Free, only want to be free, we huddle close, hang on to a dream.
Neil DiamondRead
I have a lot of confidence, but little Self-Esteem. This has given me a tremendous creative spark because it forced me to keep proving myself.
Interpretation
Confidence can drive creativity while low self-esteem can motivate one to continuously improve.
In this quote, Neil Diamond reflects on the duality of having confidence yet lacking self-esteem. He suggests that while his confidence provides a foundation for his pursuits, it is his struggle with self-esteem that fuels his creativity, pushing him to consistently prove himself and innovate in his work.
In practice
In a motivational talk about overcoming challenges.
Free, only want to be free, we huddle close, hang on to a dream.
But you make me sing like a guitar humming . . .
My voice is unadorned. I don't try for perfection. I try to be honest and truthful and soulful with the voice I have. If I make mistakes in notes, or there are cracks in notes, I don't fix them. That's the way it is.
You have to go out there and give a piece of yourself -- your life, your soul. And you better give the audience everything you can -- physically, emotionally, musically. Then maybe they'll accept you and give you a standing ovation at the end.
I didn't want to repeat my mistakes so I stopped, took some time out and started having therapy. My songs were bringing up feelings inside of me I didn't really understand, so I wanted to understand where they were coming from to help me be a better person and a better songwriter.
If it can affect me, if it has meaning to me, if I feel I can do it well, I will do it and record it and thats why I recorded these songs.
If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.
Every really good creative person in advertising has always had two noticeable characteristics. First, there was no subject he could not easily get interested in...Second, he was an extensive browser in all sorts of fields of information. For it is with the advertising man as with the cow: no browsing, no milk.
I think young people are the most creative and the coolest - people that we should be learning from. Even when I'm at a party, I'm analyzing it and thinking about it in the context of how I would write about it. That side of me never switches off.
I'm not an extraordinary worker, I'm an extraordinary daydreamer. I exceed all my fantasies-even that of writing.
All the creativity books in the world arenβt going to help you if youβre unwilling to have lousy, lame, and even dangerously bad ideas.
To realize our true creative potential - in our organizations, in our schools and in our communities - we need to think differently about ourselves and towards each other. We must learn to be creative.
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