Advice for creatives no. 6 | Boldness has power and magic in it.

"Boldness has power and magic in it. Begin it now."

My typography teacher, Jason Heuer, told us that this one quote by Goethe inspired him to change careers and go to design school in his thirties. He said he had the chills just rereading it in class.

When you stumble upon words like this (and of course it has to be in the right place and at the right time), it's such a treasure. What an incredible experience it is to read something that someone else wrote, maybe hundreds of years back and thousands of miles away, and have those alter the course of our lives. 

I don't think of myself as a very bold person-- even the scary decisions I've made came from careful mulling over-- but this quote reminds me to stop over-planning and just start trusting. That the most important thing is committing to something fully. 

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."

--Goethe