A True Artist Is…

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A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others. -Salvador Dali

Who have you inspired today?

Things rarely happen the way we expect them to.

Sometimes we are filled with creative ideas, but we don’t have any time to work on them. Other times, we will sit and stare for hours at a blank page and wonder what the hell is the matter with us. For whatever reason, our imagination seems to work overtime when we have no time, but will often abandon us when we need it the most.

What if inspiration doesn’t work like that?

Although he was certainly no stranger to attracting attention to himself and his work, Salvador Dali seems to realize that maybe inspiration wasn’t so much for us as the creator, but instead, it was intended for our audience.

Working creates inspiration, not vice versa

We can’t afford to wait any longer.

I cringe when I think about how much time I’ve already wasted waiting around to be inspired. Over time, I’ve begun to realize that waiting to be inspired is often just another excuse to do nothing. Don’t get me wrong. I’m still hoping to discover someday that one perfect idea that changes everything, but I’m also smart enough ( I hope) to realize that I’m not going to find it by sitting around thinking about it.

In the end, it’s about putting your butt in the chair day after day and being willing to do the hard, boring work that it takes to create stuff. We may not always be inspired to do it, and it may not even turn out to be very good, but at the same time, it’s the only way that true inspiration is ever going to find us. As Dali’s fellow countryman, friend, and sometimes rival Pablo Picasso once noted, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

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