Don't cheat the world of your contribution. Give it what you've got.

We show up. We do our best. Good things happen.

I was keenly conscious of the comrades-in-arms who had fallen with me. A bond surpassing by a hundredfold that which I had known in life bound me to them. I felt a sense of inexpressible relief and realized that I had feared, more than death, separation from them. I apprehended that excruciating war survivor's torment, the sense of isolation and self-betrayal experienced by those who had elected to cling yet to breath when their comrades had let loose their grip.

The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.

Writers think in metaphors. Editors work in metaphors. A great reader reads in metaphors.

If you're are paralyzed with fear it's a good sign. It shows you what you have to do.

If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), "Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?" chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.