Often it is tenacity, not talent, that rules the day.

The need to be a great artist makes it hard to be an artist. The need to produce a great work of art makes it hard to produce any art at all.

The voice of our original self is often muffled, overwhelmed, even strangled, by the voices of other people’s expectations.

Writing responds well to some gentle scheduling. A day job not only promotes solvency, it promotes creativity as well.

When we write about our lives we respond to them. As we respond to them we are rendered more fluid, more centered, more agile on our own behalf. We are tendered conscious.

Perfectionism has nothing to do with getting it right. It has nothing to do with fixing things. It has nothing to do with standards. Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself move forward. It is a loop-an obsessive, debilitating closed system that causes you to get stuck in the details of what you are writing or painting or making and to lose sight of the whole.

Any little bit of experimenting in self-nurturance is very frightening for most of us.