Being both imaginative and determined is a powerful combination because it's so rare — so many imaginative people are dreamy and ineffective, and so many determined people are merely energetic robots.

Rick Rubin on turning Metallica around It’s always better to think and work backwards from great than it is to work forward from good

The career path of a creator has three stages: 1) Discovery: Hone your craft and find the idea you want to be known for. 2) Income: Ditch the corporate world and become financially independent. 3) Equity: Get ownership in a business that’ll grow without your daily involvement.

We're living in a commitment crisis:

Whenever I have a bad writing day, I take a peek at Kafka's diary.