Big Magic with Lauree Ostrofsky

Artist and life coach Lauree Ostrofsky appeared on the Book Insights podcast to discuss the bestselling book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. Here are some of her insights:

"Let's just admit that fear is part of the equation all the time in whatever we're doing. It could be feeling intimidated, overwhelmed, unsure, it can hide but it's still fear... Your relationship with fear is more important than if you feel fear or not."

"You wouldn't have the most worried, fearful, anxious passenger drive the car... You wouldn't put them out, but it's about what position you put them in. Fear is a completely normal reaction."

"You have to believe in your idea before anybody else. And you have to keep believing in it even when other people don't."

"When some idea strikes me I feel like 'I better sit down right now or I might not remember what I'm going to say'... I think most of us have had something like that where it's a 'now or never' feeling."

"Our view of what creativity looks like is that when people feel inspired they sit at the canvas or computer.. But Picasso, Van Gogh, to be prolific they had to be in front of the canvas everyday. They had to have diligence."

"If you go in with a business idea and put pressure on it that it's going to be your source of income in year 1 or even year 2 it's highly unlikely to happen, and you're going to lose some of your creativity and ability to pivot."

"It doesn't matter what happens out there, it only matters what happens in here - in what you're doing everyday."

"It is a sign that you're doing the right thing when people have a response to what you create whether good or bad. It means you're on to something."

"I developed a new relationship with fear and re-established my relationship with creativity."