In this segment, James quotes from the Robert Persig classic, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: “When we master some aspect or skill of the creative process it loses its magic because we now understand it. But somehow, a new magic is born from the first death of magic, because we are constantly driving forward.”
The Gifted Underachievers go on to talk about Jimi Hendrix, Slash, and other exemplars of incredible skill in the context of the motivational quality of wonderful art.
If you see something that knocks you off your feet because it’s so good, and you think “I could never do that,” that’s exactly when you can then say, “This person is showing me something that I haven’t seen, experienced, or felt before.” That’s when you can truly benefit from the shot in the arm that excellence can provide.
Questions for Listeners:
Hop on over to the segment web page or click the button below to leave a comment.
What’s your creative field?
Who blew your mind the first time you saw their work?
Did it motivate you, make you doubt yourself, or both?
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How to be inspired by other writers without losing your voice:
How I use the work of other artists to inspire me (Art2Life):
