It took, for me, a long time to develop this idea of what to do on the radio. But from the beginning of my time in radio, I had pretty non-traditional tasks.
Ira GlassRead
Don't wait till you're older, or in some better job than you have now. Don't wait for anything. Don't wait till some magical...idea drops into your lap. That's not where ideas come from. Go looking for an idea and it'll show up. Begin now.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Take action now instead of waiting for the perfect circumstances to pursue your ideas.
Ira Glass emphasizes the importance of proactive pursuit of ideas rather than passively waiting for the right moment or inspiration to come. He encourages individuals to actively seek out ideas and opportunities, suggesting that they will materialize through effort and initiative, rather than through inaction or hoping for circumstances to improve.
Themes
ActionIdeasInitiativeMotivationNow
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech at a conference.
More from Ira Glass
All quotes →At some point, all comics have to go out and be retail salesmen doing door-to-door. And this idea of somebody who totally knows their craft having to get up for free in front of a crowd to work out some stuff they're thinking in their head, still, after as much success as you can get, is really interesting.
Ira GlassRead
I think good radio often uses the techniques of fiction: characters, scenes, a big urgent emotional question. And as in the best fiction, tone counts for a lot.
Ira GlassRead
It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.
Ira GlassRead
It's hard to make something that's interesting. It's really, really hard. It's like a law of nature, a law of aerodynamics, that anything that's written or anything that's created wants to be mediocre. The natural state of all writing is mediocrity... So what it takes to make anything more than mediocre is such an act of will.
Ira GlassRead
I wish that someone had said to me that it's normal to feel lost for a little while.
Ira GlassRead
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