About this quote

Great creative work often looks selfish and stubborn before anyone else understands it. When you find yourself reshaping ideas to please others, that is a clear point to stop. Pick one obsession you can't let go of and give it a fixed block of time every day, without editing or explaining it away. What single thought will you protect this week, and how will you keep it from being watered down?

When to use it

• Design review with a picky client: I defended my odd layout instead of switching to the safe option, and I kept building on that idea.
• Writing my thesis: I pursued the strange side question my advisor dismissed, and it became the chapter people remembered.
• Training for the race: I stuck with the unconventional drills my coach insisted on, even when teammates thought it was pointless.
• Leaving corporate for woodworking: I reserved every evening for the pieces I couldn't stop thinking about until I had a small line to sell.