Austin Kleon:

It takes a lot of energy to be creative.  You don't have that energy if you waste it on other stuff.

Steal Like an Artist, p. 119

Seth Godin:

The opportunity is ... to see that all around you are platforms, opportunities, and entire organizations that will come to life once you are driven enough and brave enough to contribute the initiative they are missing.

Poke the Box, p. 6

Marc Wolf:

So yes, be brave as you fight for justice and against those who perpetuate cruelty.  But please remember to be brave in your generosity, be brave in helping those close to you.  Be emotionally brave to share your feelings, your thoughts.  Be brave in sharing your encouragement, sharing your time.  These are "soft" braveries, but they will be important for both of us.  This kind of bravery exposes us because we reveal what moves us, we reveal who we really care about.

The Letter Q, p. 204-205

Rita Mae Brown:

I am a promiscuous reader.  Military history, biography, novels, poetry, your grocery list, I don't care.  If it's scribbed or in justified type, I'll read it.

Rita Will, p. 430

Austin Kleon:

Step 1: Wonder at something.  Step 2: Invite others to wonder with you.

Steal Like an Artist, p. 81

Stacey D'Erasmo:

Your inability to lie about what you want -- indeed, what some might call your excessive need to talk about it -- and your strong wish to be recognized as you are will bring you extraordinary gifts and love and happiness and, through this honesty, you will find your way to the company of bold and generous people all your life.

The Letter Q, p. 54

Seth Godin:

I'm not seeing a shortage of what-to-do knowledge.  There are plenty of really smart, well-trained people in organizations large and small who know exactly what to do.  The shortage is in people willing to do it.  To take a leap.  To walk out onto the ledge and start.  Apparently, many of us have forgotten how to do it.

Poke the Box, p. 61

Rita Mae Brown:

Reading, like breathing, is energy, ideas, life.

Rita Will, p. 430

Doug Wright:

Yes, the indignities you suffer at the hands of bigots can make you bitter.  But they can also strengthen your ability to empathize with the oppressed, and in doing so, enlarge the capacity of your heart.

The Letter Q, p. 41

Austin Kleon:

Most websites and blogs are set up to show posts in reverse-chronological order -- the latest post is the first post that visitors see, so you're only as good as your last post.  This keeps you on your toes, keeps you thinking about what you can post next.  Having a container can inspire us to fill it.

Steal Like an Artist, p. 82

Seth Godin:

A paradox of success

People with no credibility or resources rarely get the leverage they need to bring their ideas to the world.

People with credibility and resources are so busy trying to hold onto them that they fail to bring their provocative ideas to the world.

Poke the Box, p. 54

Hugh MacLeod:

All art is longing.

Freedom Is Blogging in Your Underwear, p. 96

Rita Mae Brown:

Whenever a figure, be it Czar Nicholas II or Norman (Lear), becomes muffled in a cocoon of great wealth and obedience, trouble follows.

Rita Will, p. 366

Michael Cunningham:

Literature is moved forward by writers who insist on their own particularities, and even their peculiarities.

The Letter Q, p. 10

Austin Kleon:

A day job gives you money, a connection to the world, and a routine.  Freedom from financial stress also means freedom in your art.

Steal Like an Artist, p. 123

Fred Clark:

It seems strange that many evangelicals do not understand why those others -- the victims or targets of Chik-fil-A's politics -- might thus be unhappy with Chik-fil-A.  But that's because this unhappiness has to do with substance, not with "stances."  And if it's not all about the proper stance, then these evangelicals just don't understand what you're saying.

"'Stance' vs. substance: why evangelicals are confused about the actual harm Chik-fil-A is dong to actual people"

Seth Godin:

Intellectual integrity goes beyond being clever -- it requires that you put your ideas into the world.

Poke the Box, p. 67

Rita Mae Brown:

I've never asked for money in helping a writer.  Literature is a calling, like the priesthood.  I'll make money from my work but not from someone struggling to learn.  Writing is bloody hard work so you'd better love it.

Rita Will, p. 309

Austin Kleon:

If you ever find that you're the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.

Steal Like an Artist, p. 104

Fred Clark:

Chik-fil-A's critics aren't concerned about (Dan) Cathy's opinions, but about his actions -- his actions against them.

For Christianity Today, opinions are what matters most.  For them, the important thing is Cathy's "stance" and not the substance of his actions against others.  They thus can't begin to hear, let alone to understand, the substance of those others' complaint against the fast-food giant.  Evangelicals are obsessed with stances and words and opinions, so they assume this must all have something to do with stances and words and opinions.

"'Stance' vs. substance: why evangelicals are confused about the actual harm Chik-fil-A is dong to actual people"

Seth Godin:

Writing this manifesto might be overwhelming.  I know it's going to be read, at least by a few people.  If I focus on that -- focus on the fact that yes, it will be seen and criticized and worked with and misunderstood and embraced and spread -- then I'm bound to hold back.  The challenge is to focus on the work, not on the fear that comes from doing the work.

Poke the Box, p. 47

Rita Mae Brown:

When you write your first novel your family snatches it up, eagerly searching for themselves and horrified when they find what they're looking for.

Rita Will, p. 281-282

Austin Kleon:

Amassing a body of work or building a career is a lot about the slow accumulation of little bits of effort over time.  Writing a page each day doesn't seem like much, but do it for 365 days and you have enough to fill a novel.

Steal Like an Artist, p. 127

Hugh MacLeod:

I like being alive.  I just wish I was better at it.

Freedom Is Blogging in Your Underwear, p. 34

Brian Eno:

My interest in making music has been to create something that does not exist that I would like to listen to.  I wanted to hear music that had not yet happened, by putting together things that suggested a new thing which did not yet exist.

Seth Godin:

If you had a chance to do a TED talk, what would it be about?  What have you discovered, what do you know, what can you teach?  You should do one.  Even if you don't do one, you should be prepared to do one.  That's your opportunity -- to approach your work in a way that generates unique learning and interactions that are worth sharing.

Poke the Box, p. 41

Rita Mae Brown:

If in my past, in my present and in my future I have been able to make you laugh and make you think, I count myself a lucky and successful writer.

Rita Will, p. xi

Austin Kleon:

The more open you are about sharing your passions, the closer people will feel to your work.  Artists aren't magicians.  There's no penalty for revealing your secrets.

Steal Like an Artist,  p. 81

Gregory Maguire:

On the other side, honesty still takes courage, and one of the things that a bright cunning professional with good hair does when he or she comes out is to encourage other gay or lesbian people with good hair to let it down, too.

"Thank you, Anderson"

Mark Twain:

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

Seth Godin:

Books worth buying are books worth sharing.

Poke the Box, p. 86