So you want to be more crea­tive, in art, in busi­ness, wha­te­ver. Here are some tips that have wor­ked for me over the years.]

1. Ignore everybody.
2. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours.
 

3. Put the hours in. 

4. If your biz plan depends on you sud­denly being “dis­co­ve­red” by some big shot, your plan will pro­bably fail. 

5. You are res­pon­si­ble for your own expe­rience. 

6. Ever­yone is born crea­tive; ever­yone is given a box of cra­yons in kin­der­gar­ten. 

7. Keep your day job. 

8. Com­pa­nies that squelch crea­ti­vity can no lon­ger com­pete with com­pa­nies that cham­pion crea­ti­vity. 

9. Every­body has their own pri­vate Mount Eve­rest they were put on this earth to climb. 

10. The more talen­ted some­body is, the less they need the props. 

11. Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds alto­gether. 

12. If you accept the pain, it can­not hurt you. 

13. Never com­pare your inside with some­body else’s outside. 

14. Dying young is ove­rra­ted. 

15. The most impor­tant thing a crea­tive per­son can learn pro­fes­sio­nally is where to draw the red line that sepa­ra­tes what you are willing to do, and what you are not. 

16. The world is chan­ging. 

17. Merit can be bought. Pas­sion can’t. 

18. Avoid the Water­coo­ler Gang. 

19. Sing in your own voice. 

20. The choice of media is irre­le­vant. 

21. Selling out is har­der than it looks. 

22. Nobody cares. Do it for your­self. 

23. Worr­ying about “Com­mer­cial vs. Artis­tic” is a com­plete waste of time. 

24. Don’t worry about fin­ding ins­pi­ra­tion. It comes even­tually. 

25. You have to find your own sch­tick. 

26. Write from the heart. 

27. The best way to get appro­val is not to need it. 

28. Power is never given. Power is taken. 

29. Wha­te­ver choice you make, The Devil gets his due even­tually. 

30. The har­dest part of being crea­tive is get­ting used to it. 

31. Remain fru­gal. 

32. Allow your work to age...