Old Tropes

Francis Ford Coppola recently gave an interview, and in characteristic fashion, uttered several quotes worthy of the ages.

Risk is not about the work itself. It's risking your own perception of yourself.

Factor that in with @austinkleon’s recent article on making art and you have a kick-in-the-pants artist philosophy.

Another Coppola quote, a cliché these days, but no less true:

Making art is not about making money. It's about self expression.

But more than self expression, it’s about accepting your own life, whatever it may be. A tip from someone who runs from inadequacy: timestamp your doodles, your notes, your half-baked thoughts. It anchors them in a time and place; it’s as if you can meet yourself all over again. Look back on them and laugh, or find encouragement, or use it as fuel for the next stage.

Acceptance of who you were when you made that ... thing ... is the corollary to the next Coppola quote:

The biggest barrier to an artist is self-confidence.