--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you flow like water you bring all of…" description: "\"When you flow like water you bring all of your talents and resources to your creative work... Flow around every obstacle you encounter, including any y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/eric-maisel-3062_creative_when-you-flow-like-water-you-bring-all-o_2380489.png" --- # When you flow like water you bring all of your talents and… ![“When you flow like water you bring all of your talents and resources to your creative work... Flow around every obstacle you encounter, including any you've erected yourself.” quote by Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/eric-maisel-3062_creative_when-you-flow-like-water-you-bring-all-o_2380489.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/eric-maisel-3062_creative_when-you-flow-like-water-you-bring-all-o_2380489.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/eric-maisel-3062_creative_when-you-flow-like-water-you-bring-all-o_2380489.png) > “When you flow like water you bring all of your talents and resources to your creative work... Flow around every obstacle you encounter, including any you've erected yourself.” [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adapting like water lets you harness all abilities and resources, turning obstacles into pathways for creativity. **In simple terms:** Flow turns obstacles into creative pathways. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility and use obstacles as catalysts. Themes adaptability creativity resilience Mood inspired determined Type motivational practical When to use this quote - creative projects - team leadership - problem solving - personal growth Key Concepts flow theory resourcefulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn a self‑created barrier into a flow opportunity? - What habits block your creative flow? A Different Perspective Water can be redirected, but some barriers may be immovable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bring Talents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bring-talents-5893727/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-work/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Encounters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounters/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Flow Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow-like-558501/) [Flow Like Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow-like-water-213214/) [Flow Obstacle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow-obstacle-5893728/) [Including](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/including/) [Like Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-water/) [Obstacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacles/) [Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resources/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Work flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-flow/) ## Related quotes > [I will let my body flow like water over the gentle cushions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sappho/i-will-let-my-body-flow-like-water-over-the-gentle-cushions/) [Sappho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sappho/) > [“Be like water, Flow like a river, Crash like the rain, Fly like the cloud again!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/md-ziaul-haque/be-like-water-flow-like-a-river-crash-like-the-rain-fly-like-the/) [Md. Ziaul Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/md-ziaul-haque/) > [You just got to out there and flow, like Bruce Lee said, you got to be like water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cub-swanson/you-just-got-to-out-there-and-flow-like-bruce-lee-said-you-got-to-be/) [Cub Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cub-swanson/) > [“Dalt's in sixty?" I asked. "Done," he said. "You want to bring the board?" "Depends...you okay with humiliation?" "Bring the board." "See you soon."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-duff/dalt-s-in-sixty-i-asked-done-he-said-you-want-to-bring-the-board/) [Hilary Duff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-duff/) > [“Let reason flow like water around a stone, the stone remains.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/let-reason-flow-like-water-around-a-stone-the-stone-remains/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [If I speak the good into existance, that instant my dreams will unlock, Money flow like water, I'll just wait at the dock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/if-i-speak-the-good-into-existance-that-instant-my-dreams-will-unlock/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [So let the mind flow like water. Face life with a calm and quiet mind and everything in life will be calm and quiet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thich-thien-an/so-let-the-mind-flow-like-water-face-life-with-a-calm-and-quiet-mind/) [Thich Thien-An](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thich-thien-an/) > [“The connection between deep work and flow should be clear: Deep work is an activity well suited to generate a flow state (the phrases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-connection-between-deep-work-and-flow-should-be-clear-deep-work/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [I like to keep the meanings in my work flowing and open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/i-like-to-keep-the-meanings-in-my-work-flowing-and-open/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [“Try to make your work flow. Find challenges. Improve the atmosphere. Make it meaningful, playful. Make it bring joy to others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/try-to-make-your-work-flow-find-challenges-improve-the-atmosphere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anytime you adopt a new system you change work flow and so people have to change, to some degree change the way in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davis/anytime-you-adopt-a-new-system-you-change-work-flow-and-so-people/) [William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davis/) > [“The purpose of the deep work chamber is to allow for total focus and uninterrupted work flow,” Dewane explains. He imagines a process in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-purpose-of-the-deep-work-chamber-is-to-allow-for-total-focus-and/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/what-you-do-in-your-house-is-worth-as-much-as-if-you-did-it-up-in/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Writing is challenging work because it's so easy to get consumed with how it's going, what's going to happen to it, who's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/writing-is-challenging-work-because-it-s-so-easy-to-get-consumed-with/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“The Law of Least Effort Put every effort into organizing your life, but remember that the ultimate organizer is Nature. Don't try to steer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-law-of-least-effort-put-every-effort-into-organizing-your-life/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) ## More by Eric Maisel > [Affirmations need to be used if they are to become incorporated into the fabric of your being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/affirmations-need-to-be-used-if-they-are-to-become-incorporated-into/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [The wise artist makes peace with the fact that he will understand less than he had anticipated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/the-wise-artist-makes-peace-with-the-fact-that-he-will-understand/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [Creativity requires introspection, self-examination, and a willingness to take risks. Because of this, artists are perhaps more susceptible to self-doubt and despair than those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/creativity-requires-introspection-self-examination-and-a-willingness/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [You can't plan in advance for everything - every mood swing, every mistake you might make in execution, every shift in your circumstances. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/you-can-t-plan-in-advance-for-everything-every-mood-swing-every/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [It is in an artist's real interest to congratulate herself more often: not out of narcissism, but in her role as her own dear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/it-is-in-an-artist-s-real-interest-to-congratulate-herself-more-often/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [“What if you can't help but judge life negatively? What if yesterday felt awful, today feels awful, and tomorrow is likely to feel awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/what-if-you-can-t-help-but-judge-life-negatively-what-if-yesterday/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [The artist's personality, built upon strong desires and compassionate vision, is by its nature prone to depression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/the-artist-s-personality-built-upon-strong-desires-and-compassionate/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [“The song you write may be beautiful, the research you conceive may be beautiful, but you are the real beauty in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/the-song-you-write-may-be-beautiful-the-research-you-conceive-may-be/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [“How you conceptualize meaning matters. If you hold that it is outside of yourself and must be tracked down, you have one idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/how-you-conceptualize-meaning-matters-if-you-hold-that-it-is-outside/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [Artists have wild desires and a terrible hunger to achieve... Without it they haven't the juice for striving or loving. But desire also can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/artists-have-wild-desires-and-a-terrible-hunger-to-achieve-without-it/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [If you bring your sexual impulses to your creative work... you'll be working from deep in the genetic code, down where life wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/if-you-bring-your-sexual-impulses-to-your-creative-work-you-ll-be/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [The artist is a god, but he is also an idiot. That is the human way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/the-artist-is-a-god-but-he-is-also-an-idiot-that-is-the-human-way/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [It goes against an artist's grain to retire. But whether he retires or not, he will age... What work will get done in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/it-goes-against-an-artist-s-grain-to-retire-but-whether-he-retires-or/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [Boredom is the thing that regularly arrives between excitements and episodes of meaning: it is as natural as the tides, and in it an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/boredom-is-the-thing-that-regularly-arrives-between-excitements-and/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [The middle way cannot be achieved by dividing two extremes in half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/the-middle-way-cannot-be-achieved-by-dividing-two-extremes-in-half/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) [Explore all 141 Eric Maisel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) ## More Creative quotes > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [When you're being truly creative, time stands still, and you enter a dimension that can carry you beyond the ordinariness of everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-linn/when-you-re-being-truly-creative-time-stands-still-and-you-enter-a/) [Denise Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-linn/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Money is only used for two things. One, it's to make you comfortable, and the more comfortable you are the more creative you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/money-is-only-used-for-two-things-one-it-s-to-make-you-comfortable/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [I can't let fear kill my creative brain. Fear is the killer. Your bad choices come from fear. And I'm constantly combating fear. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-can-t-let-fear-kill-my-creative-brain-fear-is-the-killer-your-bad/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The creative strength is good enough and deep enough to bring itself to flower and to grow in spite of this sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/the-creative-strength-is-good-enough-and-deep-enough-to-bring-itself/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [Anytime I get the chance to sing or work with Michael John, it is such an incredibly fertile and incredibly creative and safe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audra-mcdonald/anytime-i-get-the-chance-to-sing-or-work-with-michael-john-it-is-such/) [Audra McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audra-mcdonald/) > [What Sri Chinmoy does is God-given! He has a tremendous, a fantastic creative urge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-shankar/what-sri-chinmoy-does-is-god-given-he-has-a-tremendous-a-fantastic/) [Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-shankar/) > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [when times are tough, the weak bail and the tough get creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/when-times-are-tough-the-weak-bail-and-the-tough-get-creative/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [Teasing out the way the world might look through another's eyes is what makes the creative process so fascinating and enjoyable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/teasing-out-the-way-the-world-might-look-through-another-s-eyes-is/) [Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) [Browse all 7,284 Creative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you flow like water you bring all of your talents and resources to your creative work... 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