Top Ten Quotes From Elizabeth Gilbert That Will Inspire You

Any one of us is capable of living a creative life. Elizabeth Gilbert wrote “Big Magic” to help us breakthrough many of our mental roadblocks preventing us from challenging ourselves. “Big Magic” is broken up into six chapters: Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistence, Trust, & Divinity. Below are the top ten quotes from “Big Magic”.

1. “You can measure your worth by your dedication to your path, not by your successes or failures.”
   I’ve quit too many things I wasn’t able to succeed at right away. Believing you can do hard things is key to being persistent. Your dedication to learning is more important than being a natural.
2. “The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.”
   No one really knows what they are capable of. Often times we need to fail many times before succeeding. Those failures is what keeps us going in the right direction because we’re slowly finding out what doesn’t work. The more effort we apply, and more vulnerable we are, the more treasure we will find. Finding these treasures isn’t only inspiring to you but to many people around you.
3. “Be the weirdo who dares to enjoy.”
   Change your view. Find a way to enjoy more experiences. If you’re able to find more joy… true joy. You will be more successful at creating value. Our insecurities keep us from really enjoying life.
4. “Done is better than good.”
   Stop waiting for a product to be good. Stop waiting for your thing to be perfect. Done may bring critics but perfection never gets done.
5. “So this, I believe, is the central question upon which all creative living hinges: Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?”
   Effort, vulnerability, accountability, and creativity are all results of being courageous. We all have fear. Courage will help us move past our perceived limitations brought on by our insecurities and designed hurdles in our mind.
6. “It seems to me that the less I fight my fear, the less it fights back. If I can relax, fear relaxes, too.”
   Fear is hatched and raised within our minds. We can choose to feed our fear and allow it to grow or starve it. Relaxation is just one of many techniques anyone can use to prevent fear from deciding your path. You can choose to find ways to reduce your response to fear or continue down your same path. What’s your choice?
7. “Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them.”
   This is my favorite quote!!! Too many of us argue why we can’t accomplish something. Our reward. We’re right!! We can either argue for our limitations winning the grand prize of not persisting or… decide our limitations are only temporary.
8. “living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear.”
   Fear holds us back. Sometimes fear prevents us from getting hurt. But, more often than not, fear prevents us from learning, from challenging ourselves and prevents us from failing. Curiosity is that spark that will ignite our need to try. When in spite of failure we remain curious and look for new challenges.
9. “If you’re alive, you’re a creative person.”
   Pretty simple. Everyone can be creative. The only thing preventing you from being a creative person is you. It’s a choice. Call yourself creative and begin delivering.
10. “It might have been done before, but it hasn’t been done by you!”
    Just because someone has already done something it doesn’t mean you can’t also try. This quote reminds me of the movie Finding Forrester when Jamal (played by Rob Brown) is having a difficult time beginning to write something. Forrester (played by Sean Connery) has Jamal begin his writing by copying the start to existing work and develop his own story. When we learn from someone, we are copying them. But, we still create our own work. Even if it’s similar to another person it’s still our own.

Now it’s your turn to act. Create something today. Copy a drawing, write a poem, send someone a letter, begin a new morning routine, make a goal, dream of what your future will look like. A little action is more important than a perfect plan. Don’t know where to start? Send me an email saying hello.

1. Send an email to hello@meetjaynorton.com
2. Tell me something you want to do.
   1. Learn to change your own oil
   2. Learn to cook something new
   3. Write a Haiku
   4. Begin journaling
   5. Write a short story
   6. Tell someone your dreams
3. Let me know if you want me to follow up by asking me to check in.
   Just the act of living outside your comfort zone begins to develop creativity. Most people will not continue with their plan. We often need to begin something a dozen or more times to find the drive to pursue something long term. That’s ok. Send me multiple emails, whenever you plan to reboot your new adventure. This email will be a kickstart to your creative journey.
4. Once you begin your journey ask someone else to begin theirs.

I hope this was helpful. We can all DO HARD THINGS. We just need to believe.