You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist. At eighteen he took his inheritance, seven hundred kronen, and moved to Vienna to live and study... Ever see one of his paintings? Neither have I. Resistance beat him. Call it overstatement but I'll say it anyway: it was easier for Hitler to start World War II than it was for him to face a blank square of canvas.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the struggle of creative endeavor versus the ease of destructive action.
In this thought-provoking statement, Steven Pressfield highlights the irony of Adolf Hitler's aspirations as an artist, contrasting his artistic failure with his success in leading a catastrophic war. The quote suggests that the fear of creative insecurity can be so overwhelming that it might lead one to choose paths that ultimately cause harm rather than confronting the vulnerability inherent in artistic expression.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech about facing challenges in creative pursuits.
Late at night have you experienced a vision of the person you might become, the work you could accomplish, the realized being you were meant to be? Are you a writer who doesn't write, a painter who doesn't paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is.
It is one thing to study war and another to live the warrior's life.
The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.
When we sit down day after day and keep grinding, something mysterious starts to happen... Unseen forces enlist in our cause; serendipity reinforces our purpose.
It’s better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, than to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot.
Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.
Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.
Im interested in what would normally be considered the worst aspects of commercial art. I think its the tension between what seems to be so rigid and cliched and the fact that art really cant be this way.
Language upon a silvered tongue affords enchantment enough.
It's always funny to me when people use the phrase 'Best guitar player in the world'. There are too many variables such as technique, uniqueness, emotional investment in the notes, etc. But If I had to pick one, it would be Tommy Emmanuel. Watching him perform can be a study in artistic and virtuosic human achievement.
Sometimes I think creativity is magic; it's not a matter of finding an idea, but allowing the idea to find you.
There's that old cliche that art is never finished, only abandoned. That's the nice thing about comics. It forces you to abandon it long before maybe you're ready to let it go.
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