Ripples #928: Creating!
Mar 6, 2017
PEBBLE
Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
-Theodore Roosevelt, shared via Values.com
BOULDER
Nobody will stop you from creating. Do it tonight. Do it tomorrow. That is the way to make your soul grow – whether there is a market for it or not! The kick of creation is the act of creating, not anything that happens afterward. I would tell all of you watching this screen: Before you go to bed, write a four line poem. Make it as good as you can. Don’t show it to anybody. Put it where nobody will find it. And you will discover that you have your reward.
-Kurt Vonnegut, shared by Jessie in Illinois
PONDER
My adventures this week included a sprinkling of conversations with friends and colleagues. In several of the chats we shared updates on creative projects we’re each pursuing…and besides sharing all the joyful pieces, we also vented about frustrations that can be challenging to say the least, and stifling at their worst.
I think we all want to believe that producing great work is easy when you have sufficient talent, expertise, gifts, etc. And while it’s true that talent appears effortless when we admire the finished work of successful creators, that’s often because we haven’t seen up close the significant struggles, failures, rough drafts, and learning curves that are almost always part of the creative process.
Because I have so thoroughly enjoyed the experience of creating these Ripples emails over the past many years, it is easy to forget just how much time and effort and energy goes into them. It hopefully takes just a minute to read this, but each issue represents several hours of time in curating and pairing quote submissions and then scribbling out this “Ponder” section. It’s sooo worth it, but it’s harder work than it appears!
Whatever you’re projects you tackle this week in work, school, or life; make a commitment to the persistence and hard work required for maximum creativity and success. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. On your mark, get set…CREATE!
Peace,
Paul
Paul Wesselmann,
The Ripples Guy
P.S. Thank you SO MUCH to the dozens of people who share quotes each week. I don’t always get to personally acknowledge your submissions, but I read each and every one! Many of the quotes get categorized and stored where they wait until I find an ideal match so I can unleash them in an upcoming issue. Some of them end up being used in the daily splashes which I post on Facebook and Twitter. You can also receive them as a daily text if you carefully follow the instructions posted on this page.
