th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
Are you referring to the ‘level as a person’ where you dismiss other people’s ideas as ‘bullshit’? Is that pattern embedded in your method for ‘just being happy’?
Because I do smell bullshit in the room, on that we agree.
[Reply]
A guy that knows me very well shared this link with me. I’m a med student, aspiring to be fashion designer (thats a secret) and in love with anything that involves art, so trying to balancing everything and creating something decent always seems impossible, this inspires me to keep trying, one thing I know I have is good taste. Cheers for good taste! Great phrase. Greetings from Guatemala.
[Reply]
After reading that it really made me think about my current state in the art world…i can seriously do allot better and i am now making a schedule with specific goals and projects that WILL get done on time. Thanks for the share
[Reply]
This is a great quote. My friend told me she’s having trouble hiring young people to work in her office, because they’re all so used to being praised just for showing up that they feel no need to do the work. “What? I put the folder in the file drawer–you want it in alphabetical order too?”
The secret is–if you work hard enough at it, the work itself becomes fun.
[Reply]
What Ira says about taste reminds me of this experience.
One summer I taught art to 4 year olds to 10 year olds. I gave them all the same project–life size self portraits. I lay each kid on a big sheet of paper, drew an outline, and let each one take it from there. I try to avoid judging children’s art, but I have to say the four year olds did the best job. They were relaxed, they had fun, they finished in an hour and the results were great–each portrait was actually a good likeness. As they progressed in age they got more and more tense about it, until the ten year olds, after two weeks couldn’t get past drawing the logo on their t-shirts. Describe themselves? Forget it..
I think this is what Picasso was talking about when he said he’d like to paint like a child. It’s that old judgement bugaboo. As the kids got older and became aware of taste they turned upon themselves and froze.
[Reply]
[...] came across this blog post the other day, and it really spoke to me–it’s a quote from Ira Glass, and the short of [...]
Fabulous. This quote is truly inspiring. Thank you for sharing.
[Reply]
Great quote by Ira Glass. I am an artist and a teacher. I will be sure to share this with my students.
[Reply]
This is brilliant. Thanks for posting this quote in a permanent spot rather than the regular fleeting streams.
This is inspiration to push through the low spots and simply “do work”…lots of it.
[Reply]
This is so true, and a good reminder. I’m 58, and I need to keep remembering this. Some of us need help with our ADD so we can persist through what he describes.
Thanks for the reminder.
[Reply]
thank you, thank you, thank you for this amazing quote!
[Reply]
Oh my! Is it silly to say that I almost cried when I read this? I’ve been feeling like that in my writing… and it just felt so good to see that someone understands! (:
[Reply]
I love this quote and there is youtube vid out there somewhere where he says this and a lot more other great stuff…
[Reply]
Sometimes you just have to believe in self…..
[Reply]
A lot of work isn’t necessary also good work. But you deserve to fight your way if needed,
[Reply]
Great quote & great advice! I am a beginner and apppreciate the encouragement. Thanks!
[Reply]
Many are called, but the hard reality is that only a precious few are chosen; odds are you’re not one of them.
[Reply]
How about this, if you don’t have the patience to push your work past the limits of your own enjoyment for the sake of the progress of art then just stop,and buy lots of art from people who do. THEY are artists.
Everyone is not an artist.
Being an artist will not make everyone love you.
It’s not romantic or idyllic.
trying to force your way into something which is the natural calling of someone else and not you makes you a jerk.
[Reply]
I am still trying to figure out how to make this unpopular fact clear.
There are people who are hard wired for art, they can’t do much else but they do fine with art. This is the case because it completely dominates their minds.
they don have these problems like not knowing what that “special something” that is missing might be or how to get it. Somehow they just know.
the problems people of this sort have include a lack of reasonable support for the arts and having to wade through oceans of trendy, uninspired, gimmick in order to get noticed.
I implore anyone who will listen to be part of the solution and the the problem.
save your money, spend as much as you can on great art.If you meet someone and you can see that “they just get it” stay out of their way, help them however you can, Don’t charge them for coffee.
etc.
[Reply]
Holly {Artist Mother Teacher} Reply:
July 25th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
I don’t think you need to make anything clear.
I also think you might be overlooking a couple of important factors of this quote.
1. It doesn’t just apply to visual artists. This is for writers, actors, musicians, chefs. Creatives in general.
2. We are often are own worst critics and can be too close to the work to see that it is indeed great.
3. We all have off days and sometimes an encouraging word or two is all we need to remind us to keep doing what we do well.
4. Even the most amazing artists create shit. Looking back at a lifetime of their work will make that apparent. The thing is, the public doesn’t usually see all the stuff that doesn’t make the cut.
That being said, I agree that we should support the arts in any way possible. Even if it is just not charging someone for coffee.
[Reply]
isaac Reply:
July 25th, 2011 at 7:43 pm
good points really. I’ve seen and experienced too much to think anything is ever all one way. I hope the pots don’t read that way, I just think there is a flip side to it and felt the impulse to state it…so I did.
it’s not a bad quote, I even like it.
Re: 2. Yes we are often our own worst critics, no this is not bad it’s actually a strength but emotionalizing self criticism is. Vague, painful emotional self criticism is useless. Objective, methodical, persistent self analysis however leads to excellence.
Re: 3. yes…you?e right there. a little Warmth goes a long long way.
Re: 4. No, they don’t. At some point it just stops happening. if one has been painting, sculpting or persistently crafting some sort of fine handmade product for 30 years and one still turns out shit with greater regularity than product of reasonable quality….I would say that? failure.
so…balance is my point, that? all really. Yes we need encouragement, yes you have to keep going even when you hate it (supposing the work has some merit of its own) but also there are people who need to just stop.
[Reply]
Holly {Artist Mother Teacher} Reply:
July 25th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Regarding #4: I didn’t mean they created shit late in their body of work. Quite the contrary. Shit is done early. That’s why we push through the shit. Which is what this quote is suggesting. At least that is how I read it. And if you just keep making shit? Yes, stop. This may not be the field for you.
[Reply]
Didn’t Malcolm Gladwell say that for proficiency in anything you have to put in at least 1,000 hours? If you’re “hard wired for art” it doesn’t feel all that bad.
[Reply]
isaac Reply:
July 25th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Barbra, people who are hard wired for art (like greyhounds are bred for running) don’t stop working to try and figure out how much time they spent on it because thats time they could spend doing it. Making art that feels good is nice but after about 10 years of that you start to realize that the art is serving you more than you are serving the art. I’m not saying that one shouldn’t enjoy it but the kind of enjoyment is not the same for producing great art as it is for producing self indulgent art. It’s the same satisfaction one gets from a very hard day of physical labor.
when I am working on something I never feel anything because I am too busy trying to use those capacities to predict how to create such experiences with the work. It’s like stage magic. It’s a poor magician who is busy being amazed by his own tricks.
when you’re done if it seems like magic…then be happy.
[Reply]
Right, Isaac, who counts? My art school kept records, so when I went back I found that I’d put in 3,000 hours studio time and 1,000 instruction time, and that didn’t count time on my own. Looking back at that work is like looking at my seventh grade picture–mortifying, but a few reasonable efforts and I kept at it. I kept at it because nothing else made me feel whole.
Please don’t drop my A–unless you want to be Isac. It’s Barbara.
[Reply]
Isac Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 11:20 am
Sorry Barbara, it was about 4am here in Holland when I posted last. As demonstration of my own good intentions I have dropped an “A” from my own name.
[Reply]
I find this quote very inspiring, as I’ve just become extremely interested in floetry, but find that the pieces I try to create are a little lackluster in comparison to a few performances that I’ve seen. Seeing as I’ve just started yesterday, this is good inspiration to keep on going.
[Reply]
This ‘gap’ should never ever be closed. When you accept your work is as good as your ambitions for it to be, you have no room for progression.
[Reply]
This quote is true, but it seems natural for any individual to never be satisfied with his or her own work in comparison to the endless amounts of work that has already been done and done well time and time again throughout the history of mankind. We want our work to be special, authentic and self-astounding, but it is hard to achieve a sense of respect for ourselves and from ourselves alone that is at the same level as our respect for those and the work of those we can never fully understand. If we fully know ourselves and our work, why we thought to do something or whose work inspired us, we cannot have the same inspiring experience from ourselves that others can have.
[Reply]
so true !
[Reply]
Wow, I totally stumbled on this. I have been in the “tattoo industry” for 14 years now. The only thing though is that I have been piercing for those 14 years. Started out as nothing, no skill and in 14 years Ive gone beyond where I thought I would as in skill and practice. I know I can always improve no matter where I am at. The reason why I’m loving this is because about a month ago I started tattooing. The work that I see that I am doing is not what I pictured. I know how good and great tattoos should look and not being there is very hard on me. It’s almost a day to day struggle trying to be better. Because I’ve been in the industry so long, I see the work that I’m doing as amateur work. Even though I am new and it is amateur work that I am doing it’s embarrassing. Going from a very well known individual in my craft to executing work that is not as good is something that I hope to get over soon. This quote helps so much. Thank you so much for posting this.
[Reply]
and, of course, the beautiful exercise in typographical animation which accompanied it, can be see here: http://vimeo.com/24715531
x
a.
[Reply]
Love this quote, especially the part about fighting your way through. When it becomes a fight — internally, to the core of me — then I know that I’m meant to write, because something opposes it. Certain forces will always try to discourage human creativity, from deep within the soul. It’s the fight that brings our best work to the surface.
[Reply]
glad i stumbled upon this… nice post! thanks for sharing.
[Reply]
Wonderful, wonderful advice. thank you for sharing it!
[Reply]
Thanks for posting this. I was so ready to give up this week. I’ll keep trying.
[Reply]
Helen W. Mallon Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 9:22 am
Sometimes I keep going simply because I’ve been at this so long it would require too much inertia to stop writing. And you know what? Whatever keeps us going is good. Keep the faith!
[Reply]
well i stumbled upon this post, but what i can say is that there is nothing in a life of a beginner than what i just read here. The biggest problem is GIVING UP.
[Reply]
I agree that Twitter and Facebook are fleeting thoughts. So I appreciate the fact that you give this one a permanent home! Loved it. It gives me that extra little push to keep on trying.
[Reply]
[...] Inspiration. A shelf life. Permanence. Nobody Tells This to Beginners &171; artistmotherteacher.com – StumbleUpon [...]
[...] Inspiration. A shelf life. Permanence. Nobody Tells This to Beginners &171; artistmotherteacher.com – StumbleUpon [...]
You are able to definitely produce a superior first impression on everyone any time you are entering a room, when you have on some actually lovely items of jewellery. You need to pay out near focus to those practical recommendations and use them, in order that you’ll find the easiest way to decide on jewelry.
When working with harsh substances like cleaning items, carrying out laundry, or using a bath you ought to generally eliminate your jewelry. To wash your jewelry it is best to use heat water which has a gentle soap, rinse it off, then polish your jewellery with a jewelry polish and dry ahead of placing it back again into storage.
On the subject of showing off your temperament by means of jewellery, most of the time you can generate a larger statement with significantly less. Pick out bold, extraordinary items, but limit all by yourself to donning a single or two at a time. A refined pair of chandelier earrings can set off an outfit on it truly is Ugg Canada
have, and sometimes a flashy cocktail ring may be the only glitz you need to draw attention.
You should not have on your jewelry if you prepare on going for just a swim or in the event you plan on going in another entire body of drinking water that may contain harsh chemical substances. These sorts of items can result in your jewellery to age much far more swiftly. Safeguard your jewellery and be conscientious.
In case you have ugg boots
good jewelry or heirloom jewellery whose value you would like to secure via insurance policies, it’s smart to just take outstanding photographs of these pieces and also to have an appraisal carried out by an expert. Be certain that the pics you take are excellent, quality types. Working with a flash when using these footage will never result in superior pics within your jewelry. It is best to seize an image of one’s cherished jewelry less than comfortable, diffused fluorescent bulbs.
To add the proper number of flair to any outfit just add one particular statement piece of jewelry. Whether or not it be a major ring, some bold earrings, a thick bracelet, or simply a chunky necklace, incorporating a statement piece to any outfit will not likely only carry it from the normal but will likely allow it to be more ‘you’. Moreover, an announcement piece is sure to produce a great conversation starter in any event.
[Reply]
This is an interesting quote and speaks of the self deprecating nature on many writers.
Luckily I came to writing late in life. I am happy with the work I produce; while still accepting that there will always be room for improvement. I do not worry too much.
I just write, as that is what makes me happy.
[Reply]