Lessons in staying true to your creative self from a master

Just got through Hugh MacLeod's book Ignore Everyone - it is filled with wisdom, inspiration and truths that resonate. And it will have you LYAO.

Some particularly poignant points for me:
- Good ideas alter the power balance
- The sovereignty you have over your own work will inspire far more people than the actual content ever will
- Doing anything worthwhile takes forever (have learned this many times from the hours I put in to making each of my jewelry pieces)
- 90% of what separates successful people from those who fail are time, effort and stamina (interesting to note how talent doesn't necessarily factor as much as tenacity)
- Pillars are a hindrance
- Never sell anything you love (this is hard for me because I LOVE everything I make)
- The more you need money, the more people tell you what to do, the less control you have, the more BS you have to swallow, the less joy it will bring
- The creative urge is a primal calling- (now that I am back to making jewelry again, I know this to be true... I must create)
- The best way to get approval is not to need it
- Power is never given, but taken
- Beware of turning hobbies into jobs (since I've tried it, I can relate to this point...my goals this time around are much simpler, to simply fund my habit.. materials and class costs)

The book like all of Hugh's work is exceptional - brilliant, hilarious, and insightful. The "Ignore Everyone" Limited edition print you see below is available for purchase on his website.

Keys to creativity by Hugh MacLeod