--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good” can be a stifling word, a word that…" description: "\"“Good” can be a stifling word, a word that makes you hesitate and stare at a blank page and second-guess yourself and throw stuff in the trash. What’s ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/austin-kleon-1835_art_good-can-be-a-stifling-word-a-word-that_2273354.png" --- # Good” can be a stifling word, a word that makes you… ![“Good” can be a stifling word, a word that makes you hesitate and stare at a blank page and second-guess yourself and throw stuff in the trash. What’s important is to get your hands moving and let the images come. Whether it’s good or bad is beside the point. Make art.” quote by Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/austin-kleon-1835_art_good-can-be-a-stifling-word-a-word-that_2273354.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/austin-kleon-1835_art_good-can-be-a-stifling-word-a-word-that_2273354.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/austin-kleon-1835_art_good-can-be-a-stifling-word-a-word-that_2273354.png) > ““Good” can be a stifling word, a word that makes you hesitate and stare at a blank page and second-guess yourself and throw stuff in the trash. What’s important is to get your hands moving and let the images come. Whether it’s good or bad is beside the point. Make art.”” [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoid over‑analyzing “good”; instead, keep creating and let the work speak for itself **In simple terms:** Focus on making art, not judging it Key Takeaway Start creating immediately, regardless of perceived quality Themes creativity productivity self‑criticism Mood encouraging energetic Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - writing - painting - design - any creative practice Key Concepts process over product flow imperfection Questions to Reflect On - What small action will you take now? - How can you accept imperfect work as part of growth? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can still stall progress if not managed ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-page/) ## Related quotes > [All that you do will come back to you. Good and bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirjana-puhar/all-that-you-do-will-come-back-to-you-good-and-bad/) Mirjana Puhar > [“He would not come again. This was good. No. This was bad. At least it was an end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-ali/he-would-not-come-again-this-was-good-no-this-was-bad-at-least-it-was/) [Monica Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-ali/) > [Fans will come if you have a good product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-alford/fans-will-come-if-you-have-a-good-product/) [Steve Alford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-alford/) > [“Don't worry. It'll all come good in the end. Always does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-winman/don-t-worry-it-ll-all-come-good-in-the-end-always-does/) [Sarah Winman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-winman/) > [Don 't push your self or rush cause it will all come in good time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther/don-t-push-your-self-or-rush-cause-it-will-all-come-in-good-time/) [Esther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther/) > [I know people will only come to me with good roles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-know-people-will-only-come-to-me-with-good-roles/) [Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/) > [Good things come in good time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-things-come-in-good-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Good fortune shies away from gloom. Keep your spirits up. Good things will come to you and you will come to good things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-guillemets/good-fortune-shies-away-from-gloom-keep-your-spirits-up-good-things/) [Terri Guillemets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-guillemets/) > [“Not all good things come from good people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/not-all-good-things-come-from-good-people/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [My characters come from a good place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rogen/my-characters-come-from-a-good-place/) [Seth Rogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rogen/) > [I've always been big, my brothers are my size, we come from good stock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adebayo-akinfenwa/i-ve-always-been-big-my-brothers-are-my-size-we-come-from-good-stock/) [Adebayo Akinfenwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adebayo-akinfenwa/) > [ It's time for us to come together, time for us to come together around this good man \[Donald Trump\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/it-s-time-for-us-to-come-together-time-for-us-to-come-together-around/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Generally speaking, I think that if you do anything with commitment and passion, it will come good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccloud/generally-speaking-i-think-that-if-you-do-anything-with-commitment/) [Kevin McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccloud/) > [When I go out with my friends, if people come up to me, everyone has good intentions and means well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-martin-del-potro/when-i-go-out-with-my-friends-if-people-come-up-to-me-everyone-has/) [Juan Martin del Potro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-martin-del-potro/) > [“It is not nor it cannot come to good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/it-is-not-nor-it-cannot-come-to-good/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Austin Kleon > [“The thing is, you can cut off a couple passions and only focus on one, but after a while, you’ll start to feel phantom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/the-thing-is-you-can-cut-off-a-couple-passions-and-only-focus-on-one/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [Don't think of your website as a self-promotion machine, think of it as a self-invention machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/don-t-think-of-your-website-as-a-self-promotion-machine-think-of-it/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“We want you to take from us. We want you, at first, to steal from us, because you can’t steal. You will take what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/we-want-you-to-take-from-us-we-want-you-at-first-to-steal-from-us/) [austin kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“Validation is for parking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/validation-is-for-parking/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“If you want fans, you have to be a fan first. If you want to be accepted by a community, you have to first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/if-you-want-fans-you-have-to-be-a-fan-first-if-you-want-to-be/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“Social media sites are the perfect place to share daily updates. Don’t worry about being on every platform; pick and choose based on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/social-media-sites-are-the-perfect-place-to-share-daily-updates-don-t/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“Writing a page a day doesn't seem like much, but do it for 365 days and you have enough to fill a novel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/writing-a-page-a-day-doesn-t-seem-like-much-but-do-it-for-365-days/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [Be boring. (It’s the only way to get work done.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/be-boring-it-s-the-only-way-to-get-work-done/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [It sounds a little extreme, but in this day and age, if your work isn't online, it doesn't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/it-sounds-a-little-extreme-but-in-this-day-and-age-if-your-work-isn-t/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“Don't wait until you know who you are to get started. If I'd waited to know who I was or what I was about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/don-t-wait-until-you-know-who-you-are-to-get-started-if-i-d-waited-to/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [Your brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings. You need to make it uncomfortable. 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It’s the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/stock-and-flow-is-an-economic-concept-that-writer-robin-sloan-has/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) [Explore all 204 Austin Kleon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Good” can be a stifling word, a word that makes you hesitate and stare at a blank page and second-guess yourself and throw stuff in the trash. 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