Immerse Yourself In The Doing

Some insightful quotes from Uncommon Genius, by Denise Shekerjian, related to creativity:

• Creative people seem to have a greater tolerance for the ambiguous circumstances that begin most projects and are more accepting, even welcoming, of unstructured time.
• The person who can combine frames of reference and draw connections between ostensibly unrelated points of view is likely to be the one who makes the creative breakthrough.
• Paying attention to the conditions likely to enhance one's creative impulse is something that each person has to sort out for him- or herself.
• Money is not nearly as important a condition to doing creative work as maintaining the confidence and the courage to keep at it.
• Strong communication skills help, in the effort to bridge the gap between what the culture will tolerate and the innovator's vision. The package of skills includes the ability to explain ideas cleanly and neatly, the sense to know when and how to do it, and the wit and good manners to do it with charm.
• When a work or idea is made or presented in such a fashion that it is accessible to the viewing public, not only does the work stand a greater chance for survival,... but there is also a ripple effect to enjoy - from your new thing a viewer gains the insight or the confidence to develop his new thing, and from his new thing another person goes off and discovers yet another new thing, and so on. Thus we progress as a culture, inch by inch.
• The act of doing is an act of faith. If the creator is capable of the seriousness of the commitment and approaches it with an unclouded mind he may be rewarded with the store of knowledge that will enrich every one of his creative urges.

Part I Summary:
1. Find your talent.
2. Commit to it and make it shine.
3. Don't be afraid of risk. Or even failure, which if seen in its proper light, brings insight and opportunity.
4. Find courage by looking to something stronger and better than your puny vulnerable self.
5. No lusting after quick resolutions. Relax. Stay loose.
6. Get to know yourself - understand your needs and the specific conditions of your favor.
7. Respect, too, your culture.
8. Then finally, break free of the seductive pull of book learning and research and the million other preparatory steps that could delay for the entire span of a life and immerse yourself in the doing.